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Creating and Using Templates in Microsoft Word

Knowing how to use a Word template can save a lot of time and help to produce professional looking and standardized documents for your organization.  Most of the formatting and other administrative tasks involved in creating Word documents and their layouts can be done for you if you create your templates correctly. 

You really shouldn’t create a new template for a document that you will just use once, but if you use a type of document many times over, such as invoices, letterhead or newsletters, the use of template (.dot )files can be very helpful. They can store features like auto text, styles, shortcut keys, custom toolbars, and macros. One can use the style and features of an original document by saving it as a template in Microsoft word. All the data relating to these items are stored in the template, rather than the document (.doc) itself.  If you store a document as a .dot file, all of the formatting is already done for you – and you don’t have to start “from scratch”.

Every Word document has a template associated with it. When you open up a new Word document, the template associated with that new document (by default) is Normal.dot. This is the default template that Microsoft has created for you and what ships with Microsoft Word.

But what if you never use Times New Roman, and prefer to use Arial in all of your documents? And you like your top and bottom margins to be .5”, not 1”? Then you need to know how to use Templates!

You can edit the formatting of the ‘blank’ document that pops up when you open a new Word. To do this, go to C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates – open the Normal.dot file, make your changes, and save.  The New Blank Document which will open in the future will automatically show these changes.

Templates are especially useful if multiple people use the same document.  Instead of having everyone work on a .doc, where it’s very easy to overwrite the document with new changes, a template is, by its nature, read-only. People can use the same template over and over and no one will override it accidentally because that has to be done manually.

Saving a Document as a Template

To save a document as a template, simply create a new document with the settings and format you prefer and then save as with these steps:
File > Save As > Change the File Type to .dot (in the pulldown)

Word will typically change the file path to the Template destination folder. It’s best practice to save all of your templates in the same folder. If Word doesn’t take you to the default Template folder (typically C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates), I recommend that you do this manually.

Generating a Document from a Template

In order to create a new document using a template, you can’t just click the “New Blank Document” icon on the toolbar or use CTRL+N, (doing this will simply open the default Normal.dot). To use your own templates, you must go to File > New, and then choose Templates > On My Computer.

And lastly, when using a template to create a document, remember to save it as a document (.doc,) instead of another template (.dot).

Have questions or need help creating your own Templates? Let me help.

Using AutoCorrect and Find and Replace in Microsoft Word

Old habits die hard... so when you find yourself with changing circumstances it can be difficult to quickly adapt. For example, did you know that the new standard in online media is one space after a period instead of two? For someone who has been typing for 20 years or more that can be a difficult standard to relearn.  

Luckily there are some band-aids embedded in the software that we use. In the example above, which is a simple one, there are several solutions that we could utilize if we are using Microsoft Word. For existing documents that need to be converted to the new standard, a simple find and replace will do it.

CTRL+H brings up the find and replace dialog box in any version, which you will notice has tabs for Find and Goto. These last two are navigation tools that are mostly helpful in larger documents. In 2007 there is a section of the Home ribbon that gives access to all three as well as select.   

In Find what: type a period and two spaces '.  '  (without the single quotes.)

In Replace with: type a period with a single space '. ' 

If you are confident that every situation in the document can be converted without creating problems, then by all means boldly click Replace All and - *poof* - your document has a single space after each period.  

But what about new documents? Of course we can learn to use one space over time. However, we can expect many slips along the way. As a stopgap we can use the AutoCorrect feature to catch our error and fix it in real-time. 

AutoCorrect is one of those things that is wonderful when it works, and maniacal when it works against you. On the plus side, if you type v-e-y-r, Word will recognize that you probably meant v-e-r-y and will swap the letters around for you. There are dozens of pre-programmed items that correct common typing, spelling, and grammatical errors. Also included are some helpful shortcuts. Need a copyright or a trademark symbol? You could Insert > Symbols and scroll through to find it. Or you could type (c) or (tm) respectively and Word will replace it with the appropriate symbol. This is great unless you are actually trying to type (c)!

To find the AutoCorrect (in 2007) click the Office Button > WordOptions > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options.  In 2003 go to Tools > AutoCorrect Options...  

