Office programs use two registry keys to record the user templates file location and the workgroup templates file location. Both settings are recorded in the following registry key:
Office 2007:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Common\General
Office 2010:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Common\General
The user templates location is stored in the
UserTemplates
string value.
The workgroup templates location is stored in the
SharedTemplates
string value.
These string values do not exist until you make a change to the default locations for your custom templates. By default, all Office programs look for their installed templates. Therefore, no string value is required for Office programs.
If you change the user templates file location to the default location as described in the "User templates file location" section, the
UserTemplates
string value is deleted from the registry. However, if you change the workgroup templates file location to the default location, the
SharedTemplates
string value is retained in the registry.