Attaching Templates

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Blake - 02 Jun 2004 19:29 GMT

I have created a template that is a workgroup template. I
want documents based on this template to have the
customized toolbar and customized menu that the template
has. I cannot figure out how to do this. The customized
toolbar is saved into my report template, not the normal
template. (I can get the toolbar to show when opening a
document based on this template by copying the toolbar to
the normal template so that it is always available to any
document, and then using code to get it to show, but this
is an awkward workaround.) There is no way to tell if the
customized menu is saved to the template or the normal
template in the template and add-in organizer, except
that it only appears on my template's menu bar,
suggesting that it is not saved to the normal template.
From what I can gather (and Word's help and my Word
manual aren't much help), I have to make sure the
template is attached to the document based on it if I
want customized toolbars and menus to appear with that
document. Is this correct? If so, how do I do that? In
the templates and add-ins dialog box, under the templates
tab, I tried to attach my template to itself, replacing
the normal template that is attached by default, thinking
that in this way all documents based on this template
will have the template attached to it and so will include
the customized toolbar and menu. When I try to do so, I
get some kind of error message about the template not
being valid. Am I on the right track? This seems like
something that should be simple, but it is not. Am I
missing something?

Thanks for any help.

Reply to this Message

Charles Kenyon - 02 Jun 2004 20:59 GMT

Hi Blake,

Please try to use paragraphs in your posts. This one leaves me somewhat
breathless. I've tried to apply some breaks to it.

> I have created a template that is a workgroup template. I
> want documents based on this template to have the
> customized toolbar and customized menu that the template
> has. I cannot figure out how to do this.

Create your new document based on the template. The document will have
access to customizations in the template so long as the template remains
attached.

> The customized
> toolbar is saved into my report template, not the normal
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> that it only appears on my template's menu bar,
> suggesting that it is not saved to the normal template.

If it is saved in the normal.dot template, it will appear in documents not
based on your template.

> From what I can gather (and Word's help and my Word
> manual aren't much help), I have to make sure the
> template is attached to the document based on it if I
> want customized toolbars and menus to appear with that
> document. Is this correct?

It is one way to do it. It is the way to do it if you do not want the
toolbars and menus to appear in all documents.

> If so, how do I do that?

Create a new document based on your template. Or, attach the template to an
old document using Tools > Templates and Add-Ins...

> In
> the templates and add-ins dialog box, under the templates
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> will have the template attached to it and so will include
> the customized toolbar and menu.

You cannot attach any template to a template, ever. Templates can be
attached to a document. If you _can_ attach any template (including
normal.dot) to your template, you have a document, not a template. If this
is the case, open your "template"
and use File > Save As to save it as a (real) template.

> When I try to do so, I
> get some kind of error message about the template not
> being valid. Am I on the right track? This seems like
> something that should be simple, but it is not. Am I
> missing something?

I suspect the message you are getting says that you are trying to attach the
template to itself. You can't do that. You can't do that with a document,
either.

> Thanks for any help.

For more on the different kinds of templates and locations of templates
folders see http://addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm. See
http://addbalance.com/word/movetotemplate.htm for step-by-step instructions
on moving / sharing / copying customizations including AutoText,
AutoCorrect, keyboard assignments, macros, etc.

Signature

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
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This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
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Reply to this Message

- 02 Jun 2004 22:30 GMT

Sorry about the one paragraph, just a little frustrated.
You confirmed what I though was supposed to be the case:
that a document based on my template should contain that
template's customized toolbar and menu. But it doesn't.
It contains all the macros, userform's etc., but not the
customized toolbar and menu. What is going on?

>-----Original Message-----
>Hi Blake,
[quoted text clipped - 71 lines]
>on moving / sharing / copying customizations including AutoText,
>AutoCorrect, keyboard assignments, macros, etc.

Reply to this Message

- 02 Jun 2004 22:39 GMT

By the way, when I create a new document based on the
template, in the Templates and Add-ins dialog box, lists
Normal as the attached template.

>-----Original Message-----
>Sorry about the one paragraph, just a little frustrated.
[quoted text clipped - 126 lines]
>>
>.

Reply to this Message

Charles Kenyon - 03 Jun 2004 16:45 GMT

Read through the entire post. I tell you what I think is going on. Your
template is not a template. It is a document.

Signature

> Sorry about the one paragraph, just a little frustrated.
> You confirmed what I though was supposed to be the case:
[quoted text clipped - 123 lines]
> >
> >.

Reply to this Message

Blake - 03 Jun 2004 18:07 GMT

I feel like a dumb*ss. Somewhere along the way my
template was changed to a document. Don't know how it
happened, but it definatley didn't start out as a
document because it used to work as it should. It still
has the .dot extension too. Did a save as and made sure
it was saved as a template. Everything works fine. Sorry
for all the trouble for such an easy solution.

>-----Original Message-----
>Read through the entire post. I tell you what I think is going on. Your
[quoted text clipped - 128 lines]
>
>.

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