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ETD Technical Support
Introduction to the MS Word Formatting Template (Version 9.0) Macintosh

This tutorial is a concise introduction to using Version 9.0 of the Application Support Center's MS Word ETD Formatting Templates.

Template documentation
Downloading the Template
Working with the Template
Applying Styles
Transporting the Template
Updating the Table of Contents, List of Tables & List of Figures
Final Printing

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Documentation on how the Template works

There are multiple ways of getting information on how to use the formatting templates. Each one is in a different medium with a unique level of detail:

  1. This tutorial
  2. The template's readMe.doc file for MS Word 2003
  3. A CIRCA ETD hosted workshop

Please make sure you read at least one of these documents thoroughly, or attend an ETD Workshop. There are several things you should be aware of before you include your text in the template, and understanding how the template works will make your thesis/dissertation formatting experience much less stressful.

If at any time you run into difficulties in using the formatting templates, feel free to view one of our online tutorials or contact us via e-mail at etd@grove.ufl.edu. If necessary, we can make an appointment to consult with you regarding any technical challenges you may be having.

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Downloading the Template

While both Mac and PC platforms can open and use Word documents from other platforms almost transparently, the key word here is almost. There are some subtle differences in the and they will work better on the platform for which it was intended.

To obtain a copy of the template, visit our download page, and click on the appropriate file.

You can copy this file to your Desktop and unlike the multiple file template no expansion is needed.

WARNING: The first thing you should do when you open the template is to "SAVE AS . . ." and change the file name. This will give you a fresh copy of the template for you to use "just in case . . ."

If you ever need to generate a fresh copy of the template, simply open the file again.

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Listing of Sections in the Template90 Folder

Below is a table containing a list of all the Sections found in the Template and a description of their purpose.

Section name Description
Title page Title, author, date and degree information
Copyright page Preserves your rights as author - not required, but highly recommended.
Dedication page Dedication (Optional)
Acknowledgment page Acknowledgments - Again, not required, but recommended
Table of Contents page Listing of all major sections of your document
List of Tables Listing of captions and respective page numbers of each table contained in the document
List of Figures Listing of captions and respective page numbers of each figure contained in the document
List of Objects Listing of captions and respective page numbers of each Object contained in the document (An object is anything that is not a figure or a table)
Abstract Abstract page (academic) Dissertation abstracts should not exceed 350 words. Thesis abstracts should not extend past the second page.
Chapter1 Chapter 1 - The titles of the chapters are not mandated by the Graduate school and may follow any organizational make-up appropriate to the field.
Chapter2 Chapter 2
Chapter3 Chapter 3
Chapter4 Chapter 4
Chapter5 Chapter 5
Chapter6 Chapter 6
Chapter7 Chapter 7 - To add more chapters simply insert a "Section Break - Next Page" and start your new chapter.
Appendix-a Appendix A
Appendix-b Appendix B
Appendix-c Appendix C (Landscape page template)
Appendix-d Appendix D - To add an Appendix simply insert a "Section Break - Next Page" and start a new Appendix.
References Reference pages - May be titled "Works Cited," "Bibliography," etc.
Biographical sketch Short account of your life to date. Often written in "third person" but maintain same form throughout.
Abstract-General The sample document for the General Audience Abstract (less than 150 words)

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Applying Styles

The formatting styles used by MS Word are what control text alignment, text spacing and paragraph indentions.

We have created several custom styles for the template. We worked closely with the Editorial Office of the Graduate School in programming the formatting so that it is in compliance with the Editorial Office's Thesis/Dissertation Formatting Requirements.

It is therefore highly recommended that you apply our styles to ALL the text you include in the subdocuments. Doing this will ensure that your text has the proper formatting, and your chapter and subheading text will appear in the Table of Contents upon demand, with the appropriate page number association.

To apply a style, highlight the entire paragraph that you want to modify (by double clicking in the left margin near the paragraph), and from the formatting tool bar you can choose the appropriate style. A graphic of what this looks like appears below:

Below is a listing of the styles contained in Version 8.5 of the formatting temlate.

Styles Apply to What you must do after the style is applied
00 CHAPTER NUMBER Chapter # Nothing
01 CHAPTER TITLE Chapter and section titles Capitalize all letters (These titles will be brought into the TOC in mixed case unless made all caps.)
02 First-Level Subheading (BOLD) First-level subheadings Capitalize first letters of all principal words
03 Second-Level Subheading (BOLD) Second-level subheadings Capitalize first letters of all principal words
04 Third-Level Subheading (BOLD) Third-level subheadings Capitalize the first letter of first word and all proper nouns
05 Body Text Paragraphs Nothing
06 Body Text - No Indent Paragraphs where indenting is not permitted Nothing
07 Block Text-Block Quote Quotes Nothing
08 Bulleted List - Short Used for bulleted lists where none of the lines wrap Insert a single blank line after the last list entry
09 Bulleted List - Long Used for bulleted lists where one or more of the lines wrap Nothing
10 Caption Figure Figure captions Nothing
11 Caption Table Table captions Nothing
12 Caption Object Object captions (used for multimedia and support file links, provides link to the List of Objects) Create a hyperlink to the object itself using Adobe Acrobat
14 Reference by Author lists references without numbers - alphabetise manually! Nothing
15 Reference by Number Lists references in a numbered list Make sure list format matches selected journal

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Transporting the Template, and making Backup Copies

When you've completed your days work with the template, it always advisable to make a backup copy of your folder. When you do this, there are several things you should keep in mind:

  • If you're using the multi-file system make sure Microsoft Word is completely closed before making a copy of your Template folder. If MS Word is open when you make copies, the master.doc file will remember the last place it was opened and it will continue to look in that location for its subdocuments. This will result in the "Error reference not valid" error.
  • Have 3 backup locations.
    • 1 on your computer's hard drive
    • 1 on a CD-ROM, USB Flash/Jump Drive or other electronic storage device
    • 1 on a departmental server or e-mailed to yourself
This way, if anything should happen to your primary computer's hard drive, you will still have something you can work with.

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Updating the Table of Contents (TOC), List of Tables (LOT) & List of Figures (LOF)

Any time a Chapter title, Heading, or Sub-heading has changed the Table of Contents will need to be updated If you've only added or deleted text within the body of the document you only need to update page numbers.

For detailed instructions on this process, please review the following tutorials: (When the tutorial references a right-click the Mac command is ctrl-click).

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Printing Your Document

To print your thesis/dissertation, first go to "Tools">"Track Changes" and make sure that the selection is "Final" - otherwise your margins will be incorrect. If you're using the single file template just print as you normally would. For those using the multi-file template, to print the document in its entirety, you will need to open the master.doc file and expand its subdocuments.

To expand the subdocuments, press CTRL \ or switch to View - Outline and you will then see a screen similar to the image below. Click on the Expand Subdocuments icon in the Outlining toolbar.

You can then switch to View - Print Layout to see the document as it will appear printed.

A shortcut key to expand the master.doc file (no matter which view you're in) is CTRL \

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Final Printing

Lastly, is the task of printing your document. If all your subdocuments and so forth are in order, just open and expand the master.doc file following the instructions above. The switch to View - Print Layout and your document is ready to print.

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If you still have challenges with your document, please feel free to contact us at etd@grove.ufl.edu, visit the ETD Consulting Lab in The Hub, Room 224 or call 392-HELP (4357) and choose option 5.