Using document templates in Word 2007

Question

In previous versions of Office, it was possible to select a template from the gallery, so they were always handy.
In Office 2007, it seems that the only way I can find to USE a document template I've created (.dot or .dotx), is to simply double-click on the file.

However, I'd like to know if there's a way to do this from within Word. I'd like something like the old option for New >> From Template >> select template, or something like that.
Does anyone know about this?

This is frustrating as hell, and the Office 2007 Online Help seems to be useless! It only tells me how to create templates and how to find them online, and how to create all sorts of building blocks, but not how to simple use a template I may have.

Answer 1

Simply click the Office button in the upper-right corner and select "New". A dialog appears to choose a template for the new document. Clicking on "My templates" opens the exact same dialog from previous Office versions.

Note that you don't get that dialog by hitting Ctrl+N. You have to access it through the Office button.

Answer 2

You need your templates to be in the right place in the first place to use the file > new method. This can be your personal templates folder stored in your profile, or a shared workgroup location.

Your local templates location depends on the version of windows you are running, so if you tell us that I can tell you where to look locally. You can change it but I would recommend leaving it alone. On Windows Vista / 7 it should be at:

%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates

To change the workgroup location go to Office button > Word Options > Advanced > (scroll down) > File locations button > provide a path in the workgroup templates setting in the dialogue box. (this is where you would change the local one if you want to, but seriously, don't do that)

Note: this can also be set by group policy for everyone to point to the same place, this makes sharing templates with colleagues really easy

Note2: you can also set a policy to take you straight to this "Office 2003" style file > new dialogue without all the other gallery stuff, if you prefer.

Note3: just in case you did not already know, sub-folders of your local and your workgroup folders are presented as tabs, so you can organise you templates by department, for example. Subfolders of subfolders appear as a tab, exactly as if they were direct 'child' folders of templates folder. If you have a folder of the same name on local and workgroup templates, the contents are shown for both on the same tab. If a matching filename in a matching folder clashes, the local one is shown and the workgroup one is not available.