Hi Folks

I've just designed a load of new stationery for a client (Business Cards, Letterheads, Compliment Slips, etc.) and was just about to send them all off to print.

However, they've now asked me if I can supply the letterhead as a Word Template, so they can just overtype what they require and print the whole lot off themselves.

I'm not a wizard with Microsoft products by any means and I've got myself a bit stuck.

I've exported the Adobe InDesign document out as a PDF, opened this in Adobe Illustrator and again, exported this in .png format (according to the internet buffs, Word is happier with a .png than a lot of other formats).

I've only got a really old copy of MS Word (2004) so I opened this and created a new A4 document. I then went to View -->
Header and Footer, then I clicked in the Header area, imported the .png file and resized, moved, etc., to suit.

I then switched off the 'Header and Footer' and made sure that 'view' was set to 'Page Layout' and everything looked as it should (background image had gone pale and was 'locked').

However, if I then click in the document to start typing, my cursor arrives right at the bottom (I suspect, in the 'footer' area of the document), and as soon as I hit a return, then I get a second page in the document.

Is there any way I can get my cursor into a 'normal' text area as defined by the document guides?

Many Thanks in advance if anyone can solve this!

Cheers
Chris

Hi Chris I have never had to do this so I can't help, however my 12 year old grandson has suggested this which may work in office 2004 I use 2010 and it works with that.

Open your document and then click File>
Options>
Save>
and you should see something like 'Save files in this format' there you should be able to choose the format you want?

Good luck

Chris wrote:

However, they've now asked me if I can supply the letterhead as a Word Template, so they can just over-type what they require and print the whole lot off themselves.

Chris,
Yes it sounds as if you have made the Header far to big.

If you also mean that every time they open their office program their new personalised template will automatically be seen, they will then have to select the save option which will then also ask for a name and location of the saved document without altering the template, then the following is what you will need.

NOTE:
If you end up having a problem with the normal.dot file on your system after playing around when creating and checking it, just delete it from the folder the original was stored in, Office will automatically create a new blank normal.dot file, so no worries.

********************************************

To create a personalised default page in MS Word you need to open the file called “normal.dot”

First of all you need to select “Show hidden files and folders and also 'un-check' the 'Hide Extensions of known file types' option”
Open "
My Computer"
, Select “Tools”, followed by, “Folder options”, then “View”, and then select, “Show hidden files and folders”

1. Open word.

2. Close the page that opens by default.

3. From File, select “Open”
You then need to navigate to where the “normal.dot” file is stored.
Don’t forget to change the type of files to be shown, in “Files of Types” to (.dot)
The normal .dot file can usually be found in:
C:\Documents and Settings >
YOUR NAME HERE >
Application Data >
Microsoft >
Templates >
normal.dot

or for Win7:
C:\ >
Users >
YOUR NAME HERE>
AppData >
Roaming >
Microsoft >
Templates >
normal.dot
Don't forget you need to replace "
YOUR NAME HERE"
with the name of your default folder.

4. Once opened carry out any alterations.

5. Select “Save” (not save as)

6. Select "
Close"


7. Re-open MS Word, word should now open with the new default template and open with the changes that you created.

If you need a blank sheet, simply delete any information being shown and carry on as normal.
Or you can simply just open a NEW Blank Sheet.

********************************************

For the remainder of the new templates, as Admin has said, you need to save the documents as 'Templates' with the extension of .dot NOT .doc, and must also be saved in the Windows Office template folder, then when wanting to open a 'New' template they will then select the 'NEW' from the 'File menu option.
But remember they must be saved as templates and not ordinary Word or Excel files.

Opening a template this way will not get altered and will always ask for a new name and location when trying to save.

As a guide to the template location folder, mine are saved in:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033

Obviously your location may be different so this is just a guide.
This does work but is not always straightforward to setup, so you may need to persevere a little, because the normal.dot file does not always seem to show when opening the folder, but it is there, so double check hidden files and foldrs is still not selected.

Phil-H wrote:

Yes it sounds as if you have made the Header far to big.

Thanks Phil

mmm what I'm trying to do could be quite tricky then. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The 'header' in fact needs to cover the entire A4 page, as there is an image in the entire background.

So, when I imported the graphic into the 'header' area, I then resized it to the whole page size.

Is this why I can't type any text in the 'normal' area of the page?

Sorry have to make this ultra quick as I have to go out, but yes, what you just said is correct.

However all is not lost, what you can do is to set the page to use a 'Watermark'
or try looking for Background Image.

I have used them in the past but can't remember if you can set a image of your own, which might be why a lot of companies have pre-printed paper with the basic information already printed, also it cuts down on the secondary printing cost.

Will get back to you in a couple of hours and will then have time to look better.
Also which version of MS Office are they using.

Nothing is impossible, just takes a bit longer to achieve.

Phil-H wrote:

However all is not lost, what you can do is to set the page to use a 'Watermark'
or try looking for Background Image.

Hi Phil

Many thanks for the input, all sorted out now!

I wasn't aware, but the image is automatically set up to have a 'text runaround' assigned to it. Once I turned this off, the text could be entered onto the document as usual.

Thank again

Ok, back again, sorry about that but I was almost running late for a opticians appointment, but back now.

Yes I had forgotten about the image background setting/s of things like Type Through/Around and a few others, so as you say that should solve that problem, but that does not really want to be set into a header, because the idea of the header is so it can either be hidden or/and not altered by the typist.

But I think maybe advising them just to get the basic paper pre-printed with their header and background might in the long run be a better option and although I have not had any printing done for many years now, my standard letter headed paper was not very expensive.

Either way, don't forget to set them up as templates with the .dot extension, so they can't be altered and saved accidentally.

Chris,
Not sure if it's to late but I was just thinking of your project and thought that if you have basically use the header/footer setup to input all of the details and stretched it to fit the whole page, then basically you are defeating the object of Headers/Footers, which is basically to set up text or/and logo, then when it s closed it not only stops people from typing in those areas but also make the cursor start at the first available place on the page to start typing.

So you can still set up the header with their logo, and then also import the graphic as a background image (as you have already done) and type through it by just placing it in the normal typing are.

That way your page is basically divided into 3 parts,
Part 1. The header being part one which is then also a protected area and nothing can be occidentally deleted.
Part 2. The normal typing are, where any pre-set information can be deleted if required.
Part 3. The footer area, possibly being used for company information, but again is a protected area to stop information from accidental being removed.

Thanks Phil.

Strangely enough, after all that hassle, they now want me to print 10,000 'blank' letterheadings, and they can just shove them in the printer when they need them!

10,000 [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Are they having a laugh?

It will only cost a fraction of the price for the printers to make them to what 10,000 would cost you to print, not forgetting by the time you finish add the cost of a new printer onto the bill.

They are either very naive or trying to take you for a ride.