Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Opening a Template.

Opening a Template

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated May 2, 2020)

Templates are used to define how a document and the Word interface should look. To open a template file, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Open from the File menu, or click on the Open tool on the toolbar. You will see the Open File dialog box.
  2. At the bottom of the dialog box you can specify the type of files you want Word to list. Using the Files of Type drop-down list, select Document Templates.
  3. Using the controls in the dialog box, browse through directories and disks drives as desired, until the desired template files are listed.
  4. Select the desired document template.
  5. Click on the Open button.

You can now make changes in the template, just as you would in any other document. When you save the changes, they are available the next time you create a document based on the template.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1668) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Opening a Template.

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. ...

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