The list that ships with Word is only a starting point. We could easily add the '.  ' to '. ' example to the list. We can also remove items from the list.  A lawyer or architect that often quotes statutes or building codes might be annoyed when typing 1501.21(c) and the (c) switches to a copyright symbol! So if AutoCorrect is being 'too helpful' for you, simply open up the AutoCorrect list and delete this entry. Problem solved. 

A related feature is the exceptions list. Word defaults to correcting words that begin with two capital letters instead of one. So if I entered MIcrosoft, this feature would automatically change it to Microsoft. Since every industry has its own quirks and jargon this can be frustrating if what you are typing is not a mistake. For example an architect, in addition to specifying building codes, may use the abbreviation AB for as-built. If it is common practice in the industry to refer to these as ABs (without an apostrophe) and Word will automatically change it to Abs.  To avoid the problem we need to add an exception to the list. 

From the AutoCorrections dialog box click the Exceptions... button to bring up the AutoCorrect Exceptions dialog box.  Click on the cleverly mis-capitalized INitial CAps tab, and add ABs to the list.  Word ships with IDs as the only default exception.  

If you spend some time exploring all of the correction options you will see that they are pretty extensive.  And between the selectable options and specific lists, there is almost always a way for you to get Word to behave to fit your needs.  

And if you need additional assistance or have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Mail Merge in Microsoft Word

As promised, here is the simplest set of instructions on mail merge that I can provide.  These instructions are not materially different for 2007 although the ribbon functions are not menu driven.  Make sure that you have familiarized yourself with Named Ranges before starting.  We will assume that your names and addresses are already setup properly in Excel as Contacts.xls with a named range 'ContactList.'

If you are reading this post in desperation while trying to mail merge under a deadline then use your real data and follow along.  If you are just trying to learn, then you may want to download this Excel file which contains a generic list of fake names and addresses to practice with:

Download Contacts 

We will create labels based on the Avery Label templates #5160 which has 30 labels per sheet.  Start a new blank document.  If not visible, enable the mailmerge toolbar.  Click 'Main Document Setup' and select document type 'labels.'

Under label information choose Avery Standard, Product Number '5160 - Address.'

 

Now we are basically going to go down the line of the toolbar buttons.  Although the order we use is not critical, there is no reason to get creative.  Select Open Data Source.  Navigate to your contact list and click Open.  Under the select table dialog box, select the named table 'ContactList' created previously and click OK.

At this point we have connected the two files but not shown Word how to use the connection.  The Document will show <<Next Record>> for each label. 

Now we want to get specific.  Click 'Mail Merge Recipients.'  This will give us access to the data from Excel contained in our named range.  Here we select only those people we want to include in our list of labels.  For our example we will leave the default (all.)  This is the point that you run into trouble if you haven't constrained your list to a finite range.  You will get thousands of blanks.  

Now we want to build the label.  The label can contain a combination of text and fields.  For example, you could insert an image and type Happy Holidays across the bottom before inserting the name and address fields.  These would show up on each label.  

Select insert merge label and select each field and click insert in the order in which you would like them to appear:  First, Last, Street, City, Zip Code.  If you have named your headers in Excel using non standard expressions that Word cannot reconcile into common field names then you can click 'Match Fields...' to double check or correct translating your Excel columns into standard Word fields.  Then click Close.

We have just inserted each field into one row.  Now we need to go through and add spaces, commas, new lines, etc.  to make the label how we want it to look.  Go ahead and change fonts at this time as well.  Note that only the first label will show the correct fields. The others will still show only <<next record>>.  

Click view merged data to populate the first label with real information.  If you are following along with my example file, then you should see the fictitious Daniel Anderson.  This is the first record (row) in our Excel list.  If it looks right, the click 'Propagate Labels' which looks like a refresh button.  This will take the information from the first master label and copy it to all of the other labels.  If you have toggled View Merged Data on, then it will display the contact information to the other labels on the sheet.  Remember to click the propagate button after any modifications to the Master label.  

Now, if you've struggled with this operation before, you might be excited and ready to print it right now.  Don't get carried away.  Think of the Word document as a set of instructions, not a final output.  All we have done to this point is set up definitions of what to do.  Notice that there is only one page in our list and that the second half of the names are missing.  We need to perform the literal Merge operation next.  If you want to print at this time, feed in your labels and select 'Merge to Printer.'  If, as often happens, you have been doing this in order to help out a less technical colleague then select Merge to New Document or Merge to Email.  This will produce a text version of the merge that would allow someone else to print the labels.  Remember, the document we created is the Master.  The merge is the output and is not linked to the Excel file.  

