If you are an Administrative Assistant, nail this TechTIP and impress your boss.  It also covers how to create a Word template - so this TechTIP has a double-punch.   If you are a manager without the benefit of your own Administrative Assistant, read on, and learn how to do it yourself.

It is convenient, and impressive to your clients when they  receive an email with a letter that looks exactly like your printed company letterhead.  I will describe how to create the letterhead, and save it as a template to use whenever you need it.

Gather the specifics that are contained in your company letterhead from your marketing department, or your printer.  You will need a copy of the company logo in a suitable format (*.jpg for example), and you need to know the font style, size and color used in your letterhead.  A font example might be: Times New Roman, 10/12, Pantone Blue 072 CVU ( or in shorthand PMS 072).  The font name is obvious, and hopefully you will have it on your computer.   The numbers after the font name are the font size and leading (spacing between lines).  The leading is based on the font size and you shouldn't have to worry about that.  If there is a color other than black, it will probably be specified using a Pantone Matching System (PMS) reference.  The three or four digit number references the color and the letters that follow, i.e. CVU in this case, indicate a non-coated paper; which applies to most letterhead.  If there is a color other than black, you can pick the closest color from the Word standard color offering, or use the custom color selection and input the RGB values closest to the Pantone color.  Once you have all of that, create a document and format the margins, header and footer areas to mimic your own letterhead.

Now that you have a Word document that meets your requirements, you will create a template by clicking File/Save As.  In the pull-down for Save as type: select Document template (*.dot).  It will automatically be saved in the Word directory for templates.

Now when you want to send an email including correspondence using your letterhead, select File New and select from templates on my computer and under the General tab you should see the filename you created for your template.

For Advanced Word Users
Create a Section for the body of the letter, and Protect the document when you are finished.  Now nobody can edit any area except the body [Section] which is highlighted as the only area in which you are allowed to work.

To get a complete example, including the Advanced content, click the following link or send an email to editor@corbittassociates.com, with Word Email Template as the Subject.