Kindle Tips: Create a Clean MS Word Template, Two


Our goal here, is to create a new MS Word Template formatted exactly to match Kindle Publishing requirements.


Please see earlier article:


Actually, we won't create it ourselves, we will force MS Word to create a new, clean Template, then we will modify it as needed to suit our own purposes.


We do that by hiding our current template so Word can't find it...


Word will then create a new one.


First, sign out of MS Word, because we can't rename the MS Word Template if Word is loaded.


Now, find your  MS Word Template:


Work your way down through the following Folders, starting at My Computer:


My Computer
Local Disk C:\
Documents and Settings
Your User Name (it's CJ Allan for me)
Application Data
Microsoft
Templates


In the Templates Folder, you will find one -- or maybe both -- of the following templates, depending on whether you are using a recent or an older version of MS Word.


Template.dot
and/or
Template.dotx


I rename Templates like this:


Template 0.dot
 and
Template 0.dotx


Save your changes, and  go back to MS Word.


When you open MS Word, it will look for its Template... either Template.dot or Template.dotx, depending on your version of MS Word.


It won't find the Template, of course, because we hid it, so it will create a new one... a nice clean one.


Now, when we display the Styles and Formatting Styles Box, this is what we will see:


As you see, there are only about a dozen Styles there instead of the hundred or so that we got when we were creating Styles hit or miss when we were formatting by hand.


While we can create new styles if we need them, chances are that everything we need for Kindle formatting is right here.


Next, we will look at Normal Style and  Heading 1 to see how they are formatted.

8 comments:

  1. in my version of Windows 7, Documents and Settings is a BLOCKED folder. I can not access it. any suggestions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim,

      I don't know what that could mean unless it has something to do with Windows settings, such as the file or folder being set as "read only" or for some reason is not accessible by you.

      Delete
  2. Docs and Settings is a blocked folder in Windows 7. it has nothing to do with settings, you simply can't access it because it's not a folder per se... it points somewhere else, but i can not access it either which makes ALL of your articles, which are so wonderful, USELESS... because i am unable to perform the very first step.

    ReplyDelete
  3. OH MY!

    I see you asked this same question before, but did not get a satisfactory answer!

    I'll go through the tutorial and see if I can figure out what's wrong.

    Are you on a MAC by chance?

    That could be why you don't see the same displays I see.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim,

      Docs and Settings is not mentioned in this tutorial.

      Which tutorial is it that tells you to do something at "Docs and Settings"?

      I'll take a look at that one.


      Delete
  4. yes it is mentioned above... where you explain how to access the template.dot file. I am familiar with this file along with the Normal.dot template file and have accessed the Normal.dot many times in Windows XP. I am unable to figure out how to access it in Windows 7 yet because Docs and Settings is blocked. it's okay though. I think i have only one question: in using Word 2003 I see All Styles and Available Styles. If i select Available Styles, the list is only the few styles i have used and/or changed... norma, body text, H1 and a few others. if i use this, will all the other "all styles" still be transferred with my book, or will it transfer only the "available styles"? lots of questions and yet i'm confident it will all be fine.

    ReplyDelete
  5. not mac - using Dell pc. i have worked with styles a great deal in my past life as a Training designer, etc. I think i can get through it without having to change the template.dot if i use only the base styles and Kindle doesn't mind all the other styles existing but not being used.
    thanks for all of this! very informative and prepared me so much BEFORE i begin writing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, you are correct, Jim.

      In MOST cases, all those extra Styles will not affect your current Doc file.

      It is rare that the default Template has been changed so that it must be deleted and a new blank one built.

      I didn't make that clear in this Tutorial.

      I'm in the process right now of re-writing some of these tutorials to reflect recent changes in Amazon's software... and will try to make sure I correct my own mistakes, also.

      Thanks!

      Delete