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Word 2007: Use Shortcuts for Easy to Open Templates

If you are a frequent Word user, you probably have created some templates that you use on a regular basis. This article will outline a way to make your templates easier to open, without having to open Word first. What you’ll do is create a shortcut on your Windows desktop that will open the template. This example uses Windows XP, but it should work the same in Vista.

The trouble many people have with creating shortcuts to files that are buried in their computers is in finding their way to the actual file. This will try to simplify that by copying the path to the templates from the template file properties box.

Start in Word 2007

1. Start Word 2007, and click the Office button, then click New or push Ctrl + N to open the New Document window.
2. Then click My templates… in the left pane.
3. The New window will open. You should see a list of your templates. Right-click on the template you want to create a shortcut to, then choose Properties. The Properties box for the template will open.
4. In the General tab, you should see Location:. What you want to do is copy the path to the template from here. Do that by selecting all the path text to the right of location by clicking and dragging your mouse across the entire path: some of the path text will be hidden, make sure to drag your mouse all the way from the C:\ on the left to where it stops on the right. It should likely end with \Templates.
5. Push Ctrl + C to copy this path. You can close the Properties box, the My Templates box, and New window with Cancel.

Create the Windows Shortcut

1. Minimize Word, and any other programs you may have running so you can see your desktop.
2. Right-click on a blank part of the desktop, choose New then Shortcut.





3. In the Create Shortcut box, make sure the cursor is in the Type the location of the item: box, then push Ctrl + V to paste the path you copied from the Properties box.





4. Click Browse to select the template file. The Create Shortcut box should go to the location you pasted in. Single-click on the name of the template to use in the list, then OK to finish.





5. You should be back in the Create Shortcut box, with the selected name appearing at the end of the path. Click Next. (Note: you could also type in the name of the template, but it would have to be exact and include the .dotx extension.)





6. You’ll be asked to Type in a name for the shortcut:, and the template file name will appear here. Since this shortcut is your own reference to the file, you can rename it to whatever makes you happy. The original template name won’t be renamed; this is just a name that appears in the shortcut.





7. Click Finish.



8. Double-click on the new shortcut to see if it works. If it does not work, the problem is probably with the entire path not being copied or the file name not being typed in exactly.

It may seem like a lot of steps, but once you have a completed shortcut that makes it easy to open a template you use regularly, it will feel worth the time it took to create it.

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