Make Any File a Template Using This Hidden macOS Tool

[MacRumors]

Stationery Pad is a handy way to nix a step in your workflow if you regularly use document templates on your Mac. The long-standing Finder feature essentially tells a file's parent application to open a copy of it by default, ensuring that the original file remains unedited.

Stationery Pad doesn't get much attention these days, but it's a neat alternative to repeatedly editing templates and using the "Save As..." command, which can lead to overwriting the original file if you're not too careful.

Almost any file type can be defined as a template with Stationery Pad – it could be used to streamline common Photoshop jobs, create skeleton HTML/CSS files, or help with Word document invoicing. To make use of Stationery Pad, create the file you want to use as a template, then follow the steps below.

Define a File as a Template Using Stationery Pad

1. 
   Find the file in Finder that you want to use as a template.
   Right-click (or Ctrl-click) the file and select Get Info in the contextual dropdown menu. Alternatively, click the file to select it and use the Command+I keyboard shortcut to launch Get Info.
   
   
   
   Check the Stationery Pad checkbox under the General section.
   
   
   
   Click the red traffic light button to close the Get Info window.

Next time you double-click the template file, Finder will create and open a copy of it, leaving the original untouched. To reverse the behavior, simply uncheck the Stationery Pad checkbox in the template file's Get Info window.

Article Link: Make Any File a Template Using This Hidden macOS Tool

 

[UltimateSyn]

I’ve used Macs for ~25 years and never knew you could do this. Thank you!

 

[wanha]

Apple is usually great at naming things, but "Stationary pad" is a terribly confusing name for this useful feature

 

[Willis]

I remember looking this up around 10-15 years ago and thought oh cool, but had zero use for it. Naturally, I forgot this existed.

Probably the best Mac tip going right now

 

[neilw]

I’ve used Macs for ~25 years and never knew you could do this. Thank you!

29 years for me, never heard of this before.

 

[Realityck]

Great reminder of overlooked embedded macOS feature.

 

[brightonguy]

If Apple actually renamed this checkbox and call it "This file is a template" or whatever else they want to use as long as it has the word "template" on it, it would have more mainstream awareness. Who the hell uses the term "stationary pad" nowadays?

 

[Zc456]

So that's what that does.

 

[Bustycat]

Never knew what it really is until today.🥴

 

[Chiromac81]

What's a practical real world use case for this for naive Mac users like myself??

 

[PsykX]

In French, it's called "Modèle" which means "Model". Much more clear
Maybe I'm just stupid but I have no idea what a Stationery Pad is.

 

[cicalinarrot]

Apple is usually great at naming things, but "Stationary pad" is a terribly confusing name for this useful feature

Are you ever going to forget it though?

 

[AngerDanger]

Not only did I not know what that checkbox did, I'd somehow never even noticed it 😅

Apple is usually great at naming things, but "Stationary pad" is a terribly confusing name for this useful feature

Seriously, "Make Template" would be so much less ambiguous.

 

[lexvo]

In French, it's called "Modèle" which means "Model". Much more clear
Maybe I'm just stupid but I have no idea what a Stationery Pad is.

And in Dutch it is called "Sjabloondocument" which is a good description.

 

[UltimateSyn]

What's a practical real world use case for this for naive Mac users like myself??

I've been writing some papers for a class in my Master's degree and I have a 'template' Pages file that I use which includes the line spacing I want, font, size, title page with the Professor's name / class number / date of submission, etc. Right now I just make a manual copy of that file and adapt it to each assignment, but I guess I could've been using this stationary pad feature to make a copy of my template for each paper automatically upon opening. It's a little thing, but handy!

 

[PsykX]

What's a practical real world use case for this for naive Mac users like myself??

• It basically replaces .dotx, .xltx, .potx, .vstx file formats found in Office on either Mac or PC.
• It works with virtually any app on macOS and not just apps like Office who implemented it as a specific feature.
  • Which means this feature is a (small) differentiator for Mac vs PC.

So basically you can create templates and reuse them, to kick-start your new documents.

 

[ashdelacroix]

I consider myself a fairly advanced Mac user of many years: first time I've ever heard this! I must have glanced over that option hundreds of times and had no curiosity about it. In my previous job, this could have been very useful given I was regularly writing long, legalistic documents based on other documents. Macrumors earns a gold star today: just wish you'd mention this ten years ago

 

[cnnyy20p]

Apple is usually great at naming things, but "Stationary pad" is a terribly confusing name for this useful feature

Yeah, just like they named Dynamic Island to a glorified status bar.

 

[wanha]

Are you ever going to forget it though?

I’m still trying to remember this feature exists 😅

 

[icanhazmac]

I did not know about this, thanks MR!!!

 

[AppliedMicro]

I have surely seen this in my years of using Mac - but knew what this did.
Nor bothered to look it up or asked anyone about it.

Pretty nifty though. 👍

 

[jayducharme]

Great tip! I never knew about that.

 

[ignatius345]

I remember looking this up around 10-15 years ago and thought oh cool, but had zero use for it. Naturally, I forgot this existed.

Probably the best Mac tip going right now

I used this probably 20 years ago (it's been a Finder feature that long or more) but also totally forgot it was there.

For iWork apps like Pages, Keynote, Numbers it's sort of been superceded by that template picker that comes up when you start a new document. But, that template picker is a siloed thing, and I'm thinking now that it might actually be pretty helpful in my collaborative work environment use Finder-based templates I can set into folders others are sharing as well.

 

[thefrost]

Stationery Pad is a handy way to nix a step in your workflow if you regularly use document templates on your Mac. The long-standing Finder feature essentially tells a file's parent application to open a copy of it by default, ensuring that the original file remains unedited.

Great name.

 

[reno]

Apple needs to rename this. It is handy feature with an utterly unclear label!