MS Office templates

These are real templates

Have you ever accidentally saved your latest version of something on top of the file you have been using as a template? We all have. By using an actual template file format, you avoid that possibility.

In the Toolkit, we have provided Microsoft Office template files for PowerPoint and Word. You simply open the template file, create your version and save it as the file you need without the fear of saving on top of the template.

A Microsoft Office PowerPoint template is a pattern or blueprint of a slide or group of slides that you save as a .potx file (a template) or .pptx file ( a presentation). Templates can contain layouts, theme colors, theme fonts, theme effects, background styles, and even content.

In Powerpoint, you can save time and headaches if you know how to use slide masters. The Lynda.com tutorials on “Powerpoint Essential Training” include a 6-minute tutorial on use of slide masters. Free access to the Lynda.com tutorials is through the ANRPortal.

A Microsoft Office Word template is similar to the PowerPoint templates but with the file extension of .dotx and .dot for the 2007 and 2003 versions respectively.

Lynda.com also has a 6-minute tutorial on working with templates in Word. You'll find it under "Word 2008 Essential Training for the Mac" and "Word 2007 Essential Training" if you're using Windows.

Mac handles Word templates in a slightly different manner. You can also download a template tutorial for Macs showing how to use Toolkit templates from download to save.

Template downloads: