Crabby Office Lady

Using templates — whether you get them from Templates on Microsoft Office Online or make your own — is a great way to work efficiently. Take a look at some common issues that folks have in their quest to customize templates.

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A while back I wrote a column about how to customize templates to pass them off as your own work and avoid the guilt. While most of you appreciated the tips I provided, some of you got stuck on the word "template." So, before we go any further:

Template

Something that establishes or serves as a pattern.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's move on and tackle some reader letters about the following:

• Templates on Microsoft Office Online offer loads of free downloadable templates. Below is an example of our Personal Budget template. We supply the structure; you plug in the numbers.
  
  
  
• The Normal template, which is the template that automatically opens when you create a new document in Microsoft Word.
• Keeping the templates you create safe from the creative whims of others, who may try and customize them when you don't want them to.

The Template Gallery: You want it, we got it (or we'll make it)

Carol wrote me a while back in a panic. Frankly, I feel it's part of my job description to try to ease my readers' pain. Let's see if I can help her out.

"I've gained a bunch of weight and I'm having knee problems. I would like to get a template in which I can put my measurements, fat percentage, weight now, weight lost, and goals and then use it to track my progress and trends. I guess I could put one together myself with some effort, but before I do that, I wondered if such a template already existed. Thanks, and don't be too crabby with this request."

—Carrying it Carol

Dear Carol,

While putting a little effort into creating a template probably wouldn't hurt you (or your knees for that matter), our template creators couldn't let your request go unanswered. So guess what? We created a template directly from your request. Who says we don't care? (Look for your template in See alsosection near the top right of this column.)

The power of Normal

Here's a challenge for you: I believe the next two readers might be related somehow. Why? Their questions aren't particularly related (the first reader wants to undo his wife's sneaky changes to the standard Word template, and the second reader wants to do all sorts of automatic text formatting to her template). So why do I think this? (Hint: It has to do with feet.)

"My wife changed (she won't admit it) my Word normal template—the one that automatically opens when I click the new file button (Normal.dot). It always opens with a copy of a document that she was typing. How do I change the template back to one that opens with formatting but no words?

I'm walking with bare feet in the wet grass!

—Non-Sequitur Ned

Dear Ned,

What do wet grass and bare feet have to do with templates? I'm almost afraid to ask.

Want to undo the changes your wife did? First you have got to find that template. You have to be sneaky, silent, and accurate. Ready?

Step 1: Find out where the Normal template is located

1. In Word, on the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the File Locations tab.
3. Under File types, select User templates and note the path listed there.

Step 2: Undo your wife's handiwork

1. In Word, on the File menu, click Open.
2. Browse to the path you discovered in step one.
   

    Note    If you can't find it, use the Search command on the Start menu to search for Normal.dot.

3. Open the template called Normal.dot. This should be the one that your wife changed.
4. Format it as you want it to appear from now on.
5. On the File menu, click Save As.
6. Keep the file name as Normal, but, in the Save as type box, select Document Template.
7. Click Save.

And voilà — the next time you create a new file, your new document will open using the Normal template you just tidied up.

"I want create a template that has the automatic features such as hyphenation and AutoCorrect working in it. When I do this in a blank document and try to save it as a template, I am told that I cannot save it to an open document. Interesting feature! When I open up the template in the template folder and try doing it from there, it does not save the change. Help!"

—Barefoot Contessa

Dear B.C.,

What is it with you barefoot people this week?

Congratulations! You have obviously figured out the way to change the Normal template (the one that opens automatically when you create a new document):

1. Open Word.
2. Open the Normal.dot template.
3. Make your changes.
4. Then save as a template.

However, changing anything that has to do with automation (like removing or adding automatic hyphenation) isn't something that would be picked up by a template, and here's why:

Each Office program has different settings you can customize, and you need to make any changes to these settings within each program. Then, the next time you open any document, Web page, spreadsheet, or whatever type of Office file, those settings will still be there. Note that this will only work on your computer; not anyone else's, even if you're on a network. This is because these changes aren't (and can't be) part of a template; they are now part of your Office program's specific configuration and will apply to any document, Web page, spreadsheet, or whatever Office file you open.

A couple of settings that you may want to change are at the following locations:

• On the Tools menu, point to Language, and then click Hyphenation.

• On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.

Next time you create a new file (or open an existing one), these automatic features should kick in.

Taking control: Text boxes and passwords

The next two letters indicate their authors' need for control, for power, and for dominance. Hey, to each his/her own.

"I've attempted my own template — well kind of. Now, can I stop people from typing in the parts that I don't want them to type in, and how can I also create areas for them to put in their information?"

—Nice Nick

Dear Nick,

I have one word for you: text box (OK, that's two). A text box is a container that can be positioned on a page and sized, and it's a sure indication you want people to type there, particularly if the words "TYPE HERE" are in it...

"How can I lock templates to ensure that those who use them, do so to produce documents that all look the same, wherever they are produced?"

—Makin' Me Crazy Mike

Dear Mike,

Have some control issues? But OK, I see your point: Why create a template when just any goof-ball with an itchy Save finger can change it? The secret is: help protect your template with a password that others will have to enter before they can modify your precious template.

To create a password to modify your template

1. Open the template.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click Security.
3. In the Password to modify box, type a password, and then click OK.
   In the Reenter password to modify box, type the password again, and then click OK.

Now when someone opens the template, he'll get a message asking him for the password. If he clicks Read only (which he should), he can still make changes, but he can only save those changes as a document or as a template with a different name.

A caveat: Remember your password because, if you don't, you'll have to remake the template. And people will laugh at you and call you names.

"Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern." — Alfred North Whitehead

About the author

Annik Stahl, the Crabby Office Lady columnist, takes all of your complaints, compliments, and knee-jerk reactions to heart. Therefore, she graciously asks that you let her know whether this column was useful to you — or not — by entering your feedback using the Was this information helpful? tool below. And remember: If you don't vote, you can't complain.

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