Default Template
By Richard Rost
2 years ago
Setup a Default Template for New Docs in Word
In this Microsoft Word tutorial, I will teach you how to set up a default template so that when you create a new Word document, it will automatically be set to whatever settings you prefer, including font size, margins, and so on. I'll show you how to set up a normal.dotm file. This way, you don't have to keep making changes every time you create a new document.
Ellen from Gulf Shores, Alabama (a Platinum Member) asks: Microsoft just updated Office and they set the default font to this new Aptos, which I don't like. How can I get back Calibri without having to change it for every new document I create? This is annoying. Help.
Template Folder
- %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates
Links
Recommended Courses
Keywords
TechHelp MSWord, #msword, #microsoftword, #help, #howto, #tutorial, #learn, #lesson, #training, #fasttips, default template setup,font change tutorial,Calibri to Aptos,Word Macro-Enabled Template,DOTM file setup,save in templates folder,normal.dotm replacement,Microsoft Office updates,customize Word layout,Word template guide
Intro In this video, I will show you how to set up a default template in Microsoft Word so new documents always use your preferred font, margins, and other settings. We'll go over how to change the default font, adjust margins, save your custom template in the correct folder, replace the normal.dotm file, and use Windows Explorer to rename template files. You'll also see how to restore the default template if needed and learn some helpful tips for managing multiple template files.Transcript Today I'm going to show you how to set up a default template for new documents in Microsoft Word. Today's question comes from Ellen in Gulf Shores, Alabama, one of my Platinum members. Ellen says, "Microsoft just updated Office, and they set the default font to this new Aptos, which I don't like. How can I get back to Calibri without having to change it for every new document I create? This is annoying. Help!"
Yeah, this happens from time to time. What you can do, Ellen, is you can set up a default template so that every time you open up Microsoft Word, it has your settings that you like. You can set your font, your margins, all that different stuff. Let me show you how to do it.
Alright, the first thing we're going to do is start up Microsoft Word, go to a blank document, and here you can see, yep, there's your Aptos. And that just came out, I think, a couple of months ago. It's currently March of 2024, so I think sometime around the new year this came out. And yeah, it's not bad, you know, this is Aptos. A lot of people like it. Microsoft makes changes from time to time, but if you don't like it, you want to go back to the original Calibri, or even go earlier than that. I'm a Times New Roman fan myself. Yeah, I know it's old school, but I still like it.
So let's say you want to set this back to Times New Roman. You want to go back a few decades. So let's put Times New Roman in here. I just think it looks elegant. This is Times New Roman. I like it. OK? You could change the font size. You don't have to leave text in here, but you can if you want to. Change the font size. Let's say you like your margins different. Let's go to layout, and let's say instead of the one-inch margins, you like moderate. One inch top and bottom and three-quarters on the left and right.
So make whatever other changes you want in here. It'll save most of them, not all of them, but most of them. Now we're going to save our document. You can go to File, Save, Save As. You can go Control S to save. That's what I like to do. Down here we're going to click on More Options. We're going to change the document type to Word Macro-Enabled Template. Even if you don't have any macros in this file, we're still going to save it as a macro-enabled template, DOTM is the extension.
Now Word's going to try to save it in your Custom Office Templates or custom office templates folder. Users, Amacron, document, whatever. We don't want to save it there. We have to save it in a special location for this to work. So click on More Options again right there. That's going to open up this classic "Save As" dialog box. I prefer this thing, to be honest with you.
Now we have to find where Word's default templates are located. And there's a trick. You can type that in to go right to the templates folder. So just come right up here to the address bar and just put that right in there, whatever I gave you right there, %appdata% and then backslash Microsoft backslash Templates. Alright, press Enter, that will take you right there. Now on my system, it happens to be this, OK? %appdata%\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Templates.
Now you'll see in here, you might see in here, you might not see it, but you probably will, a normal.dotm. That's the file that we have to replace. But we can't save over that one. If you do it, it's going to give you an error. It's going to say you can't save it because it's in use. Why is it in use? Because it's open right now. That's the one we're working with. So we're going to change this. You can call it anything you want to. Call it normal2.dotm or whatever you want. That's going to save it in that folder. Alright. Hit save. OK. We just saved it.
Now, close Word, open up Explorer or whatever you use for file management, right, this is just Windows Explorer, and again, put that in there, that %AppData%\\Microsoft\\Templates. Press Enter, it'll take you back to that folder. Alright, in my case, it's Users, Amacron, %AppData%\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Templates. It'll be different for every system, OK? Now, here's the default one. Delete it, that normal.dotm. Don't worry if you want to go back to the original, you can just delete yours and Word will create a new one every time it loads. But now we're just going to rename this normal2 right there, just rename that to your normal.dotm. OK? Are you with me so far?
Alright. Let's minimize this or close it. Now go back and open up Microsoft Word again. And new document. And presto. There you go. You got Times New Roman, you got the three-quarter inch margins. See that? Eh? Eh? You like? You like? Come on, you gotta like. You gotta like.
So that's it. It's not exactly easy, but once you know where to put it, it's not that hard to do either. Now you know how to change your default template for Microsoft Word, and again, if you don't like this one, you want to go back to the default. All you have to do is delete that normal template file and Word will create a new one next time it starts up. Because, normally, I would have you back it up first before messing with it. But in this particular case, Word will just make a new one. So don't worry about that.
And you can actually have multiple template files so that you can just create shortcuts to them and open those up and then every time you create a new document, it will be based on the template that you open. There's lots you can do with it. I cover more about templates in my full Microsoft Word course. Check it out. It's on my website. But that's going to be your TechHelp video for today. I hope you learned something, my friends. Live long and prosper.
I'll see you next time. Oh, and one more thing. Tune in tomorrow and I'll show you how to do the same thing with Excel. And then after that, we'll talk about Access and PowerPoint. Although I don't usually use template files for Access and PowerPoint that are like default templates. But we'll get to it. We'll get to it. But tomorrow is Excel. So come on back tomorrow. Alright. Bye.
TOPICS
Creating a default template in Microsoft Word
Changing the default font in a Word template
Setting custom margins in a Word template
Saving a new template in Word
Using the Save As dialog box in Word
Navigating to the Microsoft Word templates folder
Locating and using the %appdata% directory
Replacing the normal.dotm file
Renaming a template file in Windows Explorer
Opening a new document with the default custom template settings
Deleting and restoring the default normal.dotm file
Creating shortcuts to multiple Word template files
Creating default templates for other Office applications (mentioned as an upcoming topic)
Quiz Q1. What does Ellen from Gulf Shores want to change in her Microsoft Word documents?
A. She wants to create a new font.
B. She wants to adjust the layouts of her spreadsheets.
C. She wants to restore the default font to Calibri.
D. She wants to add macros to her document.
Ignore this question. AI needs a tweak.
<I>Q2. Which month and year does the presenter mention as the current date?
A. January 2024
B. December 2023
C. March 2024
D. November 2023</I>
Q3. What is the default font that Microsoft updated to before the tutorial starts?
A. Calibri
B. Times New Roman
C. Comic Sans
D. Aptos
Q4. In the video, what personal preference does the presenter express about fonts?
A. Prefers Arial for its modern look
B. Favors Times New Roman for its elegant appearance
C. Likes Aptos because it's the latest default
D. Enjoys Comic Sans for its casual feel
Q5. What needs to be saved as a Word Macro-Enabled Template, even if no macros are present?
A. The Custom Office Templates folder
B. The Normal.dotm file
C. The document with your preferred settings
D. A new blank document
Q6. Where should the new template be saved for it to work correctly?
A. In the Custom Office Templates directory
B. In the Documents folder under the user profile
C. In the default Templates directory (%appdata%\\Microsoft\\Templates)
D. On the Desktop for easy access
Q7. What error might you encounter if you try to save over the normal.dotm file?
