Documents vs Templates
What's the difference?
If you're not too familiar with templates it's easy to get lost with the filetype difference between a document and a template.
Document: When creating a new document it will be blank, A4 size and portrait with styles based on a global template used for all new documents.
Template: A template is a preset file that serves as a starting point for creating new documents with consistent formatting, styles and layout. When opening a template file Word provides you with a document to edit based on that template's attributes, you're not editing the template itself. Templates are meant to be reused without being overwritten.
How to tell them apart
As a rule don’t rely on the filename itself saying ‘template’ to determine that a file is a template. The filename is just the name that someone has chosen to give the file.
For example, take a look at these two files:
The top file reads ‘Report Template' but is actually a document, not a template. You can tell whether a Word file is a template or a document in two ways:
- In the Name column look at the filename extension after the full stop
- Look at the Type column
Microsoft Word Filename extensions:
| Filename extension | Description |
|---|---|
| .dotx | Word Document Template |
| .docx | Word Document |
| .doc | Word Document (old format 97-2003) |
Old file formats 97-2003
The old format (.doc) doesn’t have all of the features and capabilities of the new format (.docx). Usually older documents are saved in this format as they were saved when using an older version of Microsoft Word (97-2003).
When saving, it is best practice to ensure you are saving in the new format with the ‘x’ at the end of the filename extension. Saving in the old format can cause compatibility issues.
Rule of thumb: Look at the filetype before you open it and be mindful of the format when saving it.
How do you edit a template?
There's more than one way to open a template. When opening a template file normally with a double click or selecting it and pressing Enter, Word will provide you with a document based on the template. But if you right click on a template file then select Open from the drop down menu, Word will open it as a template.
You can tell it has opened as a template by the file extension at the top:
Once edited as needed, save the template.
If you don't have access to the template file you can always save over a template file with a document via Save As settings. For more on saving files as different filetypes see Saving and Save As.
