About template locations
Document templates can be stored on your hard disk, included in a document library, or used as a workgroup template.
When you or someone in your workgroup uses a template from the New Document task pane, two factors determine which document templates are available and which tab of the Templates dialog box each template appears on: the location of the template and your file location settings for User templates and Workgroup templates. To check your template file location settings, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the File Locations tab.
Security The default locations for templates and the Startup folder are treated as trusted locations. If you change the location, be sure that the new folder is a secure location.
Document templates
Save your custom templates in the Templates folder. Template files that you save in the Templates folder appear in the Templates dialog box, which you display by clicking New on the File menu, and then clicking On my computer in the New Document task pane. Any document (.doc) file that you save in the Templates folder also acts as a template.
Templates you save in the Templates folder appear on the General tab (Templates dialog box).
If you want to create custom tabs for your templates in the Templates dialog box, create a new subfolder in the Templates folder and save your templates in that subfolder. The folder location must match the path listed for User Templates on the File Locations tab (Tools menu, Options command). The name you give that subfolder will appear on the new tab. If you save a template in a different location, the template will not appear in the Templates dialog box.
Note You can also remove tabs from the Templates dialog box by marking them as not available in the Setup program.
Document libraries
Templates may be stored as part of a document library. Each document library includes a Web page that lists the library's contents. For example, you could create a library of common graphics for a project, or a collection of Microsoft Word documents containing your monthly status reports.
Workgroup templates
It is recommended that your system administrator store templates that you share on a network in the Workgroup templates file location specified on the File Locations tab. To keep custom templates from being inadvertently altered by others, the administrator should mark them as read-only or store them on a server with limited permissions.