📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓
In this article
If you open last month’s letter, delete the text and type over it, you’re one forgotten old date away from embarrassment. A template is a starting file that opens as a fresh, unsaved copy every time, with your letterhead, styles and standard text already in place.
Build the template
- Set up a document: company name and logo in the header, address/GSTIN/phone in the footer, your styles (Lesson 1), margins (Lesson 3).
- Add the fixed parts: Date, To, Subject, signature block.
- File › Save As › type Word Template (*.dotx). Word suggests the Custom Office Templates folder in Documents; keep it there.
Use it
File › New › Personal (or Custom) › click your template. A new untitled document opens; the template itself stays untouched. To edit the template later, open the .dotx file itself (File › Open).
Fields that fill themselves
- Date: Insert › Date & Time, pick a format, tick Update automatically (fine in templates; for letters you send, untick so the date doesn’t change when reopened).
- Document properties: Insert › Quick Parts › Document Property › Title shows the file’s title wherever placed.
- Content controls (Developer tab): click-to-fill boxes like “Click to enter customer name” and date pickers. Turn on the Developer tab in File › Options › Customize Ribbon.
Quick Parts: reusable blocks
Select something you type often (signature block, bank details, standard terms), then Insert › Quick Parts › Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery. Give it a short name like sig. Later: Insert › Quick Parts and click it, or type sig and press F3.
AutoText works the same way and is listed under Quick Parts › AutoText.
Built-in templates
File › New searches thousands of free templates: invoices, resumes, meeting minutes. Useful starting points, but replace their fonts and colours with yours so documents look like they came from one company.
Where beginners go wrong
| Habit | Problem |
|---|---|
| Editing last month’s file | Old dates, names and amounts left in by mistake |
| Saving the template as .docx | It opens itself instead of a copy and gets overwritten |
| Logo pasted at full camera size | Every letter is 5 MB; compress it (Lesson 5) |
Practice
Download the practice document below. It is a letter skeleton to turn into a letterhead template with a saved signature block. The task list is at the top of the document; tick each one off as you go.
📎 Practice files for this article
- 📘Lesson 8 practice documentA letter skeleton to turn into a letterhead template with a Quick Part signature.⬇ DOCX · 36 KB
Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.
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