Shauna has addressed most of the points I was going to make, but herewith a
few more comments:
1. Although the word "template" has many meanings in the world in general,
in Word it means one thing: a .dot file. You could regard a mail merge main
document as a sort of template, and many users reuse documents as templates,
but neither is a .dot file, so it isn't a *Word* template.
2. Templates can be constructed and used in many ways:
* Some of the Word templates at Office Online depend heavily on text boxes
and graphic elements (the sort of layout really more suitable for
Publisher), and these can be very confusing if you want to customize them
very much.
* Many of the templates that ship with Word include "wizards" (basically
just UserForms) that allow you to enter text to be inserted at specific
points in the resulting document or added to a modified template.
* Many of these built-in templates use MacroButton fields for entering text
or checking boxes. Most users find these easy to use but puzzling to
duplicate.
* Some templates (such as invoices) use form fields and formula fields. Some
are a blank slate that provides only a set of styles; others provide a lot
of built-in formatting (fancy headers/footers, watermarks, etc.).
All this depends on what they are intended to do. If what you are trying to
do with a template doesn't match what it is intended to do, then you are
going to be frustrated.
I submit, however, that it is always helpful to get as much information as
you can about the "shape" and construction of a document by displaying
nonprinting characters, text boundaries, table gridlines, and all the other
available clues (see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/RevealCodes.htm).
Something as simple as being able to see that a résumé is set up as a table
would help a lot of users.
--
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.
"TheWheel" wrote in message
...
Suzanne, Indeed. The reason Eskimos are reputted to have seven different
names for "snow" is that there are seven significantly different
relationships to snow, for the eskimo.
I'm beginning to believe that "templates" covers an almost equal number of
significant differences with only one indistinct term: templates.
I used to create a boiler plate of text and save it in a file I would
re-use
to cut down typing required... I called that a template at one time. The
fill
in data was just missing. Nothing fancy. Later Satelite Software Inc
produced
a word processor that would mail merge a list with a letter. The letter
was
considered to be a template. The merge points were "fields." That seemed
more
deserving of the term template.
MS Word seems to cover both of these and several other very distinct
techniques under an almost uselessly general term: templates. Thus, as you
point out, without specific instructions or technical inspection of a
template, being that it migh be any one of several very different things,
it
is impossible to characterize a "template" operationally, or to provide
"How
to use" instructions, because it is litterally impossible to know what is
being talked about.
I was interested in using the online Business letter templates, provided
through the Microsoft online mechanism.
Thank you for your patience and clarity. Being as their are "7" different
things a template can be, there are at least "7" very different sets of
instuctions relative to operating them. Getting an answer would require
knowing both which technology had been used, and how it had been
implemented,
and the creators intention relative to use.
thanks. David
"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote:
Yes, it is very difficult to get to the File New dialog in Word
2002/2003.
To do so, you must use File | New... and then select "On my computer"
in
the New Document task pane. The article to which you refer was probably
written for Word 2000 or earlier, where File | New... took you straight
to
the dialog (see
http://sbarnhill.mvps.org/WordFAQs/C...ngWord2002.htm
for instructions on regaining this functionality). In that dialog you
can
create a new template.
But that is not what you're asking. If you will tell us exactly which
template you're using (give the URL from which you downloaded it), we
can
tell you how it's supposed to be used. These templates are mostly
provided
by third parties (not Microsoft) and use a variety of different
formatting
options. Many templates use MacroButton NoMacro fields; these usually
have
text such as [Type name here], and when you click on them, they are
selected
and you overtype them. Other fields may be intended to be filled by a
UserForm (wizard) that runs when you create a new document based on the
template. But we don't have any way of knowing which of these techniques
(or
some other) has been used unless we know which template you're talking
about.
--
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.
"TheWheel" wrote in message
...
To provide you with an example of what is not helpful... take the
following
linked document/instructions:
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=22
I would copy and paste verbatim, but I think it may be protected...
(against
what I ask)
Open a blank template in Word by clicking File|New and be sure to
choose
the
TEMPLATE option before you click OK.
Aside from the fact that there is no TEMPLATE option in Word 2003 
Do you understand at all? Not one entire instruction into the process,
and
it does not work. It isn't even possible as written.
I'm getting an irritating right hand panel with many icons and links,
even
headers and a search field, and nothing remotely resembling the
ability to
"choose TEMPLATES" and certainly no OK Button.
So, for clarity, again, I would suggest to MICROSOFT that they make
sure
available instructions actually are POSSIBLE to follow.
Hmmm. Is that really such a revolutionary idea?
David
"TheWheel" wrote:
Thank you to all in the chain.
However, I must assume I have been unclear.
I wish to use a pre-existing, Microsoft provided template, obtained
through
the "live" link to templates from inside Word 2003.
By "use" I mean to understand the significance of areas that are
"gray"
and
appear to be fields for input of my information.
I asked several very specific and very mechanical questions
concerning
whether these "gray" spots are intended only to be "overstriken" and
obliterated, or whether there may be some slightly more sufisticated
manner
available to obtain "replacements" of those values.
For all the effort Microsoft help demonstrates, and the efforts of
the
good
people above in this thread, I do not see anything addressing these
very
straightforward mechanical questions.
I am starting to suspect that Instead of using all caps for CLIENT
NAME
and
just typing over it, some people use macrobuttons, not to run macros
at
all,
but simply to be obliterated by typing over them. Seems like a gross
waste of
horsepower. Of course, this really doesn't address the order of
operations
required to change a document rather than the template when doing
so.
If I were addressing Microsoft (do "they" listen?) I would suggest
that
every help topic be reviewed with respect to: Why does one want to
do
this?
What other alternatives are there? From the beginning, what is done?
And
avoid generalities in the instructions portion of the help.
Exemplify by
picking an instance and making an example of it.
Thanks for all your efforts, and any future comments you may wish to
make.
-- David
"Shauna Kelly" wrote:
Hi Wheel
To add to what JoAnn and Charles said, it's worth bearing in mind
that
people create templates for different reasons. When you create a
new
document from a template, you'll see quite different things
depending
on
what the template creator had in mind. Here are some examples:
1. A template might be created to help people use appropriate
formatting.
When you create a new document from the template, the body of the
document
might be completely empty. You can just type the text you choose.
Businesses
create templates like this to help you use the standard formatting
the
business has chosen. So when you apply, say, the Heading 1 style,
Heading 1
might be defined as blue Arial 16pt. In a different template,
Heading
1
might be green Times New Roman 18pt.
Some templates like this have additional toolbars to help you
insert
standard pieces of text, or to apply styles (like Heading 1)
easily,
or to
provide extra functionality to Word.
2. A template might be set up to help you lay out a complex
document.
A
template for a newsletter or flyer might be like this. It may be
laid
out in
columns, it might have a banner on the front with place for a
logo.
3. A template might be set up as a form, for example an
Application
for
Leave form. So the template will include text (like "Name") and a
place for
you to type your name. Some form-type templates are simple forms
where
you
type where indicated. Some might be partly protected so the
template
will
only allow you to type in the right places. Some can be quite
sophisticated.
For example, when you type your name, the template might look up
your
name
in a database, find your supervisor's name and automatically add
the
supervisor's name to the document.
4. Other templates are designed to give you standard text as a
starting
point for your document. In a business, you might have a standard
contract
for buying goods and services. The template would hold all the
required text
of the contract, perhaps dozens of pages of text. It may have
places
for you
to type the name of the supplier, the price and so on. Templates
like
this
may or may not care much about formatting or layout.
5. Some templates use a wizard. When you create a new document
from
this
kind of template, a wizard opens that asks you for information,
and
then
puts the information into the new document. There are some
built-in
wizards
in Word. Try File New. In the Task pane at the right, click On
My
Computer. Now, on the Other Documents tab, click the Calendar
Wizard,
and
then click OK.
There are several templates built in to Word (which you can access
through
File New and "On my computer"). You can download templates from
Microsoft
at
http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/te...323741033.aspx.
And, of
course, you can create your own templates.
Hope this helps.
Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word
"TheWheel" wrote in message
...
Nothing I've seen starts at the begining and moves forward!
Simple! How do you use a template?
File Projects My Templates?
THEN WHAT?
Are there ANY fields, or do I just type stuff on?
If I need additional sets of things, what do I do? Just type
them
in, or
copy and paste the template lines?
How should I replace the template text? Search and replace?
Highlight and
Type? Type and delete?
How how how!