Create Header/Footer template

[Sierra1]

My goal: I want to create a footer template so that I can add it from Inser > Heaer/Footer > Footer > MY TEMPLATE

Currently there is only a default footer in there (That’s why I would expect there can be more than one). I use some footer styles quite often and I would have to copy them over from a differen file or create them new for each document.

I read that you could do something similar here: trying to create header/footer template - #4 by ajlittoz
However, this was more about using page templates for something like this. The downside I had with these templates was that they were not applied to the docment I worked on but rather opened a new window with the template (maybe I did something wrong there).

Is it even possible to add a header/footer template?
If yes, how would I do that?

[ajlittoz]

Remember that template files not only contain styles but can also be “decorated” with initial contents. And it is easier to delete some part of a document than to add one.

First approach: page styles

Header and footer are properties of a page style. If you need different header/footer contents across your document, you must create different page styles. Except …

If your header/footer contents can be computed or deduced from text prominent data, like document title, chapter heading, …, you can insert this data through fields. As an example, think of a header showing chapter title at left and page number at right. Both are available through fields (Insert>Field>More Fields). With such a “dynamic” header a single page style is enough for all chapters.

In case you really must design several page styles for the purpose of different header/footer, add several pages in your template formatted by these page styles so that you can craft your header/footer. These blank pages (blank except for the header/footer) will be also present in the generated document. Delete those you don’t need after creation of the derived document.

Second approach: AutoText

Another possibility is to use Tools>AutoText which is not associated with any template but to your user profile.

Create first the fully formatted text you want to become your footer template. Do this anywhere, not necessarily in the footer. When done, select it and Tools>AutoText. Give it a name and a “shortcut”. Save it. Note you can save it in user-location if you want so that you can copy and send the new AutoText entries to others.

To insert your AutoText entry, type its “shortcut” and F3.

Reminder

A page style can have only only header and footer. If your custom header/footer is “static”, i.e. made only of typed text without any field, you need one page style per header/footer.

[Sierra1]

page styles
I have tried this, but it did not really work for me. When I wanted to apply a template (using Ctrl + Shift + N) I always got a new document instead of applying the style to the current page. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, maybe it’s not even designed to do something like this.

Auto text
Works better and is almost what I was looking for. I would say good enough for a solution

[ajlittoz]

@Sierra1

When I wanted to apply a template (using Ctrl + Shift + N) I always got a new document

A template in LO parlance is a model for a new document with its own collection of styles. Consequently, creating a new document from the key combination is the intended result.

In your mind, a “template” is just a sequence of words you want to repeatedly insert. It is of smaller importance and less structured than a “Writer template”.

Beware that with such sophisticated an application as LO, a specific vocabulary has been developed to designate features. Consequently, a word may not have common layman significance. For definition and explanation, read the Writer Guide.