This feature is a more flexible alternative to the New submenu that appears on the context menu. Windows makes the use of file templates unnecessarily complicated, so we designed this as a user-friendly method. The differences are:

1. Adding new items to the menu is easy, through the Add To Templates item. Removing them is just as simple, using the Add/Remove Templates dialog.

2. Templates you add really do appear on the menu. (Seems obvious, but in Windows they may appear instantly, after a couple of restarts, or never.)

3. You can have any number of templates of the same file type (such as several different HTML documents).

4. You can give each template its own recognizable name.

5. When you create a new file from a template, you can choose to immediately open it for editing in its associated application.

To create a new file from one of your templates:

1. Move to the New From Template item on the ShellToys XP menu.

2. Pick the file you want to create from the submenu.

3. In the dialog that appears, type a name for the new file. If you want to start editing the new file immediately in its associated application, check the box above the filename.

4. Click Save to create the template, or Cancel to forget the whole thing.

To add or remove items that appear on the New From Template menu:

1. From the New From Template submenu, choose Add/Remove Templates.

2. The Add/Remove Templates dialog will open.

A quicker way to add a new template is to right-click a file and choose Add To Templates from the ShellToys XP menu.

See also: