Software & Apps > MS Office How to Create and Use Microsoft Word Templates Make your word processing tasks easier with this handy feature By Joli Ballew Joli Ballew Writer University of Texas Joli Ballew is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire and Microsoft MVP, Lynda.com trainer, Microsoft Press author, and college professor. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on January 28, 2021 Reviewed by Ryan Perian Reviewed by Ryan Perian Western Governors University Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. lifewire's editorial guidelines MS Office Word Excel Powerpoint Outlook Trending Videos Close this video player What to Know First, open a Microsoft-provided template. Select File > New, then choose a template style and select Create.Then, after you open a template, replace the placeholder text and images with your own.Create a custom template: Go to File > New > Blank document, format the document, then save it as a Word Template (*.dotx). This article explains how to create and use Microsoft Word templates. Instructions apply to Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013. How to Open a Word Template Word offers hundreds of free templates for you to use, or you can create your own. Open Word. Go to the ribbon, select File, then select New. Select a template style. In the template preview screen, select Create. If you don't like any of the options shown on the main screen, choose one of the categories at the top of the screen, or use the search bar to perform a search. After you open a template, replace the placeholder text with your own or start from scratch in blank areas. You can also add pictures to replace the image placeholders. To replace existing text, select it and type your own text. To replace an image, right-click the image and select Change Picture. Save the file with a descriptive name. What Are Microsoft Word Templates? A template is a Microsoft Word document that has some formatting in place, such as fonts, logos, and line spacing. Templates exist for many types of documents, for example, party invitations, flyers, and resumes. They can be used as a starting point when you want to create a specific type of document without starting from scratch. How to Create a Word Template You can also create your own custom Word template. Here's how: Open Word, then go to the ribbon and select File. Select New > Blank document. Add any elements you like, such as a business name and address, a logo, and other elements. You can also choose specific fonts, font sizes, and font colors. Once you have the document formatted the way you want it, go to the ribbon and select File > Save As. Enter a descriptive name for the template, select the File Type drop-down arrow and choose Word Template (*.dotx), then select Save. To create a new document based on the template, open the template, give it a new name, and edit the document to include the new information. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit