Software & Apps > MS Office How to Find Microsoft Word Templates Online Find a particular style for your work By James Marshall James Marshall Writer James Marshall is a pro journalist who covers technology and computer troubleshooting. He is also skilled with Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and other word processors. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on February 13, 2021 Reviewed by Ryan Perian Reviewed by Ryan Perian Western Governors University Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email In This Article Expand Jump to a Section What Is a Template? Step-by-Step: Access Templates in Word Find Word Templates on Mac Download Templates from the Office Website Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Office include many ready-to-use templates built into the software. If you're looking for a particular style or layout for your document and can't find it among the templates included with Word, don't worry. You don't have to create one from scratch. The Microsoft Online site is an excellent resource in your search for the right template. Instructions in this article apply to Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word for Mac. What Is a Template? Templates are pre-formatted document file types that create a copy of the template contents when opened. These versatile files help you quickly create documents like flyers, research papers, and resumes with no manual formatting. Template files for Microsoft Word use the extensions .dot, .dotx, or .dotm. When you open a template, Word opens a new document with all the formatting in place, ready for you to customize as needed. You can then save the document with a unique filename. How to Access Online Templates You can find and download Microsoft Office online templates in Word. Here's how: Select File > New to start a new document. Select a template or use the search box to find alternatives. When you find the template you want to use, select it to see a preview and description. Select Create to open the template. How to Access Online Templates for Word on the Mac The process for finding and opening a new template on Microsoft Word for Mac is similar to the Windows version. However, the online templates are integrated with the in-app ones when you search. Select File > New from Template. The keyboard shortcut is Shift+Command+P. Click Templates (located next to Search at the top of the screen). Use the search bar to look for a specific kind of template. The results will be a mix of the preloaded Word templates and the ones available online. Select the template you want. Select Create to download the template and open a newly formatted document ready for use. Download Templates from the Office Online Website Depending on your version of Word, your web browser will either display templates within the app or open the Office templates page in the web browser. In older versions of Word that are no longer supported by Microsoft, such as Word 2003, an error page may appear when Word opens the Office Online page in a web browser. If this is the case, go to the Office Online templates page. From the Office templates page, you can search by Office program or by theme. When you search by program, you have the option to search by document type. When you find a template that suits your needs, click Download. The template will open for editing in Word. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit