When you open Publisher, you'll see a catalog of templates to choose from. To create a publication, select a template that is most like what you want your publication to be. After you open the template, you can change it to include all the elements—such as colors, fonts, graphics—that you want. In addition to creating a new publication from a template, you can also create new templates that you can re-use without having to re-apply your customizations.
In this article
Learn about templates
You can make a template from any publication by saving that publication as a Publisher template file. When you start a new publication by selecting a template, a copy of the template file opens, so that the original template isn't altered by mistake. If you want to make changes to a template, you can open a copy of the template file, make the changes that you want, and then save it again as a template.
You can save time by designing a master publication that reflects your company brand and identity and then saving it as a template. Then, each time you want to create a new version, you can use the template and add only the information that is unique to that version. Using a template for a publication that you regularly produce not only saves time but also ensures quality and consistency of your publications.
Publisher offers designs with dynamic features that make it easy to change the design, layout, colors, and other elements. You can:
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Use one of the publication templates to create exactly the type of publication you want, such as a calendar, newsletter, or postcard.
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Design a publication, customize it to your needs, and then save it as a template.
Use a template to create a publication
You can use templates installed with Publisher or online templates from Office.com to create great-looking publications.
Important: You must be connected to the Internet for online templates to be available.
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Click File > New.
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From the template gallery, select a publication type, such as Thank you cards.
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Use the left and right arrows to scroll through designs, find the template you want, and then click Create.
Important: You must be connected to the Internet for online templates to be available.
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Open Publisher, or click File > New.
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From the template gallery, select a publication type, such as Greeting Cards.
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Scroll down to find the template you want, select it, and then click Create.
Find a template
In addition to using the template categories to browse for templates, you can search for templates based on keywords. For example, if you wanted to create a brochure with a tri-fold format, instead of going to the Brochures category and then browsing through the format options, you could enter tri-fold brochure in the Search box to find all the available brochure templates in a tri-fold format.
Save a publication as a template
You can create a template from any publication by saving that publication as a Publisher template file. You can also download an existing template, make any changes that you want, and save the file as a template that you can use again.
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Create or open the publication that you want to use as a template.
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Click File > Save As, and browse to the C drive on your computer.
Notes:
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The default template location is:
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If you save your template to a different location, Publisher may not be able to find it.
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Subscription version of Publish and Publisher 2019, 2016, 2013: C:\Users\username\Documents\Custom Office Templates
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Publisher 2010: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates
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In the Save as type box, select Publisher Template.
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In the File name box, type a name for the template.
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Click Save.
You can find your template in template gallery in the PERSONAL category in Publisher 2013 and newer versions, and in the My Templates category in Publisher 2010.
Change a template
You can open a template that you previously used, change it, and then save it as a new template.
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Click File >New.
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Click PERSONAL, and then double-click the name of a template.
Note: If you do not see your template listed, you may not have saved it in the default template location folder. The default template location is C:\Users\username\Documents\Custom Office Templates. If you saved a template to a location other than the default template location, you need to browse to the location where you saved it and open the template from there, or move it to the default template location on your computer.
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Make the changes that you want to the template.
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Click File > Save As, and browse to the C drive on your computer.
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In the Save as type box, click Publisher Template, and then type a new name and optional category for the template.
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Click Save.
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Open Publisher, or click File > New.
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Click My Templates, and then double-click the name of a template.
Note: If you do not see your template listed, you may not have saved it in the default template location folder. The default template location is C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates. If you saved a template to a location other than the default template location, you need to browse to the location where you saved it and open the template from there, or move it to the default template location on your computer.
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Make the changes that you want to the template.
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Click File > Save As.
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In the Save as type box, click Publisher Template, and then type a new name and optional category for the template.
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Click Save.
