138 PCWorld MARCH 2020HERE’S HOW HOW TO USE TEMPLATES IN WORD
originators of a large
banking institution
have a meeting at
one of the 12
branches. It’s your
assistant’s job to
email the date, time,
location, speakers,
topics, and agenda
to each attendee.
Rather than have that
person retype the
data in a regular
template, you can
create a template where options can be
chosen from a list. For example:- First, create the template, then decide
which fields (date, time, etc.) can be
selected from a list. - Click the Developer tab.
- Position your cursor on the template
where the date goes. - Select Insert > Text > Quick Parts >
Field, then choose Date from the Categories
panel and select a date format from the
Properties panel. Click OK. Now the date
will update automatically. - Next, position your cursor on the
template where the location goes. - Select Developer > Controls > Combo
Box Content Control. Word places this item
on your template. - With the Developer tab still selected,
click Controls > Properties, and the Content
Control Properties dialog window opens.- Click the Add button, enter a
branch name in the Add Choice dialog
box, then click OK. Repeat this process
until all the branch locations are entered,
then click OK again to close this dialog
window. - If you want to modify, remove, or
move an entry up or down, highlight the
entry, then click the appropriate button. - You can change the color of the
Combo Box frame and change or create a
custom style (fonts, color, attributes, etc.) for
the typeface used inside the Combo Box. - Repeat steps 5 through 8 above to
create Combo Box Content Controls for the
remaining fields: meeting date and time,
speakers, and topics. - When finished, save the document
as a Word Template (*.dotx).
Insert a date field that automatically updates.