LOWriter: Made long 300 page text: can I save it as template?

[captlibre80]

Greetings
I am new to using advanced features of LOWriter like styling for long documents around 400 pages.

Question:

1. Should I and/or can and/or should I save that long document as a template OTT format and not worry about it? I have limited custom styling I wish to save for this document and desire to make more custom styling
2. Then after saving template, how do I reset LOWriter back to default styling settings?
3. is the above proper procedure?
4. if I save ODT to OTT then back to ODT is that OK?
5. IT looks like when I save as OTT and close it, and re-open it: it shows “untitled” in the top bar and when I try to save it asks me to save it as a ODT. Confusing but I guess makes sense since I guess OTT is not regular file to work with?

Thanks

[Hrbrgr]

A Document Template is a sample file that is used to create new documents with.

Document Templates in Writer

[Wanderer]

I will start at the end:

@captlibre80

I guess OTT is not regular file to work with?

It is a regular file, no doubt. You may try to open the file from its context menu (in Windows explorer). There you should see 2 options: You can either edit the .ott itself or use it as template to open a new file, without name, therefore “Untitled.odt”.
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The idea is to use your template more than once. And to open as Untitled prevents to overwrite your template with some content.

@captlibre80

if I save ODT to OTT then back to ODT is that OK?

No real problem here. Often I create a regular file first, then save a template from that. Opening the template gives me a .odt file as default for save.

@captlibre80

• Then after saving template, how do I reset LOWriter back to default styling settings?
• is the above proper procedure?

It mostly does not work like this. Your document has its styling, wich is not changed after saving. If you change fonts from x-sans to x-serif none of your saved files will change. You can even work with different “settings” in different open files at the same time.
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You can set one file as your default template for new files, wich is used when you just choose File>New or start Writer without a file.
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If you really think you need a reset all: Last resort is a reset of the user-profile. Still: this will not change any file you saved outside the profile in your documents folder.

@captlibre80

Should I and/or can and/or should I save that long document as a template OTT format and not worry about it?

Usually (already described by @ajlittoz ) one would expect an empty “grid” to be filled. For example for three volumes “Lord of the rings” one could use a template with some maps at the beginning and glossar, list of persons, etc. at the end. Then you would just fill the story between this parts.
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Until now I only mentioned templates as “simple” files to fill. But there is more. Your template can/should contain also your paragraph styles etc. and can be used as a central place to change. When a document is derived from templates they can retain a connection to the template. When you change the template afterwards (example change font for body-text) and save this you will be asked the next time you use a derived file, if the changed template/styles shall be used.
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If your 300 pages would be the first of my mentioned 3 volumes only the second and third volume could be styled this way, as your first volume was done before you created the template. So templates should be created first for this, if possible.

@captlibre80

have limited custom styling I wish to save for this document and desire to make more custom styling

If you only wish to change the styling for this document, all you need is backup, wich can be write-protected in the OS. So you can always go back, if necessary.
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Templates are useful, if you wish to re-use files/styles.
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If you want to develop your personal settings for all future files, you may set one template as your default for new files.

[mikekaganski]

@Wanderer

@captlibre80

I guess OTT is not regular file to work with?

It is a regular file, no doubt. You may try to open the file from its context menu (in Windows explorer). There you should see 2 options: You can either edit the .ott itself or use it as template to open a new file, without name, therefore “Untitled.odt”.

Let me try to make one thing clear.
Of course, OTT is a “regular file” in technical sense.
However, it definitely is not just a renamed ODT. The difference is subtle, but if one would try to use OTT as ODT, e.g. by copying, changing the extension, and then working in the resulting file, there will eventually be surprises. E.g., there may be differences in how some fields are treated. I saw users doing exactly that, and getting those problems - hence my explicit attempt to clarify this - based on the vagueness of the “OTT is not regular file to work with” wording.

When you save as template, the created OTT gets a different MIME type (written into the file). When you rename it, the MIME type isn’t changed. So make sure, that you don’t rename OTTs to pretend they are ODTs now.

[ajlittoz]

@captlibre80

Should I and/or can and/or should I save that long document as a template OTT format and not worry about it? I have limited custom styling I wish to save for this document and desire to make more custom styling

.ott template files are intended to contain the collection of styles required by a document category (private letter, business letter, academic paper, novel, …) and initial “constant” text.

Therefore I doubt that any document in any category ever need 300 pages of shared text. You should reconsider what is common to your various files (title page skeleton; front material like copyright, publishing information, intellectual property; empty TOC, skeleton chapter with header and footer, empty alphabetical index, perhaps back material). All in all, this should amount to at most 20 pages depending on the sophistication of your layout; usually 10 pages is a maximum.

But if you’re in a mood to create a 300-page template, Writer won’t object and can perfectly manage it.

@captlibre80

Then after saving template, how do I reset LOWriter back to default styling settings?

Saving a template and making it your default are two separate things. If you’re writing documents requiring several different templates, don’t one of them the default and select the appropriate one at creation time with File>New>Template. Note this can always be done, no matter which template is the default.

To reset or change the default template, File>Templates>Manage Templates

@captlibre80

is the above proper procedure?

I am not sure to have understood your procedure.

Ideally, always manage your templates from within Writer. Then, they will be stored in the directory where Writer expects to find them. Tools>Options, LO>Paths allows you to define additional user directories for templates so that they are not hidden inside “internal” directories and you can manage them easily with your file browser.

@captlibre80

if I save ODT to OTT then back to ODT is that OK?

Don’t try to save “manually” as .ott. This effectively creates a bare template but some nice properties are not enabled. To manipulate/create templates, File>Templates>xxx. The templates will be known to Writer and document auto-update when you modify a template becomes possible.

@captlibre80

IT looks like when I save as OTT and close it, and re-open it: it shows “untitled” in the top bar and when I try to save it asks me to save it as a ODT. Confusing but I guess makes sense since I guess OTT is not regular file to work with?

A template is a “universal” “neutral” model from which you derive a specific .odt document. Therefore Writer protects the template by not allowing overwrite and the template can be used for other new documents. Since the document created from the template is a new one, its name is Untitled1.odt by complete ignorance of your purpose.

It is not “confusing”. It is intended (and logical), once again to avoid overwrite of valuable files (a good template requires a lot of work).

PS: when asking here, always mention OS name, exact LO version (and save format).