How can I ensure that a *.dot is opened as a *.doc?

[Mirco]

Hello,

I've made some templates for my collegues in Word. Now they often open Word
and go via File>Open> and click on the *.dot file, which opens the template
itself. I know that there is no problem if the template is in a template
folder but if I let the IT department put it there, I'll always have problems
changing the template.

Please help,

Mirco.

 

[Bill Foley]

You can put your templates in a network folder and have each computer set
it's "Workgroup Templates" to point to that folder (under "Tools",
"Options", "File Locations" TAB). If you want to get fancier and have a
document management system approach, check out this link:

http://www.pttinc.com/doc_management.html

 

[Charles Kenyon]

Put them in a workgroup templates folder and train your users to use them
with the File > New command. You can put an AutoOpen macro in the template
that forces the creation of a new document but this only works if macros are
enabled. A key thing is to train people to create new documents. You do not
open templates to use them. There are a number of ways to get new documents
from templates. Most require vba but not all. You may want to take a look at
http://www.addbalance.com/word/templatesmenu.htm.

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.