Word Processing : Templates

When you have designed a document layout that you like you may want to use it again for other documents in the future. For example :

• A company may want to set out all the letters it sends in a particular way. The letters may always include a logo and the company's address at a particular position on the page. The same font may be used for the text on each letter.
• A student may want to present all her essays in the same way. The essay title and the student's name could appear at the top of each page and the page number could appear at the bottom of each page. A standard font could be used for the main text and a different font could be used for each heading.

If you have designed a document layout that you want to reuse then you can save it as a template file. When you start a new document you should load the template file to begin with. The template file will contain all the layout information for the new document. Using templates can ensure that the appearance of the documents you produce is consistent. It can also improve your productivity as you do not have to recreate the layout you want every time you start a new document.

Word processors are often supplied with a variety of templates for common tasks such as letter writing, reports and producing curriculum vitaes.

GCSE ICT Companion 04 - (C) P Meakin 2004