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Use Templates to Speed Up Word Processing

Save time and trouble by launching documents with desktop Shortcuts.

By George Campbell, PCWorld   

Your time is valuable. So why keep recreating settings and styles you use every day? Templates save lots of time by storing often-used document elements such as text, graphics, margins, and styles. You can launch templates quickly by creating Shortcuts to them on your Windows 95 desktop. A simple double-click will start the program and load the template automatically.

Here's the easiest way to set this up:

1. First, locate the folder that contains your template files. Each application offers a quick way to find that folder.

Word 7 and 8: Select Tools, Options, and click the File Locations tab in the Options dialog box. Make a note of the folder for User Templates.

WordPerfect 7 and 8: Select Tools, Settings, and double-click the Files icon in the Settings dialog box. Click the Template tab. Make a note of the folder named in the "Default template folder" field of the Files Settings dialog box.

Word Pro 96 and 97: Select Files, User Setups, Word Pro Preferences, then click the Locations tab in the Word Pro Preferences dialog box. Make a note of the folder named in the SmartMaster field of the Word Pro Preferences dialog box.

2. Right-click the Windows 95 Start button, and select Explore.

3. In Explorer, open the folder that contains the template you want to use.

4. Right-click and drag the template file to the desktop, and then select Create Shortcut(s) Here. Repeat as needed to create Shortcuts for all your favorite templates.

For more information, see George Campbell's "Word Processing Tips" in the upcoming August issue of PC World magazine