Creating and Changing Default and Custom Templates

When you open a new document with File - New, a blank document appears based on a Office template. You can edit, modify, or replace this template so that the new document contains your customised Styles or other contents.

You can define document templates for each Office application.

Creating a Default Template

First, open either an existing Office template and modify it, or open a new document and edit it as necessary to create the desired template.
Save the document by choosing File - Templates - Save as Template, then enter the template name, click the Set as default template checkbox, and save in the My Templates category.
The next time you open a new text document, the new document will be based on this new default template.

Modifying a Default Template

Choose File - Templates - Manage Templates.
Use Filter to select the type of document.
The default template is marked with a green check mark. Right-click that template and choose Edit.
Make desired changes, choose File - Save, and close the document.
When you open a new document, the modified default template will be used.

Office provides built-in presentation templates, which cannot be edited, renamed, or deleted. To modify a built-in presentation template, open a document using the template, modify, then save as a new template.

Office provides built-in templates for Writer, which cannot be edited, renamed, or deleted. To modify a built-in template, open a document using the template, modify, then save as a new template.

Setting a Template as Default

Choose File - Templates - Manage Templates.
Right-click on template to be made default, choose Set as Default.

Creating a Custom Template

First, open either an existing Office template and modify it, or open a new document and edit it as necessary to create the desired template.
Choose File - Templates - Save As Template, then enter the template name, choose a Template category, and save.

Modifying a Custom Template

Choose File - Templates - Manage Templates.
Right-click on the template to be modified, and choose Edit.
Make desired changes, choose File - Save, and close the document.

Saving a Template in the Template Folder

You can save any document as a template by selecting "Template" file type in the Save dialogue box. To access the template from the Template Manager, save the template in the User Paths directory specified for Templates in Tools - Options - Office - Paths. It is often easier to save a document with File - Templates - Save As Template, because it automatically places the template in the appropriate directory.

The Template Manager is the preferred method for working with templates. File - New - Templates and File - Templates - Manage Templates are equivalent for opening the Template Manager. Ctrl+Shift+N is the predefined shortcut key.