HOW TO: Add a New Tab for Custom Templates in Word 2002

This step-by-step article describes how to add a new tab for custom templates to the Templates dialog box in Microsoft Word 2002.

Overview

By default, the Templates dialog box in Word displays several different tabs. To view the Templates dialog box, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the New Document task pane, under New from template, click General Templates .

You can use these tabs to organize the various Word templates that you have installed. You can customize the Templates dialog box and add a custom tab to hold your custom templates. This article describes how to create and display a new tab in the Templates dialog box.

NOTE: The procedure that is described in this article is the same as in earlier versions of Word. However, the location in which these folders (tabs) are created is different in Word 2002. By default, in Word 2002, templates are installed in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates folder.

IMPORTANT: Do not put your custom templates in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates folder; Word does not recognize them there. Word recognizes only the templates that Word Setup installed in this folder.

In this folder, there are no subfolders (as in some earlier versions of Word) to separate and organize the various templates. Word 2002 organizes its templates and automatically places them on the correct tab in the Templates dialog box.

When you create and save a new custom template in Word, Word automatically displays it on the General tab in the Templates dialog box. By default, Word places the new template in the following folder

In Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows 2000

In Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows 98, and Microsoft Windows 95 Without User Profiles Enabled

In Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, and Windows 95 with User Profiles Enabled

In Microsoft Windows NT:

NOTE: The location of the user templates may be different on your computer.

Add a New Tab for Custom Templates

To add a tab to the Templates dialog box, add a new subfolder in the location in which Word saves your custom templates. The name that you give the subfolder appears on the new tab. After you create the new subfolder, you must add either a new Word template or a new document to the subfolder before the subfolder will appear in the Templates dialog box. To do this, follow these steps.

Step 1: Determine Where Your User Templates Are Stored

1. Start Word.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
3. Click the File Locations tab.
   
   The storage location of your user templates appears next to User templates.
   
   To view the whole path, click User templates in the File locations box, click Modify, note the location, and then click Cancel.
   

Step 2: Create a New Subfolder for Your Custom Templates

1. Open a new document or template.
2. On the File menu, click Save As.
3. In the Save in list, locate, and then double-click the folder that contains the user templates (as determined in step 1).
4. On the toolbar, click the Create New Folder button.
5. In the New Folder dialog box, type the name for your new tab in the Name box, and then click OK.
6. Click Cancel to close the Save As dialog box.

NOTE: The new tab does not appear in the Templates dialog box until you save a Word document or template to the new folder. To do this, go to step 3.

Step 3: Add Your Custom Template to Your New Subfolder

1. Create or open your custom template.
2. On the File menu, click Save As.
3. In the Save in list, locate, and then double-click the new subfolder that you created in step 2.
   
   NOTE: When you click Save As to save a template, the Save as type list is set to Document Template (*.dot), and Word automatically changes the target of the Save in list to the user templates folder.
4. In the File name box, type a new name for your custom template, and then click Save.

Step 4: Use Your New Template

1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the New Document task pane, under New from template, click General Templates.
3. In the Templates dialog box, click your new custom tab.
4. Click your custom template, and then click OK.

For more information about templates, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type templates in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

For additional information about templates in Word 2002, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: