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 May 13, 2022)

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

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.
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.
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.)
Select the desired document template.
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. Learn more about Allen...

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What is seven less than 7?

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.

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