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Preview templates in word 2013

When you want to use a template in Word 2013 you can get a preview of the built-in templates. Is it possible to get a preview of the ones you create yourself?

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AFAIK the only way to preview a Word template or file in Microsoft's flagship word processing application is to use the File>Open>Preview pane in one of the other Microsoft state of the art office applications.

 

So, open say Excel and then use it file open dialog like you were going to open a Word template and you will see that template preview in the Excel preview pane.

 

 

Greg Maxey
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When creating the template, in the Save As dialog box, select the "Save Thumbnail" check box.
Stefan Blom
Microsoft 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator (Office)
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
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Please note that I do not work for Microsoft
MVP program info: https://mvp.microsoft.com/
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Saving a thumbnail in your template will let you see a preview in Windows Explorer (which might show a preview even without explicitly saving a thumbnail), but the preview still won't appear in Word 2013's Backstage New page or in the New Documents dialog.

I wish I knew what MS did to make their templates show previews. I think it completely avoids the code used for custom templates/documents, which doesn't work and hasn't worked since Word 2007 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/983097).
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It certainly worked when I tested it, in the Personal category of the Backstage view and in the old New dialog box.
Stefan Blom
Microsoft 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator (Office)
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
~~~~
Please note that I do not work for Microsoft
MVP program info: https://mvp.microsoft.com/
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Word will display a preview of your template on the New page of the backstage (File) provided you save a preview with the file. See http://WordFAQs.mvps.org/PreviewPicture.htm.
Microsoft MVP (Word) since 1999
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://ssbarnhill.com
http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com
Screen shots captured with TechSmith's Snagit

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@Suzanne:

Ahhh, how I miss the straight forwardness of Word 2003!

You could clearly see MS templates and your own and delete the ones you never thought of using. You could use shortcuts instead of folders, and had a nice structure going with the tabs on top (rather than folders now in Word 2013, which are on the bottom and shifted around by your most recently used items...

Reminds me how backward Office 2013 is in a lot of regards...

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In Word 2013, add the New Document or Template button to the Quick Access Toolbar. Clicking that button opens the same dialog that File > New showed in Word 2003, with all the tabs for subfolders.

Although the dialog shows all the templates in the top-level folders within the Templates library (at least, I think it does; I haven't tried to verify that for the hundreds of templates on my PC), it shows only some of the subfolders as tabs. It looks like the dialog is limited to two rows of tabs, so it shows only as many as it can fit.

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And unfortunately, unlike the Open and Save As dialogs, the New dialog isn't resizable, either.
Microsoft MVP (Word) since 1999
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://ssbarnhill.com
http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com
Screen shots captured with TechSmith's Snagit

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this does not seem to function at all with Office 2013 on Win8.1.

Yes an image is displayed but it looks nothing like a thumbnail for the actual document

The image appears as a sheet with lines like text across it, the top line being darker indicating a heading.

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Alas, it doesn't work for me in Word 2016.  I presume that the thumbnail shows up in Windows Explorer (not useful).  But it definitely does not show up in the Backstage view where one chooses the template for a new document.

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Last updated August 23, 2022 Views 2,980 Applies to: