Document vs. Template Files

Applies to
The information in this topic applies only to the specified Visual Studio Tools for Office projects and versions of Microsoft Office. Project type Document-level projects Microsoft Office version Excel 2003 Excel 2007 Word 2003 Word 2007 For more information, see Features Available by Application and Project Type.

When you design a solution around a Microsoft Office Word document or Microsoft Office Excel workbook, you must decide the best way to make that document available to your users.

In some situations, you might want to give a copy of a document to each user. In this case, create your solution by using an Excel or Word document project.

In other situations you might want to make a template available on a server, so that each user can open the template and save a local copy as a document. In this case, create your solution by using an Excel or Word template project.

Comparison

The following table outlines the differences between documents and templates.

Documents	Templates
Users can open and modify a document, unless it is set to be read-only. Any saved changes are kept in the original.	Users can open a template to create a local copy as a new document. They cannot modify the original unless they are given special permissions.
When opened, the document raises the Open event.	When opened, the template raises the New event.

See Also

Concepts

Walkthroughs Using Word

Deployment Models (2003 System)

Deployment Overview (2007 System)

Visual Studio Tools for Office Project Templates Overview

Creating Office Solutions in Visual Studio

Other Resources

Office Project Templates