Finding Where Templates Are Stored

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 28, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

It is unfortunate that Microsoft does not make it easier to modify templates. The first step in modifying templates is to load one, and that means you need to know where they are stored on disk. Regrettably, the average user hasn't a clue where they are stored on disk. The problem is that even Word Help cannot say exactly where the templates folder is on any particular computer.

If you want to know where your templates are stored, follow these steps:

Choose Options from the Tools menu. Word displays the Options dialog box.
Choose the File Locations tab. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The File Locations tab of the Options dialog box.

In the File Types list, choose User Templates. If the path for the templates is short enough, you may be able to see it in the dialog box right now. If so, you can skip steps 4 and 5.
Click the Modify button (even though you won't be modifying anything.). Word displays the Modify Location dialog box.
The Look In drop-down list, at the top of the dialog box, contains the current path name used for templates.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (862) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Automatically Selecting Words

When editing a document, Word normally selects entire words as you use the mouse to select text. This tip explains why ...

Discover More

Changing the Size of a Drawing Object

Add a drawing object to your worksheet, and at some point you may want to change that object's size. You can easily ...

Discover More

Spell-checking Uppercase Words

Excel's spell-checker normally checks uppercase words for spelling. If your worksheet contains a lot of acronyms, you ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

What Changes Did I Make In that Template?

When you make changes that affect a template, Word usually asks you if you want to save those changes when you exit the ...

Discover More

How Word Treats Normal.dot

Templates are at the core of how Word creates and formats documents. From the earliest days of Word, the most basic of ...

Discover More

Working on Shared Templates

In many companies it is common to have standard templates accessible through the internal network. If you have templates ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 1 + 1?

2022-06-06 08:19:11

Allen

Michael,

If you say "no idea which version of MS-Word your using," you obviously haven't read the tip. At the very beginning, in the gray box before the title, it says that this tip is for users of Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. A similar notice appears at the very end end of the tip. A notice appears at the top of the right sidebar that informs visitors this is for old versions. In a couple of places there is a link for a version of this tip that applies to newer versions.

So, to fault this for being out of date is to not understand what is being presented and not to understand, even though clearly stated multiple times, that instructions for newer versions are available.

I agree with you that I "really needs to say something" about the version. However, I can't help it if I DO put that information in several places and people don't notice it or don't read it.

-Allen

2022-06-06 04:57:57

Michael

Hey buddy ... no idea which version of MS-Word you're using, but the steps I take to find the location of the templates is nothing like what you've described, and your instructions would only upset a novice.

While the article say update April 2022 ... it looks like a very old version of Word. And that's my concern.

The only similarity I had to the steps I took as compared with your instructions is that I did need to choose "Options" at some point.

You really need to say something like "this little tip works for Word version XX. (Obviously where "XX" is whatever version of Office you're running.)

In Office 365 (and possibly more recent versions, you need to:
- Click "File"
- Click "Options" ... down at the bottom LHS
- Click "Advanced"
- Scroll down quite a bit to "General", and you'll see a button in that section for "File Locations".
Clicking the "File Locations" button shows the one tab that is displayed in your picture above., And yes, you can click on the line "User Templates", and then click "Modify" to see the location.

I'm unsure of whether you're suggesting in your instructions that you can modify the location - that's not clear ... but I certainly can, so anyone trying to find the location might need to take care not to mess it up once they work out where it is.

I hope this helps some poor soul who's lost in MS-Office's ever changing feats of a User Experience.

2018-07-06 06:02:10

Zippy

I don't know if you noticed this, but "Finding where templates are stored" has a very nice rhythm to it. I'm sorely tempted to caper around our office singing, "Finding where templates are stored, oh my." I didn't want that promotion anyway.

2018-05-02 15:52:26

Grant

Choose Options from the Tools menu

Where is the Tools menu? I don't see it in the ribbon at the top. Can't find it when I click File.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.