Microsoft Excel 2007 - Templates

Template = Blueprint

A template in Excel is a set of pre-designed formats on which you can base new workbooks.

Excel comes with a collection of templates for you to use, but you can also create your own.

Templates - A Quick Way Of Creating New Workbooks

To create a new workbook based on a template, click the Office button > New, and select a template category on the left of the New Workbook window. Categories to choose from are:

Blank and Recent
Use the blank template to create a workbook from scratch. There is no pre-defined formatting. Templates that you've recently used are also displayed here.
Installed Templates
Templates that are installed on your hard drive.
My Templates
Templates that you've created previously.
New From Existing
Although not strictly a template, you can create a new workbook based on an existing one. In this case the existing workbook behaves like a template.
Microsoft Office Online
If you have an internet connection, you can download templates from teh Microsoft web site. The Microsoft Online category is broken up into sub categories.

When you select a category, thumbnails representing all templates within that category are displayed in the main window. If you then click to select one, its preview is displayed to the right. This allows you to quickly sample several templates before committing to creating your new workbook. When you have found a template you are happy to use, click Create. If you have chosen a template from the Microsoft Office Online categories, the Create button is replaced by a Download button, and you will need an internet connection to download the template before you can use it.

The New Workbook Window

After you download a template from Microsoft Office Online, that template is available in the My Templates category for future use. Some

Even though you might not find a template that meets your requirements exactly, it is often quicker to base your new workbook on the closest fitting template and then amend it. If you do this, you may decide to...

Create Your Own Template

After hacking your workbook to the precise shape you want, you may decide that it's so good you'll use it again in the future. This is where saving it as a template is a good option. To do this, click the Office Button > Save As > Other Formats, and change the Save as type selection to Excel Template (*.xltx). Notice that Excel 2007 templates have the extension .xltx whereas bog standard Excel workbooks have the .xlsx extension. Navigate to where on your hard drive you want to save your spangly new template, give it a name and click Save. You've just saved yourself a whole heap of time. Previous versions of Microsoft Excel use the .xlt extension for templates.

Modifying A Template

If an existing template is not quite right, you can change it and resave it. To do this first of all open the template by clicking the Office Button > Open, and navigate to where the template is. Click Open and make your changes. When your changes are complete, simply save teh template in the usual fashion (e.g. Ctrl-S).