If you are trying to reformat an existing document so that it uses the formatting and content of another template, do the following: Create a new document based on the "other" template. Then use the Insert File dialog box to bring in the existing content from your existing document.

To display the Insert File dialog box, click the arrow on the Object button on the Insert tab, and then choose Text from File (note that the command is misleading, because all content, not just text, will be inserted).

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Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Thanks for the tips...but it's still not working the way I want it to. Maybe if I explain what kind of template I've created it'll help: I teach a college-level public speaking course, and have created a boilerplate evaluation form with a field for the student's name, check-boxes for a variety of characteristics, and a blank are below for my comments. I've never tried doing an attachment in a Forum, but I'm attaching it here.

In prior versions of Word, I would click on the template and it would automatically create a new document based on the template, but my typing into the form wouldn't alter the template itself. Now, the form I'm typing into is actually a .dotx file, not a .docx file. And in order to create an evaluation for a 2nd student, I have to close the 1st evaluation and re-open the template file. If I just try to create a new file based on my template without closing the first one, it won't work...it just creates another instance of the 1st document, with the 1st student's name and comments in it!

Attached Files

2 Informative.dotx (21.5 KB, 9 views)

Double-clicking a template should create a new document based on the template. If Word opens the template instead, it would seem that Open is the default action for *.dotx files. Right-click a *.dotx file in Windows Explorer and see which command on the context menu is in bold; that indicates which is the default action. If you find that Open is the default, as opposed to New, try repairing Office.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional