How to use the MSWord templates

Template guide and overview.

These templates were adapted from Shun's templates. but my templates rely on more fields and less macros, and makes some aspects easier for keyboard users by automating some of the process, such as creating a new chapter.

These templates all make use of fields and field codes to provide an almost automated experience. The macro enabled templates provide some extra functionality but the field codes will work without the macros.

The field codes contained in these templates will automatically change when a user updates the fields with F9. Here are the field codes and what they do.

1. Rounded word count. I created a field that would automatically count and round words to the nearest hundred or nearest thousand, depending if you're working with novels or short stories.
2. Title of work. Changes the title in the document header and in the body to match the title of the document entered in document properties.

How to update the fields manually.

If you're using the templates that do not contain macros, you will need to update all of the fields before closing the document. To do this,

1. Press Control A to select the whole document.
2. Press F9.
3. Press Control S to save the document and the newly changed fields.

What do the macros do?

As of right now, I have created the below macros. Not all macros are included in every template. Below, you can get an overview of the macros created and what they do.

1. AutoClose, Automatically updates all fields in the document, including header, For all templates with macros. It saves the document, then closes Word.
2. Scene break. For all templates with macros. Creates a centered line with three asterisks then creates a new line, left aligned, ready for you to start typing again.
3. QFix. Deletes extra line spaces, extra white space, clears all extra formatting except for Shun formatting, deletes accidental double spacing after periods, fixes ellipsis problems.
4. CleanDialog. Capitalizes words after an opening quotation mark. Microsoft still won't fix this bug, and I couldn't get used to hitting the shift key, so I made this. This will capitalize every letter after an opening quotation mark. It's mainly for us lazy writers that don't hit the shift key when writing dialog.

Page breaks.

These templates use headings for chapter breaks because it is far cleaner and easier for navigation. The main 2 heading styles you will use are heading 1, and heading 2.

Microsoft Word has a setting that will allow you to automatically start headings on a new page. I had Macros that did this previously, but this was very slow, and very cumbersome.

I changed all heading 2 styles in this document to start on a new page. This should make your writing far easier and you won't have hard page breaks in manuscripts. For this to work, you need to use heading 2 styles as your chapters.

To use the heading 2 style, you press and hold control and alt together. While holding down Control, and alt, press 2. That will make a heading level 2.