Finding the Office Templates Folder

Word, Excel and Outlook templates that you create should be stored in the Office Templates folder, or a sub-folder underneath it.  In order to do that, you have to know where this folder is located, and that location is far from obvious.

Here are instructions for how to find the location of the Office Templates folder for Office 2003 through 2016.  You do need to look, since it is possible for a user to select a non-default folder as the Templates folder, and if you place your templates somewhere other than the designated folder, you won't be able to see them when creating new documents.

Office 2003

1. To  locate the Office Templates folder, open any Word document, select  Tools|Options and click the File Locations page. Note the folder path for the User Templates folder.
   
   
   
   
   
2. If the folder name is cut off, click the Modify button, then drop down the Templates item in the address bar to show the path (or most of it; the C:\Users\ portion is omitted):
   
   
   
3. Typically the folder will be one of these paths (but it may be in another folder, or it may be a custom path):
   • C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates
   • C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates

Office 2007

1. To locate the Office Templates folder, open any Word document, click the large Office button in the upper-left corner, and then click the Word Options button.
   
   
   
2. In the Word Options dialog, select the Advanced item in the left pane, and click the File Locations button at the bottom of the screen.
   
   
   
3. Look at the UserTemplates line.
   
   
   
4. To see the entire path, click the Modify button, then click in the address bar to show the path:
   
   
   
5. Typically the folder will be in C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates, but it may be in a different location, depending on your Windows version, or it may be a custom path.

Office 2010

1. To locate the Office Templates folder, open any Word document, click the File tab and then the Options link on the left side.
   
   
   
2. This opens the Word Options dialog; click the Advanced link on the left side and scroll all the way down to the bottom, then click the File Locations button:
   
   
   
3. Look at the UserTemplates line; most likely it will be cut off:
   
   
   
4. To see the entire path, click the Modify button, then click in the address bar to show the path:
   
   
   
5. Typically the folder will be in C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates, but it may be in a different location, depending on your Windows version, or it may be a custom path.

Office 2013

1. To locate the Office Templates folder, open any Word document, click the File tab and then the Options link on the left side.
   
   
   
2. This opens the Word Options dialog; click the Advanced link on the left side and scroll all the way down to the bottom, then click the File Locations button:
   
   
   
3. Look at the UserTemplates line; most likely it will be cut off:
   
   
   
4. To see the entire path, click the Modify button, then click in the address bar to show the path:
   
   
   
5. Typically the folder will be in C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates, but it may be in a different location, depending on your Windows version, or it may be a custom path.

Office 2016

1. To locate the Office Templates folder, open any Word document, click the File tab and then the Options link on the left side.
   
   
   
2. This opens the Word Options dialog; click the Advanced link on the left side and scroll a long way down, then click the File Locations button:
   
   
   
3. Look at the UserTemplates line; most likely it will be cut off:
   
   
   
4. To see the entire path, click the Modify button, then click in the address bar to show the path:
   
   
   
5. Typically the folder will be in C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates, but it may be in a different location, depending on your Windows version, or it may be a custom path.