Xcentric Knowledgebase

How to set the Workgroup Template locations within Microsoft Word

In addition to looking in your default user templates file location for existing templates, 2007 and 2010 Office programs look in the workgroup templates file location for more templates.  You can use Microsoft Office Word to change the location in which your new templates are created from and/or saved. To do this, follow these steps.  

Note If you use Word 2007 or Word 2010 to change the location in which your new templates are saved, you also change the location in which all 2007 Office program templates or all 2010 Office program templates are saved.

1. Start Word.
2. If you are using Word 2007, click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options.
   
   If you are using Word 2010, choose Options from the File menu.
   
3. Click Advanced.
4. Under General, click File Locations.
5. Click Workgroup templates, and then click Modify.
6. In the Modify Location dialog box, change the setting in the Folder name list or the Look in list to a folder located on a shared network drive in which you want all users on the network to use templates from. Then, click OK.
7. Click OK or Close to close the Options dialog box.

The path is used the next time that you want to create a new document from template or save a new template. For more information, see the "Changes in the Windows registry settings for the user templates file location and for the workgroup templates file location" section.

You can also create custom tabs that appear in the Templates dialog box by creating a new folder in the Templates folder in your profile. Tabs that have the same name as a new folder appear in the Templates dialog box. These tabs let you categorize your new templates even more.