Office templates are missing from the New Office Document dialog box in Office

When you click Start, point to All Programs, and then click New Office Document, only the Blank Document template for Word can be seen in the New Office Document dialog box. All other Office templates are missing.

This problem may occur if you upgrade Microsoft Office XP or earlier to Microsoft Office 2003 or later versions of Office, and not all the Office XP or earlier programs are upgraded or are removed. The most common cause of this problem is if Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 was installed with Office XP or earlier. When you upgrade to Office 2003 or later versions of Office and you use the Typical or Upgrade installation option, FrontPage 2003 is not installed. This problem may also occur if you use the Custom Install option during Office Setup, and instruct Setup not to upgrade or to remove a specific Office XP or earlier program. If Office XP or earlier programs are still present on your computer, the new Office shortcuts are not installed.

To resolve this problem, use the Add or Remove Programs tool to install the New and Open Office Document Shortcuts feature. To do this, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: 2007 Microsoft Office programs

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.
2. In Add or Remove Programs, click Microsoft Office 2007, and then click Change.
3. Click Add or Remove Features, and then click Continue.
4. On the Installation Options page, expand Office Shared Features.
5. Click the arrow next to New and Open Office Documents Shortcuts, click Run from My Computer, and then click Continue.
6. When the update is complete, click OK, and then close Add or Remove Programs.

Method 2: Microsoft Office 2003 programs

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.
2. In Add or Remove Programs, click Microsoft Office 2003, and then click Change.
3. Click Add or Remove Features, and then click Next.
4. On the Custom Setup page, click to select the Choose advanced customization of applications check box, and then click Next.
5. On the Advanced Customization page, in the Choose update options for applications and tools list, expand Office Shared Features.
6. Click the down arrow next to New and Open Office Documents Shortcuts, click Run from My Computer, and then click Update.
7. When the update is complete, click OK, and then close Add or Remove Programs.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.