How to Create or Add a Template on Microsoft Word

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User-friendly steps to make and save new Word templates
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Creating a template in Microsoft Word can be useful and time-saving when you plan on using the same styles and layouts in multiple documents. For example, if you need to draft a lot of business letters, you can save yourself time in the future by creating a template with your business logo, name, address, and preferred font style. If you don't want to create a template from scratch, you can download plenty of free templates from within the Word app. Here's how to make a Word template using your Windows or Mac computer.

Creating a Word Document Template

To make a template on Microsoft Word, create a document with all the customizations you want. Then, click File > Save As > This PC . Click the file type drop-down menu and select Word Template . Click Save .

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Creating a Template

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  1. 1
    Open the Word document you want to make into a template. This method creates a document template with customized font styles, paragraph styles, and more. Once you make a template, you can use it to quickly start a new document with your preferences. [1]
  2. 2
    Customize your Word document. Add all the attributes you want your new template to have, including selecting a font, adjusting line spacing and or paragraph spacing, adjusting margins, and selecting styles and colors for text. You can also add images , graphs , bar charts , and more to your custom template.
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  3. 3
    Click the File menu and select Save As . When you're finished editing your template, you can save it in the Word template format.
    • If you don't see Save As, try Save as Copy .
  4. 4
    Click This PC on Windows. Templates need to be saved in the Custom Office Templates folder on your computer. It may not work if you save it to a cloud service, such as OneDrive or iCloud.
    • If you're using a Mac, select the Where box and choose a save location. Otherwise, it will be saved in the Templates folder.
  5. 5
    Click the drop-down menu and select Word Template . This is in the Save as type drop-down menu. This changes the file type to the Word Template format.
    • If your document has macros, you'll need to select Word Macro-Enabled Document instead.
    • Alternatively, you can select "Word 97-2003 Template" if you plan on using the template in an earlier version of Word.
  6. 6
    Click Save . This will save your Word template to the Custom Office Templates folder.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Editing an Existing Template

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  1. 1
    Open Microsoft Word. You should see your home page.
    • If you already have a file open, click the File menu and select Open instead.
  2. 2
    Double-click This PC (Windows) or Where (Mac). This opens your computer's file picker window.
  3. 3
    Go to the "Templates" folder. Any templates you've created will be in this folder. The folder location will vary depending on your device.
    • On Windows :
      • Go to This PC/Documents/Custom Office Templates .
    • On Mac :
      • Go to /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates .
  4. 4
    Select your template and click Open . This will open your Word template for editing.
  5. 5
    Edit your template. Make the necessary changes to your template.
  6. 6
    Save the template. To save your changes, you can press Ctrl + S (Windows) or Command + S (Mac) to quickly save. You can also click File > Save . The template is now updated with your changes.
    • Once your template is saved, you can close it.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

Using a Saved Template

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  1. 1
    Open Microsoft Word. If you have created a template and are ready to use it to create a new document, this method will show you how. When you open Word, you should see your home page.
  2. 2
    Click the File menu and select New (Windows). If you are using a Mac desktop or MacBook, click the File menu and select New from template instead.
  3. 3
    Click Personal . On some devices, this may be Custom instead.
  4. 4
    Select your template. This creates a new Word document from the selected template. You can now make changes to the template as needed.
    • When you save the document, it will not replace the template—it will be a whole new Word document.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Downloading a Template

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  1. 1
    Open Microsoft Word. If you want to skip making your own template and instead try one of Microsoft's templates, you can do so from the Word application. If you open the application alone, you'll see the home screen with suggested templates. If you open an existing document, click File > New .
    • You can also check out Microsoft Create in your browser to see templates for all Microsoft Products, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Designer. [2]
  2. 2
    Enter keywords into the search field. Results will load as you type. You can enter words such as "calendar", "resume", "social media", and more.
  3. 3
    Click a template. This will open a preview in full view and display some details about the template. If you don't like the template, close it and select a new one.
  4. 4
    Click Create . A new document will be created from the template.
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      Tips

      • Customize your templates as much as possible to simplify your experience when working with and adding content to future documents.
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      • Add the font styles, background colors, text colors, font sizes, and themes you want to use consistently when creating templates.
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      Warnings

      • When downloading Word templates from a third-party website, make sure that the website is reputable and that the file you are downloading is in the correct format. Some third-party websites may try to trick you into downloading viruses and malware in place of Word templates.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-template-86a1d089-5ae2-4d53-9042-1191bce57deb
      2. ↑ https://create.microsoft.com/en-us

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