Download Article
Download Article
This wikiHow teaches you how to select or create a template in Microsoft Word for Windows and Mac. Templates are pre-formatted documents designed for specific purposes, such as invoices, calendars, or résumés.
Steps
-
Open Microsoft Word. Double-click the Word icon, which resembles a white "W" on a dark-blue background.
-
Search for a template. Scroll through the Microsoft Word home page to find a template you like, or type word into the search bar at the top of the page to search for matching templates.
- For example, if you wanted to find budget-related templates, you would type "budget" into the search bar.
- You must be connected to the Internet in order to search for templates.
Advertisement -
Select a template. Click a template that you want to use. This will open it in a window where you can take a closer look at the template.
-
Click Create . It's to the right of the template preview. Doing so opens the template in a new Word document.
-
Edit the template. Most templates have sample text; you can replace this text by deleting it and typing in your own.
- You can also edit most templates' formatting (e.g., font, color, and text size) without ruining the template itself.
-
Save your document. Click File in the upper-left side of the page, click Save As , double-click a save location, enter your document's name, and click Save .
- You can re-open this document by going to the folder where you saved it and double-clicking it.
Advertisement
-
Open Microsoft word. Double-click the Word icon, which resembles a white "W" on a dark-blue background. Depending on your Word settings, this will either open a new document or bring up the Word home page.
- If the Word home page opens, skip to the "search for a template" step.
-
Click File . It's a menu item in the top-left side of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
-
Click New from Template . You'll find this option near the top of the File drop-down menu. Clicking it opens the template gallery.
-
Search for a template. Scroll through the available templates to see pre-set options, or type a search term into the search bar in the top-right side of the page.
- For example, to find invoice-related templates, you might type "invoice" into the search bar.
- You must be connected to the Internet in order to search for templates.
-
Select a template. Click a template to open a preview window with the template displayed.
-
Click Open . It's in the preview window. This will open the template as a new document.
-
Edit the template. Most templates have sample text; you can replace this text by deleting it and typing in your own.
- You can also edit most templates' formatting (e.g., font, color, and text size) without ruining the template itself.
-
Save your document. Click the File menu item, click Save As , enter a name for your document, and click Save .
Advertisement
-
Open your Microsoft Word document. Double-click the document to which you want to apply your template.
- This will only work for recently-opened templates. If you haven't recently opened the template you want to use, open the template and then close it before continuing.
-
Click File . It's in the upper-left side of the page.
-
Click Options . You'll find this in the bottom-left side of the "File" page.
-
Click the Add-ins tab. It's on the left side of the Options window.
-
Click the "Manage" drop-down box. This box is at the bottom of the Add-Ins page. A drop-down menu will appear.
-
Click Templates . It's near the middle of the drop-down menu.
-
Click Go… . This button is to the right of the "Manage" drop-down box.
-
Click Attach… . It's in the upper-right side of the page.
-
Select a template. Click a template that you want to use.
-
Click Open . It's at the bottom of the Template window. This will open your template.
-
Check the "Automatically update document styles" box. You'll find this box below the template's name near the top of the page.
-
Click OK . It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so will apply your template's formatting to the document.
-
Save your document. Click File in the upper-left side of the page, click Save As , double-click a save location, enter your document's name, and click Save .
Advertisement
-
Open your Microsoft Word document. Double-click the document you want to open.
- This will only work for recently-opened templates. If you haven't recently opened the template you want to use, open the template and then close it before continuing.
-
Click Tools . This menu item is on the left side of the Mac's menu bar. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
- If you don't see Tools , click your Microsoft Word window to make it appear.
-
Click Templates & Add-Ins… . It's an option near the bottom of the drop-down menu. Doing so opens a window.
-
Click Attach . You'll find this in the Templates & Add-Ins window.
-
Select a template. Click a template that you want to apply to your document.
-
Click Open . Doing so will apply the template's formatting to your document.
-
Save your document. Click the File menu item, click Save As , enter a name for your document, and click Save .
Advertisement
-
Open Microsoft Word. Double-click the Word icon, which resembles a white "W" on a dark-blue background.
- If you want to create a template from an existing document, double-click the document itself and skip to the "edit your document" step.
-
Click the "Blank document" template. It's in the upper-left side of the Word window.
-
Edit your document. Any formatting changes you make (e.g., spacing, text size, font) will be parts of your template.
- If you're creating a template from an existing document, you might not need to edit anything.
-
Click File . It's a tab in the upper-left side of the page.
-
Click Save As . This option is near the top of the File pop-out window.
-
Select a save location. Double-click a save folder or location here to set it as the template's storage spot.
-
Enter a name for your template. Type in the name you want to use for your template.
-
Click the "Save as type" drop-down box. It's below the file name text box. A drop-down menu will appear.
-
Click Word Template . This option is near the top of the drop-down menu.
- You can also click Word Macro-Enabled Template here if you put macros in your document.
-
Click Save . It's in the bottom-right side of the window. Doing so saves your template.
- You'll be able to apply the template to other documents if you want to.
Advertisement
-
Open Microsoft Word. Double-click the Word icon, which resembles a white "W" on a dark-blue background.
- If you want to create a template from an existing document, double-click the document itself and skip to the "edit your document" step.
-
Click the New tab. It's in the upper-left side of the home page.
- If there isn't a home page, click the File tab and then click New from Template first.
-
Click the "Blank Document" template. It's a white box. This will create a new Word document.
-
Edit your document. Any formatting changes you make (e.g., spacing, text size, font) will be parts of your template.
- If you're creating a template from an existing document, you might not need to edit anything.
-
Click File . It's a menu item in the top-left side of the page.
-
Click Save As Template . You'll see this option in the File drop-down menu.
-
Enter a name for your template. Type in the name you want to use for your template.
-
Click the "File Format" drop-down box. It's near the bottom of the window. A drop-down menu will appear.
-
Click Microsoft Word template . This option is in the drop-down menu, and has the ".dotx" extension next to it.
- You can also select Microsoft Word Macro-Enabled template if you put macros in your document.
-
Click Save . It's the blue button at the bottom of the window. Doing so will save your template.
- You'll be able to apply the template to other documents if you want to.
Advertisement
Community Q&A
Search
-
QuestionHow do I save an edited template as a default template in Word?Community AnswerYou can open HTML window in editor and you can place your code there. It will work if your editor has an edit HTML option.
-
QuestionHow can I use a template in Outlook?Community AnswerPrepare your template and save it as .oft (Outlook template). Next time you need it, go to the Home tab and select New Items / More Items / Choose Form / Look in: User Templates in File System and select your template.
-
QuestionHow do I add lines inside the text box?Community AnswerDraw them using the line tool in the box. On updated computers, go to insert>illustrations>shapes. On non-updated computers, go to insert>shape. You can also underline text by highlighting it, then going to home>underline text.
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
Advertisement
Tips
- Templates are extraordinarily helpful when invoicing or creating pamphlets.Thanks
Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
Advertisement
About This Article
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 339,740 times.
Advertisement