That's about it for the simple version.  There are many other facets and potential problems, such as what happens if you need to email the Master to someone else instead of the Output.  But you can contact me directly for help with that, because it definitely violates our simple parameter for this post!

Still Using Word Like a Typewriter?

Old habits die hard, and for many people one of those habits is to use Word like an expensive typewriter.  This is not efficient for many reasons, but especially when you are just coming up with your rough draft.  While Word was never designed to be as flexible as laying out index cards with all of your important ideas and then sorting them to create the structure of your paper - there are some things you can do as you work with a document that you may not have thought of.  

1. Use the hidden text feature.  When you are editing a document and you have that paragraph that you might use, but you are not sure about, or even just a sentence that is useful but needs rework - don't delete it.  And don't do the other thing you always do - cutting and pasting it at the end of the document in the clutter area. Instead leave it in place, but hide it.  This is not a commonly used feature, but it is easy to use and a great way to toggle decisions when writing or editing.  
2. •  Select the text you want to hide 
     
     • Use the shortcut  CRTL+SHIFT+h to hide selected text
     • Alternatively use CRTL+D or Format > Font to bring up the font formatting dialog box and check 'hidden.' 

 

Once you have hidden the text, you can toggle between visible and hidden by using the Show / Hide Formatting button.  

When you show the formatting, hidden text appears as this:

 

2.  Try using the outlining capabilities.  Some get frustrated when using Word because the automatic formatting is not what they want.  Word will guess what you are trying to do and do it for you.  If the software recognizes that you are trying to make an outline, it will change your text into a default format outline. 

Learn to control the formatting of the outline and you'll be much happier.  Access the Styles and Formatting task pane through Format > Styles and Formatting.  The default is to only show the formatting used in the document.  At the bottom of the task pane in the Show dropdown, select 'all styles.'

Now at the top of the list in the task pane will be two basic outline formats.  Select the one which is closest to what you want, and modify until you have what you want.  

3.  Use a different program.  I know, this seems like cheating, but there are two ways of creating documents that you should be aware of.  First, try Powerpoint.  While most people are familiar with the common view of slides, not everyone realizes that PowerPoint is building an outline that contains all of the slide titles and text.  It is easy to reorder your information by dragging and dropping your slides in the slide sorter.  Get it the way you want and then save it as a Word document by selecting File > Send To > Microsoft Office Word.

Using Headers to Create a Table of Contents in Microsoft Word

In Microsoft Word, open up Format > Styles and Formatting.  This will bring up a window on the right hand side.  Listed will be each different style used in the document.  We're interested in Heading 1, 2, and 3.

In our example, let's say that we have the document divided by chapters, and the chapters divided by sections.  Select the CHAPTER 1 label in the document, and click Heading 1 in the Styles and Formatting window.  Notice that the font size and style of the CHAPTER 1 text will update to look just like the Heading 1 text appears in the Styles and Formatting window.  You can change the appearance of this later if needed.

Now go through the document and select section labels and change them to Heading 2.  Again, these will be updated to match the settings for Heading 2.  The default Heading 2 is Arial 14 pt italicized.  This can continue to Heading 3, 4, etc. if needed for your document.  Once you have formatted the headings of your document it's time to let Word build a Table of Contents.

Scroll to where you would like the Table of Contents inserted and click Insert > Reference > Index and Tables.  Notice the tabs on the dialog box that open up.  Select the second tab "Table of Contents".  It's fairly straightforward to customize the options in this tab, but I recommend just using the default settings which are pretty basic.  You can always change these later if you want.

You'll get a default that looks something like this:

In addition to giving a professional look and helpful directory for the readers of your document, Tables of Contents include hyperlinks by default.  In a large document, you may know the section heading that you are looking for but perhaps not the page number.  Instead of scrolling through a long document, just go to the Table of Contents, hold CTRL and click on the the section you want to see.  This will take you to that precise location in the document.  Convenient!

Now, it might take a while to format a large document in order to prepare it for the Table of Contents, but once you see how easy it is to format your headings, you can format them as you work.

As you revise the document, you may occasionally find that you need to update the headings and page numbers in the Table of Contents.  To do so, just right click anywhere in the table.  Select "update entire field" and Click OK.  Voila ~ the Table is updated to reflect your changes.