When you double-click on a .dot file, you always get a new document because
the default action for .dot files is New. If you're doing this in Windows
Explorer, you can right-click and choose Open instead.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Kevin" wrote in message
news
Ok, this seems to be a partial solution:

Did what you suggested and it worked. I opened Word first, then went to
FileOpen, changed Files of Type to templates, then opened the .dot file.
When I click Save, it works fine.

However, if I double-click the file to open it directly, I still have
problems. For some reason, after I make changes to the file, click Save,
it
wants to save as a .doc file. If I select save as .dot, then select to
replace the existing .dot file, it tells me I can't replace the existing
file
(it says it cannot save the document with the same name as an open
document),
and once again prompts me to rename the document I'm trying to save.

It seems like I'm missing something. It should act the same no matter
which
of these two ways I open it, right?

"CyberTaz" wrote:

Hi Kevin-

If I understand your question, I get the impression that you are not
opening
the .dot when you want to revise it. Instead you are creating a new doc
_based on_ the template. That would explain why you are being prompted
to
name it when you save. The other possibility is that you have been
misled by
the Template option in the FileNewTemplates dialog box. That option
generates a new .dot file based on the .dot you choose, it doesn't open
the
original .dot, itself.

If you do want to modify the original .dot, navigate to the folder where
it
is stored as you would navigate to a folder to open any other file, but
change your Files of Type (below the File Name field) to Document
Template.
You can then save as usual directly to that .dot file without being
prompted
to rename.

If I've missed the point, please clarify.

HTH |:)

"Kevin" wrote:

I've created a Word 2003 template (.dot file). I'd like for this file
to save
back to the .dot file without having to rename it whenever I open and
make
changes to the .dot file. Is this possible? In other words, is there a
way to
change the default save setting(s) for a Word document/template?