Creating a template from scratch is easy! In a
regular blank document, insert text and apply formatting as you
would any document. You may want to include blank lines or
spaces where information needs to be filled in. You can also
use form fields, which you may have noticed in some of the existing
templates that are packaged with Word. Look for a tutorial on
creating forms in Word coming soon. For now, here are some
bare bones basics that can be used to create simple form fields in
your templates:
Using a text form field:
-
Right-click on any existing toolbar, and choose Forms
from the toolbar menu. The Forms toolbar is
displayed as below. You can also choose to display this
toolbar by selecting Toolbars and Forms from the View
menu.
-
Place the insertion point at the location where
you need to insert a field. Choose the Text Form Field
button from the Forms toolbar. A gray blank is
inserted in the document.
-
Double-click
on the gray blank to choose options for your text form field.
It is helpful to insert default text in template form fields so
the user of the template knows what type of data to insert in
the field. Note that the gray areas do not show when
printed, however, text entered into the gray areas does.
Take a look at the following simple example:
The
default text, such as "[insert first name here]", was
typed into the Text Form Field Options dialog box as shown
below.
At a
glance, anyone that is using the sample template above can see areas
that need to be filled in and also knows what to enter into each
field.
-
Once
the document is formatted to your liking, from the File
menu, choose Save.
-
Choose
Document Template in the Save as type field.
In Word 2000, you are automatically directed to the Templates
folder.
-
Type
a name for your template and choose Save.
By
saving in the Templates folder, your template appears under
the File/New/General tab, as below.
To
create a document based on your template, simply be sure that Document
is selected in the Create New field.
Creating
templates for documents provides consistency in your organization
and preserves document formats for continual use. Why not take
advantage of this great tool in Word?
