Yeah, I understand your frustration. The Help is outrageously bad.
The reason is that Microsoft is not so keen on templates any more: they hope
they will go away, because their various modern "security measures" tend to
remove much of their usefulness.
So I guess my first suggestion would be "Don't bother with them, they are
more trouble than they're worth."
That said, I do use them, but I have put a lot of work into learning how.
To cure your immediate problem, you have to know that there are two ways of
opening them: Using File>Open within Word, or "any other method".
If you use File>Open within Word, you will open the template in Edit mode.
You can then change it and save it.
Template are frequently locked read-only on the network: in which case, when
you attempt to open you will get a read-only copy, which you must then save
under a different name.
If you open a template by "any other method" in Windows, Word will create a
new document based upon the template, which you will have to assign a file
name to and save. A Document is not a template: it has a different internal
file structure, and does not contain all of the things a template does.
On Windows, the rules are simple: If you use File>Open, you will edit the
original, it's not a copy and it's still a template. If you double-click
from Windows Explorer, you will get a document, it's not a template, it's
based on the template and remains attached to the template.
On Mac, the rules are different. If you double-click on Mac, older versions
of Word will open the template, not copy it. This was fixed in Mac Word
2008, so Word 2008 now does the same as Windows: it will copy and attach a
template if you double-click in the Finder.
To try to simplify it, use File>Open on a template only if you want to edit
the template. Use any other method of opening if you want a copy.
If you use "Open as Copy" on the Mac, you will be handed a copy (a template)
not a document created from the template. Use "Open" if you want to edit
the template, use File>Project Gallery (or double-click in the Finder) if
you want a document.
Hope this helps
Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) Processor: Intel
Can someone point me to an easy to understand overview of templates. (windows
word and mac word both irritate me). How to use, why to use, ....how to edit
Issues- open to edit and have to save with a different name and rename once it
is closed. I.e. it won't let you edit it and simply overwrite.
.dot files don't always seem to create a .doc file, more commonly on word 2003
(windows) but word 2008 as well they seem to try and save the dot file with
the new name.
This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!
--
John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:
[email protected]