Word Documents, Templates, Wizards

Word Documents, Templates, & Wizards

The documents you create and save using Word are Word document files. These files contain all the information necessary to display the contents of the document as formatted using Microsoft Word.

All Word document files are based on templates. A template is a collection of styles and other formatting features that determines the appearance of a document. Templates can also include default text, macros, and custom toolbars.

For example, you can create a letterhead template that includes your company's logo and contact information or is designed to be printed on special paper. The template can include styles that utilize specific fonts. It can also include custom toolbars with buttons for commands commonly used when writing letters.

Wizards take templates a step further. They are special Word document files that include Microsoft Visual Basic commands to automate the creation of specific types of documents. Word comes with a few wizards that you can explore on your own.

Tips

• A Word document icon (Figure 4), template icon (Figure 8), and wizard icon (Figure 9) are very similar in appearance.

  Figure 8. A Word template icon.

  

  
  

  Figure 9. A Word wizard icon.

  

  
  

• Word can open and save files in formats other than Word document format. I tell you more about file formats later in this chapter.

• When no other template is specified for a document, Word applies the default template, Normal.

• I cover styles in Chapter 4, macros and Visual Basic in Chapter 19, and custom toolbars in Chapter 20.