As you learned in the previous sections, character and paragraph styles are always saved in the document in which they were created. If you want to use such styles in other documents also, you should save them in a document template.
Each time you choose the ribbon command File | New 
, TextMaker allows you to select a document template as the basis for the new document. If, at this point, you select a document template that you have created, the new document will have the same character and paragraph styles that you saved in the template.
Document templates can also include text – for example, your letterhead. Thus, you can kill two birds with one stone: You can create a document template with your letterhead and your favorite styles for letters, another for annual reports and so on.
Templates linked to a database
It gets even better: You can assign a database to a document template and then insert database fields into it. When you create a new document based on this template, the TextMaker database appears automatically and lets you select a record and insert its fields into your letterhead, your fax form, etc. (The database fields themselves are physically replaced in the document by the content of the inserted record.)
Creating a letter becomes child's play: Simply choose the command File | New, select the letter template and the recipient's name and address – and you will obtain a fully completed letterhead.
Tip: TextMaker contains numerous predefined document templates for letters, flyers, etc. Try them out – just choose the ribbon command File | New (click on the icon itself to open the dialog box), and then select one of the templates in the subfolders.
FreeOffice: SoftMaker FreeOffice does not include all predefined document templates.
For more information, see Importing individual addresses.
For general information on working with document templates, see the next pages.