Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Opening a Template.

Opening a Template

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated October 3, 2015)

2

Templates are used to define how a document and the Word interface should look. To open a template file, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Office button and then click Open (Word 2007) or click the File tab and then click Open (Word 2010 and Word 2013). Word displays the Open dialog box.
  2. At the bottom of the dialog box, just above the Open button, is a drop-down list where you can specify the type of files you want Word to list. Use the drop-down list to select either Word Templates or Word Macro-Enabled Templates, depending on which type you want to open.
  3. Using the controls in the dialog box, browse through directories and disk drives until the desired template files are listed. (If desired, you can browse to the folder containing the majority of your templates—the one you learned about in the previous two sections.)
  4. Select the desired document template.
  5. Click the Open button.

You can now make changes in the template, just as you would in any other document. When you save the changes, they are available the next time you create a document based on the template.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10196) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Opening a Template.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He  is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Displaying Path Names in the Menu Bar

Want the full path name for a document visible on the screen? Easily add it to a menu bar.

Discover More

Dividing Values

When working with large numbers, you may need a way to quickly divide a range of those numbers by a specific value. ...

Discover More

Locking Icons on the Desktop

Your desktop is supposed to be place where you can put your most-often-used program and file icons. You can spend hours ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Quick Access Toolbars and Templates

Want to create a customized Quick Access Toolbar and associate that toolbar with a particular template? The task is ...

Discover More

Understanding Templates

Templates are used to store a pattern for how a document should look. As such, they can be a very powerful tool for ...

Discover More

Working on Shared Templates

In many companies it is common to have standard templates accessible through the internal network. If you have templates ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four more than 1?

2015-10-05 10:54:22

awyatt

Paul: If you double-click on a template file, then Word opens a blank document based upon that template. Double-clicking DOES NOT open the template itself (which is the topic of this tip), but instead creates a new document based on the template.

-Allen

2015-10-05 10:30:15

Paul Franklin Stregevsky

Alan,
Can you explain what will happened--or what will fail to happen--if someone opens the template by double-clicking the file? I believe it will open as a .docx file, and you'll lose customized features like toolbars, menus, and quick tables.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.