Creating a document template from a Microsoft Word document

You can drag and drop a Microsoft Word template onto Document Studio to quickly create a new template or a link to a resource in an existing template.

Before you begin

Create a Word template with a .dot extension. You can prototype the document in Word, and then import it into Document Studio to continue working with it.

About this task

Note: Only the basic elements and formatting will be imported from the Word template to the Document Studio template.
After you import the Word template into Document Studio, simple elements should be retained such as paragraphs, tables, and lists along with formatting such as fonts, indentation and borders. The following elements are supported:
The following are not supported:
  • Horizontal and vertical merge.
  • Empty paragraph properties such as font color or name.
  • Bullet properties such as font.
  • OLE objects.
  • If a list is enclosed within a paragraph to support paragraph properties such as spacing, an additional line might appear before the list begins.
  • If there are independent paragraphs in between list items, the list items are treated as different lists.
Tip: For better results:
  • Front page templates: You might also want to use the Word template as a stylesheet in the document specification, by setting this file as a style sheet for the Word output property.
  • Content templates: You might want to remove any repetitive data in the document.

Importing a Word template into an existing template

Procedure

  1. Open an existing template or create a blank new template in Document Studio.
  2. Drag and drop the Word template onto the Document Studio template editor. The Import Word Template wizard opens.
    Note: Alternatively, you can also access the wizard from the Template > Import Word Template menu in Document Studio and then specify the path to the document in the Select path to Word document field.
  3. Click the Import Word template contents to the existing RPE template radio button.
  4. Choose whether you want the import to focus on the front page or on the contents of the document.
    • Front page: Corresponds to the front pages of the document , up to a maximum of 5 pages. This might include the company name, logo, table of contents, or headers and footers.
    • Contents: Use for a larger document structure, up to a maximum of 10 pages. You might want to remove any repetitive data in the document
  5. Select how many rows or list items to import.
  6. Click Finish.
  7. Save the template to your file system with a .dta extension.

Results

You now have a simple template based on the Word template that you imported. The Word template contents are converted to Rational Publishing Engine template elements. You can continue editing the template, add data to template elements, or preview or generate the document to see the results of the import.
Sample DNG template

Feedback