Rather than reading Lily's plagiarized version, I'd encourage readers to
view the original at
http://www.soniacoleman.com/Tutorials/PowerPoint/powerpoint_templates.htm
It has pictures and better formatting.
Sonia even has information on how to locate and store your templates for PPT
2003. This article is only for 97-2002 versions.

Signature
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/
> Open PowerPoint and then do the following:
> 1. Go to View > Master > Slide Master.
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> 5. Open PowerPoint and go to Format > Slide Design and you will see all of
> the available templates in the Task Pane.