Section 6.5. Changing the Library Template

6.5. Changing the Library Template The key advantage of creating new documents from the library is that SharePoint provides a template. The default template ( template.doc ) is really just a placeholder for your own template. SharePoint uses . doc files rather than . dot files for templates because it doesn't actually tell Word to create a new file when you select New Document, but just downloads the template as a sort of starting point. To change the template used by a library: Create the new template in Word as a . doc file. If you are starting with a Word template (. dot ), just create a new file based on that . dot file . Navigate to the library and choose Explorer View . Open the Forms folder (which is hidden in Other Views) . Drag and drop or copy the new template to the Forms folder . Choose Modify columns and settings Change general settings .