Global Templates

Global template are very confusing and in fact are not really templates at all, but are more like add-ins.
There are two different types of global template:
Permanent - These are templates that are saved in the startup folder and are automatically loaded every time Word is open.
Temporary - These are templates that are available every time Word is open but are not loaded by default.

Global templates are useful if you want to distribute any macros or customisations.
Global templates are never used to create new documents.
Global templates are not "attached" to any specific document.
The Normal.dotm is an example of a global template that is loaded automatically when Word opens.
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Advantages of using Global Templates

You might create a global template for any of the following reasons:
1) To ensure a set of macros, styles, autotext etc is available for all documents currently open in a single session (but not for all sessions).
2) When you want to use a set of third party macros on your document without copying them to your Normal.dotm.
3) When you want to distribute your macros and customisations to other users.
When you work on a document, you can typically use only the settings stored in the template attached to that document or in the Normal template.
If you want to use any items that are stored in another template, you can load the other template when it is required.

Location

These are best kept separate from the user templates and the workgroup templates.

Adding and Removing Global Template

You can add and remove global templates from your session at any time using the (Tools > Templates and Add-ins) dialog box.
A global template can be unloaded temporarily until you close Word.
After you have added a template, all items in that template will be available.

If your Document template says "Normal" then there is no template attached to this document ??

When you select an add-in the folder location where the add-in is stored is displayed at the bottom.
Add - Lets you add a new global template to the list of available global templates.
Remove - Global templates can be removed (and added) at any time. Clearing the check box only unloads the template temporarily for the current session.
Automatically update document styles - Updates the styles in the active document to match the styles in the attached template each time you open the document. Select this check box when you want to ensure that your document contains up-to-date style formatting.
Organiser - Opens the Organizer, in which you can copy individual styles, macros, autotext entries, or toolbars from one document or template to another.

Permanent Global Templates

To automatically load a template or add-in every time you start Word you need to save the template in the Word Startup folder.
If you put your templates in any of the other folders (either User Templates or Workgroup Templates) then they will only be loaded "on demand" and not automatically.
You can easily check the location of your startup folder by selecting (File > Options)(Advanced, General, File Locations)
For more details on the startup folder, please refer to the File Locations page.

Remove - Global templates that are saved in the Word startup directory cannot be removed using this button (note that the button is disabled in the screen shot above). If you want to remove a global add-in (from the Word startup directory) you need to remove it using Windows Explorer.

Temporary Global Templates

These are templates that are available every time Word is open but are not loaded by default.
These templates can be used to share resources that are used in several templates and their documents.
If you wanted to use any resources from these templates in your documents then you can use the AutoOpen and AutoNew subroutines to load these templates when they are required.
A common place to store these templates is a subfolder within your startup folder.

Sharing a Global Template

If you have created a global template that is to be shared, you should use shortcuts to it in each user's Startup folder.
That way, any changes will automatically update everyone's Word.
If it is your own template and not shared you can either put it in your Startup folder or keep it elsewhere and use the shortcut to load it into Word.

Viewing Templates in VBA

Project is read-only - change the name ??
How to change the project description not to be normal ?

Important

Templates can be stored anywhere either locally on your hard drive or on a networked drive.
Global templates that are saved in your startup folder are loaded in alphabetical order. (.dot then .wll)
Global templates are not loaded automatically unless they are saved in the Startup folder.
Loading a global template does not apply text that's contained in that template.