[warmsmiles]

Why would I use a template as opposed to sharing a regular .doc file with
other people?

[Jay Freedman]

warmsmiles wrote:
Why would I use a template as opposed to sharing a regular .doc file
with other people?

One big reason is that if you just use a plain document, eventually somebody
will slip up and do a regular Save instead of a Save As to another name.
Then the "base" document is replaced with the one that has all the changes
in it. When you use a template, each document you base on it is separate,
and you really have to go out of your way to make changes to the template
itself.

Another reason is that there are things such as AutoText entries that must
be stored in a template and can't be stored in a document at all.

If you store macros in a document, you'll always get challenged by the macro
security prompt. If you store the macros in a template that's in your User
Templates or Workgroup Templates folder, there's no security prompt
(assuming you have the "Trust installed templates" option checked).

More reading:
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/temp...ons/index.html
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customizat...latesStore.htm
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customizat...platePart1.htm

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

[Beth Melton]

Along with the points Jay made, if you continue to reuse a document as
a template then each 'new' document that is created contains remnants
of the previous document which can begin to cause various issues.
Instead, you should create a new document based on a template each
time so each new document created is actually new and based on the
original.

Think of a document like a Kleenex, do you want a new, fresh, Kleenex
from the box one each time you need one or do you want someone to hand
you their used Kleenex their pocket?

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"warmsmiles" wrote in message
...
Why would I use a template as opposed to sharing a regular .doc file
with
other people?

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

That said, there are sometimes good and sufficient reasons for starting with
an old document. I can think of two:

1. I have a client who sends a lot of letters. Whenever he sends a letter to
a previous correspondent, he expects me to know the correct address. Since I
don't use Outlook for email, I don't have access to the Outlook address book
and so can't use it for addresses. Consequently, my letter templates have a
UserForm for inserting the address. When I have to create a new letter to an
old correspondent, much the easiest way is to start with the previous
letter.

2. My weekly Rotary bulletin has a complex layout that was at one time saved
as a template, but I never use the template because each week's bulletin
contains content carried over from the previous week. The content is not
completely static (so it's not something that can be included in a
template), but it changes slowly. Examples would be the list of program and
duty assignments for coming weeks. I could copy/paste content from one
bulletin to another, but it's much easier just to start with last week's
bulletin, delete the parts that aren't to be carried over, and start from
there.

--
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.

"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
Along with the points Jay made, if you continue to reuse a document as
a template then each 'new' document that is created contains remnants
of the previous document which can begin to cause various issues.
Instead, you should create a new document based on a template each
time so each new document created is actually new and based on the
original.

Think of a document like a Kleenex, do you want a new, fresh, Kleenex
from the box one each time you need one or do you want someone to hand
you their used Kleenex their pocket?

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"warmsmiles" wrote in message
...
Why would I use a template as opposed to sharing a regular .doc file
with
other people?

[Charles Kenyon]

With the letter addresses, I have a userform that pulls addresses (based on
styles) from older letters upon request; so I still use a template. I would
be happy to send you the form or post the code.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!

My criminal defense site: http://addbalance.com
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.


"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
That said, there are sometimes good and sufficient reasons for starting
with
an old document. I can think of two:

1. I have a client who sends a lot of letters. Whenever he sends a letter
to
a previous correspondent, he expects me to know the correct address. Since
I
don't use Outlook for email, I don't have access to the Outlook address
book
and so can't use it for addresses. Consequently, my letter templates have
a
UserForm for inserting the address. When I have to create a new letter to
an
old correspondent, much the easiest way is to start with the previous
letter.

2. My weekly Rotary bulletin has a complex layout that was at one time
saved
as a template, but I never use the template because each week's bulletin
contains content carried over from the previous week. The content is not
completely static (so it's not something that can be included in a
template), but it changes slowly. Examples would be the list of program
and
duty assignments for coming weeks. I could copy/paste content from one
bulletin to another, but it's much easier just to start with last week's
bulletin, delete the parts that aren't to be carried over, and start from
there.

--
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.

"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
Along with the points Jay made, if you continue to reuse a document as
a template then each 'new' document that is created contains remnants
of the previous document which can begin to cause various issues.
Instead, you should create a new document based on a template each
time so each new document created is actually new and based on the
original.

Think of a document like a Kleenex, do you want a new, fresh, Kleenex
from the box one each time you need one or do you want someone to hand
you their used Kleenex their pocket?

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"warmsmiles" wrote in message
...
Why would I use a template as opposed to sharing a regular .doc file
with
other people?

[Charles Kenyon]

Reused documents become loaded with all sorts of baggage, some not so
obvious. They are more prone to corruption and also to unintentional changes
propogating. For more on the different kinds of templates, tabs on the file
new dialog, and locations of templates folders see
http://addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm.
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

"warmsmiles" wrote in message
...
Why would I use a template as opposed to sharing a regular .doc file with
other people?

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

No, thanks. Most of the letters are originals, for which I use a template.
The repeats are small, throwaway documents (1-2 pages) and don't seem to be
prone to corruption.

--
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.

"Charles Kenyon" wrote in message
...
With the letter addresses, I have a userform that pulls addresses (based
on
styles) from older letters upon request; so I still use a template. I
would
be happy to send you the form or post the code.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!

My criminal defense site: http://addbalance.com
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.


"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
That said, there are sometimes good and sufficient reasons for starting
with
an old document. I can think of two:

1. I have a client who sends a lot of letters. Whenever he sends a
letter
to
a previous correspondent, he expects me to know the correct address.
Since
I
don't use Outlook for email, I don't have access to the Outlook address
book
and so can't use it for addresses. Consequently, my letter templates
have
a
UserForm for inserting the address. When I have to create a new letter
to
an
old correspondent, much the easiest way is to start with the previous
letter.

2. My weekly Rotary bulletin has a complex layout that was at one time
saved
as a template, but I never use the template because each week's bulletin
contains content carried over from the previous week. The content is not
completely static (so it's not something that can be included in a
template), but it changes slowly. Examples would be the list of program
and
duty assignments for coming weeks. I could copy/paste content from one
bulletin to another, but it's much easier just to start with last week's
bulletin, delete the parts that aren't to be carried over, and start
from
there.

--
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.

"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
Along with the points Jay made, if you continue to reuse a document as
a template then each 'new' document that is created contains remnants
of the previous document which can begin to cause various issues.
Instead, you should create a new document based on a template each
time so each new document created is actually new and based on the
original.

Think of a document like a Kleenex, do you want a new, fresh, Kleenex
from the box one each time you need one or do you want someone to hand
you their used Kleenex their pocket?

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"warmsmiles" wrote in message
...
Why would I use a template as opposed to sharing a regular .doc file
with
other people?