AutoText fields could still be useful if you include an AutoClose macro to
unlink them.

--
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 ...
Yes, there is. Actually there are several ways. I'll go into a couple
here.
The way I do it is to have one (or more) base letterhead templates. These
contain the letterhead as well as letter styles. The template contains a
document variable with the template's name. An autonew macro in the
template
checks against the variable to see whether the template's name matches the
variable. If not, it finds the base template and copies the letterhead
information and styles from the base template. (A variation actually
attaches the new document to the base template upon completion of the
AutoNew macro.)

Dependent templates are then created that contain form text. When a
document
is created based on the dependent template, the AutoNew macro pulls in the
updated info from the base template. Changes made to the base template are
thus incorporated in any new documents created.

A more elegant solution is to only use one template with a userform and
with
boilerplate text in AutoText. On starting the new document, the userform
pops up and asks which letter form you want. You check a choice and your
boilerplate is inserted in the letter and you proceed from there. The
problem with this solution is that you need someone competent in vba to
not
just create the system but to maintain it. Any time a new form letter is
needed, someone has to add the AutoText to the template and then change
the
userform to allow for that particular form.

I use my method because for me it is essential that the saved document be
historically correct. That is, once a new document is created, I want to
be
able to print it three years later and get the same document that I had
when
it was created (without updates). A new document, created from the same
template though, will have the new information. If this isn't necessary
for
you, an easier solution is to put your letterhead elements into AutoText
in
a global template and use AutoText fields in your document templates that
draw on those entries. Doing it this way, it is possible that the
historical
document will have the new data unless you take steps to prevent that
happening.

Take a look at: How to set up letterhead or some other document where you
want one header on the first page and a different header on other pages.
http://www.addbalance.com/word/headersfooters.htm This won't give further
guidance on your specific question but should help you in setting up a
solid
letterhead template. (It also has the following links)

Some other pages to look at:

Letterhead Tips and Instructions
http://home.earthlink.net/~wordfaqs/Letterhead.htm

Letterhead Textboxes and Styles tutorial

http://addbalance.com/word/download....StylesTutorial

Template Basics
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm

How to Create a Template - Part 2 - essential reading
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Custom...platePart2.htm


Hope this helps,
--

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://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
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"Mason Jeffrys, Dolores Street Community" Mason Jeffrys, Dolores Street
Community @discussions.microsoft.com wrote in message
...
We're a small nonprofit so I hope someone has an easy and quick
solution!

Rather than reprinting our letterhead every time our board of directors
change (pretty often), we use a template in Word with the board listed
in
a
text box that I can update easily enough and manage. However, other
staff
end up using old version or forgetting where to save it so it shows up
as
an
option. So I'm wondering if there's some way to use linked or embedded
objects so that the template on thier work station is updated
automatically
over the server from one master version such that the staff don't have
to
do
anything? Thanks!