If you frequently create a certain type of document, such as a monthly report, a sales forecast, or a presentation with a company logo, save it as a template so you can use that as your starting point instead of recreating the file from scratch each time you need it. Start with a document that you already created, a document you downloaded, or a new Microsoft template you customized.
Save a template
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To save a file as a template, select File > Save As.
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Double-click This PC.
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Type a name for your template in the File name box.
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For a basic template, select the template item in the Save as type list. In Word for example, select Word Template.
If your document contains macros, select Word Macro-Enabled Template.
Office automatically goes to the Custom Office Templates folder.
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Select Save.
Edit your template
To update your template, open the file, make the changes you want, and then save the template.
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Select File > Open.
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Double-click This PC.
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Browse to the Custom Office Templates folder that’s under Documents.
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Select your template and select Open.
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Make the changes you want, then save and close the template.
Use your template to make a new document
To start a new file based on your template, select File > New > Personal, and select your template.
Note: This button may say Custom instead of Personal.
Use your templates from earlier versions of Office
If you made templates in an earlier version of Office, you can still use them in Office 2013 and 2016. The first step is to move them into the Custom Office Templates folder so your application can find them. To move your templates quickly, use the Fix it tool.
Word
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Open the Word document that you want to save as a template.
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On the File menu, select Save as Template.
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In the Save As box, type the name that you want to use for the new template.
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(Optional) In the Where box, choose a location where the template will be saved.
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Next to File Format, select Microsoft Word template (.dotx), or, if your document contains macros, select Microsoft Word Macro-Enabled template (.dotm).
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Select Save.
Unless you select a different location, the template is saved in /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates.
To change where Word automatically saves your templates, on the Word menu, select Preferences, and then under Personal Settings, select File Locations. Under File Locations, select User templates from the list, and then select Modify. Type the new folder and path you want to use, and Word will save any new templates in that folder.
You can customize an existing template to make it even more useful. Add static information to the existing template and then save the file again (as a template).
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On the File menu, select New from Template.
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Select a template that is similar to the one you want to create, and then select Create.
Note: If you can't find a template, you can search for it based on keywords in the Search All Templates box.
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Add, delete, or change any text, graphics, or formatting, and make any other changes that you want to appear in all new documents that you base on the template.
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On the File menu, select Save as Template.
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In the Save As box, type the name that you want to use for the new template.
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(Optional) In the Where box, choose a location where the template will be saved.
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Next to File Format, select Microsoft Word template (.dotx), or, if your template contains macros, select Microsoft Word Macro-Enabled template.
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Select Save.
Unless you select a different location, the template is saved in /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates.
To change where Word automatically saves your templates, on the Word menu, select Preferences, and then under Personal Settings, select File Locations. Under File Locations, select User templates from the list, and then select Modify. Type the new folder and path you want to use, and Word will save any new templates in that folder.
To start a new document based on your template, on the File menu, select New from Template, and then select the template you want to use.
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In the Finder, open /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates.
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Drag the templates that you want to delete to the Trash.
PowerPoint
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Open a blank presentation, and then on the View tab, select Slide Master.
The slide master is the largest slide image at the top of the slide thumbnail list. Associated layouts are positioned beneath it.
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To make changes to the slide master or layouts, on the Slide Master tab, do any of these:
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To add a colorful theme with special fonts, and effects, select Themes, and pick a theme.
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To change the background, select Background Styles, and pick a background.
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To add a placeholder for text, picture, chart, and other objects, in the thumbnail pane, select the slide layout that you want to hold the placeholder. From Insert Placeholder, pick the type of placeholder you want to add, and drag to draw the placeholder size.
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Open the presentation that you want to save as a template.
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On the File tab, select Save as Template.
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In the Save As box, type the name that you want to use for the new template.
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(Optional) In the Where box, choose a location where the template will be saved.
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Next to File Format, select PowerPoint Template (.potx), or, if your presentation contains macros, select PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template (.potm).
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Select Save.
Unless you select a different location, the template is saved in /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates.
You can customize an existing template to make it even more useful. Add static information to the existing template and then save the file again (as a template).
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On the File menu, select New from Template.
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Select a template that is similar to the one you want to create, and then select Create.
Note: If you can't find a template, you can search for it based on keywords in the Search All Templates box.
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Add, delete, or change any text, graphics, or formatting, and make any other changes that you want to appear in all new presentations that you base on the template.
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On the File menu, select Save as Template.
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In the Save As box, type the name that you want to use for the new template.
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(Optional) In the Where box, choose a location where the template will be saved.
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Next to File Format, select PowerPoint Template (.potx), or, if your template contains macros, select PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template (.potm).
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Select Save.
Unless you select a different location, the template is saved in /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates.
To start a new presentation based on a template, on the File menu, select New from Template, and then select the template you want to use.
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In the Finder, open /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates.
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Drag the templates that you want to delete to the Trash.
Excel
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Open the workbook that you want to save as a template.
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On the File menu, select Save as Template.
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In the Save As box, type the name that you want to use for the new template.
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(Optional) In the Where box, choose a location where the template will be saved.
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Next to File Format, select Excel Template (.xltx), or, if your workbook contains macros, select Excel Macro-Enabled Template (.xltm).
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Select Save.
Unless you select a different location, the template is saved in /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates.
You can customize an existing template to make it even more useful. Add static information to the existing template and then save the file again (as a template).
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On the File menu, select New from Template.
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Select a template that is similar to the one you want to create, and then select Create.
Note: If you can't find a template, you can search for it based on keywords in the Search All Templates box.
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Add, delete, or change any content, graphics, or formatting, and make any other changes that you want to appear in all new workbooks that you base on the template.
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On the File menu, select Save as Template.
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In the Save As box, type the name that you want to use for the new template.
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(Optional) In the Where box, choose a location where the template will be saved.
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Next to File Format, select Excel Template (.xltx), or, if your template contains macros, select Excel Macro-Enabled Template (.xltm).
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Select Save.
Unless you select a different location, the template is saved in /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates.
To start a new workbook based on a template, on the File menu, select New from Template, and then select the template you want to use.
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In the Finder, open /Users/username/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates.
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Drag the templates that you want to delete to the Trash.
See also
See Also
Microsoft Templates and Themes
Download free, pre-built templates
