Keep reading to learn how to use custom style templates in LibreOffice Writer.
1. Create or Download a Style Document
First, you need a style document that has all the styles you want to use. A style refers to the formatting applied to a specific part of a document, such as a heading or a bulleted list. You can save time by using a file that already has the correct formats applied.
To follow a workplace or academic style guide, see if your employer or school has a template file you can download. You might also be able to use documents you’ve already created in the correct style. For citation styles, be sure to use the correct edition!
If you don’t have to follow a style guide, you have more freedom. Have a look through Microsoft’s Templates for Word and choose the one you like. LibreOffice will open these .dotx files without issue, but you must save them as a document file type such as .docx or .odt to use them.
After downloading the document, make any small changes necessary. For instance, adjusting the font size or selecting a different color palette.
Optional: Create Your Own Template
If you couldn’t find a pre-formatted document to save, you can create your own. It takes a minute to set up, but you only have to do it once. After that, you can load the styles with a single click.
Create a blank document and add all the elements you need. This can let you make LibreOffice look more like Microsoft Word if you make the styles look like Word’s defaults.
First, set the desired style type by selecting it from the Manage Styles sidebar. If you can’t see the sidebar, press F11 to open it or go to Styles > Manage Styles.
Next, right-click the selected style, and choose Modify. From there, you have many options to change the font, paragraph spacing, and more. Click Apply when you’re done. Continue changing styles until they all look the way you want.
It’s a good idea to include all the commonly-used styles, such as:
Headings. Create at least four levels. Paragraphs. This is the default text. Lists. This refers to numbered and bulleted lists. Be sure to do at least three levels of indented styles. Table Heading. You likely work with tables more than you think! Be sure to define what their heading rows looks like. Table Contents. Ordinary text inside a table will match the Paragraph style unless you change it.
2. Save the Document as a Template
Before you can load styles from it, you need to convert your document into a Template file. You can do this using File > Save as Template. This copies the formatting in your style document into a Template file.
To complete the conversion, pick a Category and click Save.
3. Test Your New Template
You should now be able to import styles from your template using the Manage Styles sidebar. To test it, create a new document and add some styles using LibreOffice Writer’s defaults.
Now try to import your new template of styles. Open the Manage Styles sidebar with F11, then select Styles Actions > Load Styles from Template and load the template you want.
Make sure to also select all the Overwrite options, as shown above. This allows the template to replace existing styles.
You should see the styles change. However, any styles that you didn’t change in the template file will stay the same. If the document doesn’t change, save your style document as a .docx or .odt file, then use Save as Template again. LibreOffice Writer cannot import styles from .dotx files.
4. Keep the Styles Up to Date
Later on, you may need to adjust your styles. When this happens, you need to update the Template file. If you only update the style but do not update the file it’s drawing from, the change won’t stick.
In the styles document, right-click the incorrect style in the sidebar and use Modify to update it. But updating the style document won’t work by itself. You also need to use Save as Template to overwrite the Template file. Be sure to select the same file path and type the name exactly the same so that it saves over the old file.
Increase Your Productivity With Preset Styles
Now you can switch between style sets using Writer’s Manage Styles menu. With this, you don’t have to spend so much time nit-picking the formatting. You can even import templates you made in Microsoft Word.
