Word provides two features for reusing the effort you have put in creating content. Word Templates are useful for creating an entire document from an existing one. Building blocks are useful for reusing parts of the document like common text, custom tables, headers, footers, textboxes, etc.
In this article we will see how to save a document as a template. It is very simple really – Choose File – Save As and select Word Template (.DOTX) option.
When you create a document for the first time, it will contain specific content. If you think you will need similar documents to be created frequently, you should store it as a template. The important thing is to ensure that the template contains only the common elements. Sometimes, we can just put the key headings and subheadings only as a part of the template. In some other cases, we can add some reusable text and tables or diagrams along with the headings.
To create a document from an existing template, choose File – New – My Templates (now called Personal) and choose the desired template.
Please note that Word templates are stored in the C:\users\<username>\documents\Custom Office Templates directory since Office 2013. Earlier versions of Office stored templates in AppData folder. Note that when you choose the DOTX option, the folder changes automatically.
Also notice that Microsoft provides many nice templates in the Featured section. Try searching for templates. There are hundreds of templates available under different categories.
Sharing Word templates with your team or organization
Once you have a set of useful Word templates, the next step is of course to share it among your team, so everybody can benefit from the efforts you’ve put in. However, sending templates to each other by email is an inefficient method of sharing. Please Ask your IT team to read this article which explains how commonly used templates can be shared across the organizations automatically.
