I cannot access my custom templates

The information you need is at http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/fileNew.htm#2013Changes . (This also applies to Word in Microsoft 365.)

In order to have a "Personal" or "Custom" link in the File > New page, you must define a personal templates location and/or a workgroup location. You define a personal templates location in the File > Options > Save page:

To define a workgroup location, go to File > Options > Advanced and click the File Locations button:

In the File Locations dialog, click on the Workgroup templates line and click the Modify button. Select the folder where you want your workgroup's templates to be stored, and click OK in all open dialog boxes.

By the way, the Active Application Add-Ins list is not intended to include templates that are used for creating new documents. Add-ins are generally templates (or other program files) that contain macros or COM code, not text and/or formatting. Please read more of the Templates page that includes the section linked above.

Hello. I am unable to access my custom templates in Word. I currently have Microsoft 365 for Business. I have added the template to the Microsoft Active Application Add-Ins and it is active, but it not showing up on my "New" page where you can find the generic templates. If I open the document I want to use as a template as normal in the "open" section, it opens the template itself to be updated and saved, not just a new document. I know I could just open a copy, but I know there's a way to utilize the templates function and I am clearly missing something. The document has been saved as a Windows [Word?] Template - I followed a suggestion from a different Microsoft Help Page.

Many of the suggested websites have told me to look for the personal button under the templates section in "new", but there is not a personal section for me. For some reason, I am also unable to load any screenshots. Please tell me what I am supposed to be doing to make it seen on the "new" page so that I can use the template for new documents.

Thanks,

Adrianna M.

Following up on Jay's response, there are three different locations for templates, two of which show up under File New, if you have them set up.

• Custom Office Templates (default location for custom templates for all office applications)

• Workgroup Templates Folder (Word only, intended to be shared but can be only yours if you want)

• User Templates Folder Folder (Word only; contains the Normal.dotm template, does not show up under File New)

Do read my page that Jay linked.

It explains the labels and why you may or may not see a particular label.

You can also set your computer so that your custom templates are the default under File > New.

Registry Hack for Backstage to Show Custom Templates by Default

You can set the Custom Office Templates folder to be in the same location as the User Templates Folder. The Workgroup Templates folder should be separate.

These folders can have any name you want.

They can contain other folders to help you organize your template.

You can also use the legacy File>New dialog which will combine the listings for templates in the User Templates and Workgroup Templates folders but will not show those in the Custom Office Templates folder unless that is also designated as the User Templates folder. I use both.