Use Stationery Files

Stationery files, or templates, are a special kind of document that you can create with some applications. The idea behind this type of document is that you create a template with specific formatting that you’ll reuse to create many other documents. This can be a blank document or it can contain text or graphics: you can create forms, for example, that you’ll fill out with different data and save, each time, with a new name.

To create a stationery file or template, create the document in the format you want to use: this could contain specific font settings, styles, or layouts, and it may contain text, graphics, or other data. Select File | Save As, and then, in the Format pop-up menu, select Template, Document Template, or Stationery (the terminology can differ, but all of these are the same). Some applications offer a check box or radio button for this kind of file.

When you select this format, some applications will automatically switch the current folder in the Save dialog to its Templates folder. Others will let you save your document anywhere.

You can spot these files at a glance by their icons: they look like a pad of paper with one corner turned up. (In fact, this is why Apple originally called this type of document Stationery; it was supposed to function like a stationery pad.)

Note

Some stationery files, such as those created with TextEdit, do not display this special icon, but most of these files do show a stationery icon.

If your application doesn’t offer you the possibility of saving documents as stationery files or templates, there’s another way to create them. Click a document’s icon to select it, and then select File | Show Info. In the Info window, check the Stationery Pad check box. Your document is now a stationery document.

How to Use Stationery Files

Once you have set up a stationery document with its formatting or contents, just double-click it to open it. Most applications immediately create a copy of the document, and then open that copy.

You can then work with your document, which uses all the characteristics of the stationery file, and when you want to save it, you’ll be prompted to save a new file; the stationery file won’t be altered.

Note

Some applications, such as Microsoft Office, only create a new document from stationery files when you open them from its Project Gallery. See your application’s help for more on using these files, if they do not work in the standard way.