Personal templates in Word for Windows 2013 and 2016
In previous versions of Word the best way to start a new document from a template was to click File > New > My Templates. In Word 2013 and 2016 this command no longer exists. In fact, there is no way to access personal templates, only the Featured templates provided by Microsoft, unless you specify the Default personal templates location.
To specify the Default personal templates location:
- Click File > Options > Save.
- In the Default personal templates location enter the path to your personal template folder. This path should be the same as the User templates folder.
Note that you cannot browse to a location; you must either correctly type a path or paste text for a path. To use the same folder as the User templates folder type:
%appdata%\microsoft\templates
Now, when you click File > New you can choose from Featured or Personal templates:
For a fuller explanation and other options see Use local templates with Office 2013.
To make Personal the default screen you will need to edit the Registry.