A. File is too large
B. File has an incorrect extension
C. File is currently in use
D. File name is invalid
Q8. What should you do with your custom template file to set it as the new default?
A. Convert it to a .docx file
B. Rename it to normal.dotm and replace the original
C. Move it to the Desktop
D. Encrypt it for security reasons
Q9. When opening a new document after making the template changes, what should you notice?
A. The document will be blank
B. The document will have a preset text
C. The document will have the updated fonts and margins
D. The document will be in a different language
Q10. What is the presenter planning to demonstrate in the next video?
A. How to back up files in Microsoft Word
B. How to change default templates in Excel
C. How to work with PowerPoint animations
D. How to import data into Access
Answers: 1-C; 2-C; 3-D; 4-B; 5-C; 6-C; 7-C; 8-B; 9-C; 10-B
DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.Summary Today's video from the Word Learning Zone covers how to set up a default template for new documents in Microsoft Word. This is a common question, especially after Microsoft recently changed the default font to Aptos in an Office update. If you prefer to use a different font, such as Calibri or even Times New Roman, you do not have to change it every time you start a new document. Instead, you can configure Word to always start documents with your preferred settings.
First, start by opening Microsoft Word and creating a new blank document. You will notice right away if the default font is Aptos, which Microsoft introduced as the new standard font. While some people like it, many would rather use a different one. Personally, I am a fan of Times New Roman, but you can pick whichever font suits you. To do so, simply change the font for your open document to your desired choice, such as Times New Roman, and set the size accordingly.
Next, you might want to adjust other settings to fit your preferences. For example, you can modify the margins by going to the Layout tab and choosing another option, like moderate margins. This will give you one-inch margins at the top and bottom and three-quarters of an inch on the sides. Feel free to make any additional formatting changes that you want to become your new default.
Once you have made all your desired adjustments, it is time to save this configuration as your default template. Begin by saving the document, but instead of saving it as a normal document, select the option to save as a Word Macro-Enabled Template. Even if your file does not use macros, you want to use the DOTM extension for template files.
Word will suggest saving your template in the Custom Office Templates folder, but for it to be recognized as the default template, you need to save it in the specific Templates folder that Word uses. To get there, go to the address bar in the Save As dialog and type %appdata%\\Microsoft\\Templates, then press Enter. On most systems, this resolves to something like %appdata%\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Templates.
Within this folder, you will probably see a file called normal.dotm. This is Word's default template. However, because it is in use whenever Word is open, you will not be able to overwrite it at this point. Instead, save your new template with a different name, such as normal2.dotm. Then close Microsoft Word.
Next, open File Explorer and navigate to the Templates folder using the same %appdata%\\Microsoft\\Templates path. Delete the existing normal.dotm file. If you ever want the original template back, just delete your custom normal.dotm and Word will create a new one the next time it starts. After deleting the old normal.dotm, rename your newly created file (for example, normal2.dotm) to normal.dotm.
Now, when you reopen Microsoft Word and start a new document, you will see that it uses your chosen font and margins by default. This way, every new document you create will start with your settings, saving you the hassle of making the same adjustments each time.
This process is not necessarily straightforward the first time, but once you know which folder to use and how to replace the default template, it becomes much easier. If you decide later you want to return to the standard settings, simply delete your customized normal.dotm file and let Word generate a new one for you automatically.
On top of that, you can create and use multiple templates for different types of documents by saving them with different names in the Templates folder. You can then create shortcuts to these templates and open them as needed for specialized documents. I cover even more about templates and their uses in my full Microsoft Word course, which is available on my website.
That covers today's Word TechHelp topic. If you want step-by-step video instruction on everything discussed here, you can find the complete tutorial on my website at the link below.
Live long and prosper, my friends.Topic List Creating a default template in Microsoft Word
Changing the default font in a Word template
Setting custom margins in a Word template
Saving a template as a macro-enabled DOTM file
Navigating to the templates folder using %appdata%
Replacing the normal.dotm template file
Renaming template files in Windows Explorer
Restoring the original Word default template
Applying custom template settings to new documents |
