You’ve written a document and now want it to match your company or school template: the same fonts, heading styles, colors, and spacing. Word doesn’t have an obvious “apply template” button, but you can attach a template to an existing document so its styles take over. This guide shows how to do that on Windows and Mac, what actually changes, and what to do when you need the template’s headers, logos, or layout too.
Quick answer
Open the document, go to Developer > Document Template (or File > Options > Add-ins > Manage Templates > Go), click Attach, choose your template, check Automatically update document styles, and click OK.
What applying a template changes
This is the part that trips most people up. Attaching a template to an existing document copies the template’s styles into your document, such as Normal, Heading 1, Heading 2, Title, and List styles. Any text that uses those styles updates to the new look.
It does not bring over the template’s text, logos, headers and footers, page margins, or cover page. If you need those, see the “Copy content into the template” method below.
It also only works well if your document uses styles. If you formatted headings by hand (bold, bigger font) instead of applying Heading 1 or Heading 2, those headings won’t change. Apply the right styles first from the Home tab.
How to attach a template on Windows
- Open the Word document you want to update.
- Click File > Options > Add-ins.
- At the bottom, set Manage to Templates and click Go. If the Developer tab is showing, you can click Developer > Document Template instead.
- In the Templates and Add-ins window, click Attach.
- Browse to your template (a .dotx or .dotm file) and click Open.
- Check Automatically update document styles.
- Click OK. Your headings and body text update to the template’s styles.
Your personal templates are usually stored in Documents\Custom Office Templates. If you don’t have a template yet, see how to save a Word document as a template.
How to attach a template on a Mac
- Open the document.
- Click Tools > Templates and Add-ins.
- Click Attach, select the template, and click Open.
- Check Automatically update document styles and click OK.
Turn off automatic updating afterward
Once the styles look right, open Templates and Add-ins again and uncheck Automatically update document styles. Otherwise, every time the document opens, Word reapplies the template’s styles, which can undo changes you make later or cause surprises if someone edits the template.
Copy only certain styles with the Organizer
If you only want a few styles from the template, such as the headings, use the Organizer:
- Open Templates and Add-ins as above and click Organizer.
- On the right side, click Close File, then Open File, and choose your template.
- Select the styles you want on the right and click Copy to bring them into your document on the left.
- Click Close.
Copy content into the template
When you need the template’s full layout, including headers, footers, logos, and margins, it’s easier to start from the template and move your text into it:
- Create a new document from the template. Double-click the .dotx file, or go to File > New > Personal and pick it.
- In your old document, press Ctrl + A and Ctrl + C to copy everything.
- In the new document, click where the content should go and right-click. Choose the Use Destination Styles paste option so your text picks up the template’s formatting.
- Save the new document with a new name.
Bring over just the header and footer
If your document’s styles are fine and you only need the template’s letterhead or footer, open a document based on the template and double-click inside the header. Press Ctrl + A to select everything in the header, copy it, then double-click the header in your own document and paste. Repeat for the footer. Logos, page numbers, and fields come along with it. If the template uses a different first-page header, check Different First Page in your document too so the layout matches.
Quick style changes without a template
If you just want a different look and don’t have a template, the Design tab offers themes and style sets that restyle the whole document in one click. Pick a Theme for fonts and colors, then a Style Set for heading and paragraph formatting. Click Set as Default if you want new documents to use the same look.
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Frequently asked questions
Why didn’t my document change after attaching the template?
Either Automatically update document styles wasn’t checked, or your text doesn’t use Word’s built-in styles. Check the box and apply Heading and Normal styles to your text.
Can I change which template a document uses?
Yes. Open Templates and Add-ins, click Attach, and choose a different template. The new template’s styles replace the old ones when auto-update is on.
What’s the difference between .dotx and .dotm?
Both are Word templates. A .dotm file can contain macros, while .dotx can’t. Use .dotx unless your template needs macros.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.