How to Add Templates to the Letter Wizard

ID: Q170342

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

This article describes how to add a custom page design (template) to the list of available page designs in the Letter Wizard and how to use the template.

To run the Letter Wizard, click Letter Wizard on the Tools menu.

NOTE: Available page designs (templates) in the Letter Wizard are on the Letter Format tab in the Choose a page design list.

MORE INFORMATION

How to Create a New Custom Page Design for the Letter Wizard

To create a new custom page design in the Letter Wizard, do the following steps:

NOTE: This example demonstrates how to add your company name, company address, and company slogan to a new custom page design in the Letter Wizard based on the Contemporary Letter.dot template. If you want to create a custom page design based on a different default template, use steps similar to the following example.

On the File menu, click New.

On the Letters & Faxes tab, click to select Contemporary Letter. Under Create New, click to select Template and then click OK.

NOTE: A new template appears that contains the styles required by the Letter Wizard as outlined in the table listed later in this article.

Click to select the text [Click here and type return address], and type your company's address. Be sure to press ENTER to start a new address line.

Select the text Company Name Here, and type your company name.

At the bottom of the page, click the text [Click here and type slogan], and type your company's slogan.

NOTE: If your company does not have a slogan, or if you do not want to include the slogan in your custom page design, press DELETE to delete this text.

There are some "fields" and text that you do not need in your custom page design because the Letter Wizard automatically adds these. Under your company name (which you typed in step 4), select the line that contains the date. Continue the selection to include everything down to and including the text [Click here and type job title] and then press DELETE.

On the Edit menu, click Select All.

On the Insert menu, point to AutoText and click AutoText.

On the AutoText tab, change the Look in box to the page design (template) you are creating. For example, change the Look in box to Template1 (template).

Select Gallery Example and click Add.

When the following prompt is displayed, click Yes.

Do you want to redefine the AutoText entry?

With the document still selected, point to AutoText on the Insert menu and click AutoText.

On the AutoText tab, the Look in box should still be pointing to the template you are creating. If it does not, change the Look in box to your new template (page design). For example, change the Look in box to Template1 (template).

In the Enter AutoText entries here box, type a name for this letter page design. For example, type Monthly Letter and click Add.

NOTE: After the Letter Wizard finishes, you need to add this AutoText entry back to your letter to complete it. The Letter Wizard does not add this "boilerplate" text automatically.

With the document still selected, press DELETE to remove the "boilerplate" text. This "boilerplate" text is added back after you finish the Letter Wizard.

On the File menu, click Save As.

Change the Save in box to the following folder:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\Letters & Faxes

NOTE

In the File name box, type a name for your custom page design template. For example, type Monthly Letter.dot and click Save.

NOTE: The file name of the new custom letter template must contain the word "Letter" (for example the template name should be something like "Monthly Letter.dot").

On the File menu, click Close.

How to Create a Letter Using Your Custom Page Design in the Letter Wizard

On the Tools menu, click Letter Wizard.

On the Letter Format tab, change the Choose a page design box to your custom page design. For example, change the Choose a page design box to Monthly Letter.

NOTE: The preview of your custom page design should appear in the page design preview box.

Make the changes you want to the Letter Format, Recipient Info, Other Elements, and Sender Info tabs.

NOTE: Leave the Sender's name and Return address boxes blank on the Sender Info tab, because this information was filled out in your custom page design.

Click OK to complete the Letter Wizard.

Move the insertion point to the top of the letter. The insertion point should be to the left of the date or the recipient information.

On the Insert menu, point to AutoText and click AutoText.

On the AutoText tab, change the Look in box to your custom page design (template). For example, change the Look in box to Monthly Letter.dot (global template).

Click to select Monthly Letter in the Enter AutoText entries here box, and click Insert.

Your basic letter based on your new custom page design created by the Letter Wizard is now displayed. Complete your letter by typing your letter where the text Type your text here appears.

Additional Information

The Letter Wizard contains three default templates: Contemporary Letter.dot, Elegant Letter.dot, and Professional Letter.dot. For the Letter Wizard to function correctly, certain styles must be contained and applied in each template.

The following table contains the default styles for the Letter Wizard. This list also indicates which styles are used in which template.


   Style                         Contemporary  Elegant     Professional
   name                          Letter.dot    Letter.dot  Letter.dot
   --------------------------------------------------------------------

   Attention Line                    X            X            X
   Body Text                         X            X            X
   Cc List                           X            X            X
   Closing                           X            X            X
   Company Name                      X            X            X
   Date                              X            X            X
   Default Paragraph Font            X            X            X
   Emphasis                          X            X            X
   Enclosure                         X            X            X
   Footer                            X                         X
   Header                            X            X            X
   Heading 1                         X            X            X
   Heading 2                         X            X            X
   Heading 3                         X            X            X
   Heading 4                         X            X            X
   Heading 5                         X            X            X
   Heading 6                         X            X            X
   Heading Base                      X            X            X
   Inside Address                    X            X            X
   Inside Address Name               X            X            X
   List                              X            X            X
   List Bullet                       X            X            X
   List Number                       X            X            X
   Mailing Instructions              X            X            X
   Normal                            X            X            X
   Page Number                       X
   Reference Initials                X            X            X
   Reference Line                    X            X            X
   Return Address                    X            X            X
   Salutation                        X            X            X
   Signature                         X            X            X
   Signature Company                 X            X            X
   Signature Job Title               X            X            X
   Slogan                            X            X            X
   Subject Line                      X            X            X

For additional information about changes you can make in a template, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q157843 WD97: Adding AutoText to the AutoText Menu

Q161612 WD97: Letter Wizard Replaces Merge Field with AutoTextList

Q109681 WD: Creating Template with First Page or Odd/Even Header/Footer

Q141993 WD: General Information About Section Breaks

Q95277 WD: How to Create a Watermark in Word

Additional query words: word97 8.0

Keywords : kbusage kbdta kbtemplate word97
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto