Creating Documents

You won’t always be opening documents that already exist. Sometimes you need to create new ones. Many application programs automatically create a brand-new, untitled document when you double-click the application icon. In addition, most applications let you create a new document any time you want one by choosing File New.

Creating copies of documents

You can also create a document by making a copy of an existing document. This method is especially useful if the existing document contains something you want to include in a new document, such as a letterhead or some boilerplate text. To make a copy of a document, use the Finder’s Duplicate command or one of the other methods described in Chapter 3.

Creating documents with stationery pads

Rather than duplicating a document each time you want a copy of it, you can make a frequently used document into a stationery pad. (Most software developers call these items templates but Apple calls them stationery pads. Go figure.) When you open a stationery pad, you get a new document with a preset format and contents. It’s like tearing a sheet off an endless pad of preprinted stationery (hence the name). Some stationery pads have a distinctive icon that looks like a stack of documents and indicates which application opens the stationery pad. Other stationery pads have blank document icons or icons indistinguishable from those of standard documents.

Some applications allow you to save an ordinary document as a stationery pad or template. We explain how in the next section. You can also convert any document into a stationery pad in the Finder’s Info window, as shown in Figure 5-13, by following these steps:

1. In the Finder, select the document you want to make into a stationery pad.

2. Choose File Get Info (z-I). This command brings up the Info window.

3. Select the Stationery Pad checkbox.

   
   Figure 5-13: You can make a stationery pad in the Finder’s Info window.

What happens when you open a stationery pad depends on whether the application that opens it knows the difference between stationery pads and regular documents. If the application is programmed to work with stationery pads, it will create a new untitled document with the format and content of the stationery pad. If the application is not compatible with stationery pads, the Finder should create a new document by making a copy from the stationery pad and having the application open the copy.