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A question about where to store Templates in Word

Anonymous
2024-04-10T18:24:23+00:00

Hi,

I figured out how to save a file as a template file on Word.

I have 2 technical questions:

  1. Where do I find the folder where I should save the template file?
  2. Is it possible to save the template files on the One Drive so that several users will have access to the exact template file when they load a new document?
Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows

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  1. Charles Kenyon 166.7K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2024-04-10T20:04:05+00:00

    Charles,

    Thank you so much for sending the links and for the detailed response. I was refereeing to a shared OneDrive. What if all the users have the same OneDrive folder as their personal Template folder? Would that work? I am trying to organize our office so we can be more efficient. What we have been doing up until now was copping an existing Doc file that we assigned as a Template and saving it as a new one, then editing it accordingly. This process seems a bit archaic and non-professional.

    I really appreciate your tips about how to build a Template by the way!

    They should NOT have a shared User Templates folder.

    That is the storage location for each user's Normal.dotm template, which should not be shared.

    They could have a folder on OneDrive designated as their Workgroup Templates folder in their Word settings, though. That folder can have subfolders organized by topic or department or whatever.

    I would recommend that this folder be Read-Only for all but one person authorized to make changes to the templates.

    That should not be the same folder designated for the default storage location for new templates. That should be a folder on the local computers for each. If someone wants to share a template, have them give it to the person who has access to the Workgroup templates.

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  1. Charles Kenyon 166.7K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2024-04-10T18:48:17+00:00

    I have found where I can see the folder of the Template file. (it's in Options under Save). Still not sure if I can save the Templates onto the One Drive so multiple users can use the same exact template.

    What you are seeing is the default save location for templates that you save.

    My preference is to set this to the same folder as the user templates folder. That way both the recent File > New dialog and the legacy FileNew dialog will get you to the same templates. This is discussed in my previously linked page.

    However, this is not a good location for your shared template.

    Your OneDrive folders are not available to your co-workers unless shared.

    When stored on OneDrive (or SharePoint), the template may act more like a document than a template. These days, it will still create a new document but likely will not show up under File > New when trying to create a new document from within Word. It may not share Quick Parts / Building Blocks with documents created from it. I believe this is also true of any keyboard shortcuts or macros in the template.

    [Edit: I just tested using my OneDrive and both Quick Parts and Keyboard Shortcuts stored in a template on OneDrive were available in a document created from the template. I believe this is a recent (and likely unannounced) fix. I haven't checked macros. I suspect but do not know that this fix applies to SharePoint templates as well. I still argue for using the Workgroup Templates folder, though, for templates to be shared.]

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  2. Charles Kenyon 166.7K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2024-04-10T18:37:57+00:00

    Here is my page on Templates in Microsoft Word.

    Where to save it depends on the type of template.

    A document template to be shared in a workplace is best store in a Workgroup Templates folder. If stored there, it shows up under File > New. (See File New Variations in the Versions of Word.)

    Templates stored on OneDrive and SharePoint do not behave quite the same. If copied to the local computer, they do. They can also be stored on a network drive and work from there. However, I recommend storing them on the network drive and copying/updating on the local drives as part of the network login process.

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-04-10T18:41:26+00:00

    I have found where I can see the folder of the Template file. (it's in Options under Save). Still not sure if I can save the Templates onto the One Drive so multiple users can use the same exact template.

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