How to Make Quick Parts Available in a Shared Word Template
Question details
The user needs to ensure that custom Quick Parts and building blocks are accessible to all users when sharing a Word template.
- Product
- Microsoft Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Distributing a shared Word template to a team or other users so they can use pre-configured custom building blocks.
- Observed behavior
- Quick Parts and building blocks are unavailable to other users because they were saved to an individual local document or normal template instead of the shared template file.
Ensure you have the shared Word template file (.dotx or .dotm) open, and that you have the necessary permissions to edit and save changes to this template.
Save Building Blocks Directly to the Shared Template
Use the Building Blocks Organizer to change the 'Save in' location of your custom Quick Parts so they are embedded within the shared template.
By default, Word saves new Quick Parts and building blocks to your local Normal.dotm template, which means they won't travel with the document when shared. To make them available to others, you must explicitly store them in the template you intend to distribute.
Open the shared Word template file or create a new document based directly on it.
Navigate to the 'Insert' tab on the ribbon, click on 'Quick Parts' in the Text group, and select 'Building Blocks Organizer'.
Scroll through the list to find your custom building block, select it, and click the 'Edit Properties' button at the bottom of the window.
In the 'Save in' dropdown menu, change the selection from 'Normal.dotm' to your shared template's file name. Click 'OK' and confirm that you want to redefine the building block entry.
Close the Building Blocks Organizer. When prompted upon closing the file, make sure to save the changes to the template. You can now distribute this template to other users.
Create and Share Custom Templates with WPS Office
WPS Writer provides a robust, intuitive way to create reusable templates with standard text, AutoText, and layouts that can be seamlessly shared across your team without complex configurations.
- 1. Set up your document: Open WPS Writer and configure your document with the standard text, layouts, headers, and reusable components you want.
- 2. Save as a template: Go to 'Menu' > 'Save As', and choose 'WPS Writer Template (*.wpt)' or 'Word Template (*.dotx)' from the file type dropdown menu.
- 3. Share with your team: Distribute the saved template file. When users open it in WPS Office, a new, clean document will automatically be generated based on your predefined layouts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my Quick Parts missing when I send a Word document to someone else?
Quick Parts are saved locally to your computer's Normal.dotm template by default. They do not automatically attach to standard Word documents (.docx). To share them, they must be saved within a specific template (.dotx) that is distributed to the other users.
What is the difference between a document template and a global template?
A document template only provides its building blocks to documents that are explicitly created from it. A global template, when placed in the Word Startup folder, makes its macros and building blocks available to every document opened on that computer.
Can I move multiple Quick Parts to a shared template at once?
Word's native interface requires you to change the 'Save in' property for each Quick Part individually in the Building Blocks Organizer. For bulk transfers, advanced users typically rely on third-party add-ins or custom VBA macros.
