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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

  1. To save a file as a template, select File > Save As.

  2. Double-click This PC.

  3. Type a name for your template in the File name box.

  4. For a basic template, select the template item in the Save as type list. In Word for example, select Word Template.

    Save document as a template

    If your document contains macros, select Word Macro-Enabled Template.

    Office automatically goes to the Custom Office Templates folder.

  5. Select Save.

Edit your template

To update your template, open the file, make the changes you want, and then save the template.

  1. Select File > Open.

  2. Double-click This PC.

  3. Browse to the Custom Office Templates folder that’s under Documents.

  4. Select your template and select Open.

  5. 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.

See Also

Microsoft Templates and Themes

Download free, pre-built templates

Free background templates for PowerPoint

Edit templates

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