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TUAW Tip: Stationery Pad option makes a template of any file

by David Chartier Apr 11th 2007 at 1:00PM

The Finder's Get Info window (View > Get Info or cmd-i) is one of those unsung heroes of Mac OS X computing. It houses a lot of great options, and Stationery Pad is one of them. If you have any kind of workflow where you need to repeatedly modify some sort of a file template, checking this option in any file's Get Info window will tell its parent application to open a copy of it by default, ensuring that the original file remains unedited. While some applications that manage files for you can offer similar functionality, this is a great option for anyone who, for example, use Word docs as contract templates, or begins with a basic pre-built file for various Photoshop or hand-coding CSS/PHP freelance work. You can simply build the file any way you like, save it and check this box in Get Info to tell any app you open it with to open a copy instead of the original.

Easy breezy file templates, with no AppleScripts or plugins required.

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The Finder's Get Info window (View > Get Info or cmd-i) is one of those unsung heroes of Mac OS X computing. It houses a lot of great...
 

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Andrew Scott

I wish this worked with Keynote files. I tried it when I first got Keynote and it's never worked. I guess Apple wants you to use the themes interface but that's not good for every purpose. :(

April 12 2007 at 8:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
andrew harrison

a lot of icons will change to a yellower hue when made into a stationary pad.

this feature is a fine example of what sets os x apart from the rest.

April 11 2007 at 7:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Eric

I noticed that if you open the file through Quicksilver (with cmd+esc, then "Open"), you edit the original and not a copy. This is an easy way to override the "Stationary Pad" setting to edit the template.

April 11 2007 at 6:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
John

I discovered this a couple of weeks ago and it reminds me of OS/2. Word documents actually change their icon when this option is checked.

April 11 2007 at 5:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ben

NO WAY. This is one truly awesome tip!!

April 11 2007 at 4:58 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Graham Forden

BRILLIANT!!!!! i never knew what that was for.... but i will carry that little tid-bit of knowlege for ever, and it will make my life easier than it already is.

April 11 2007 at 3:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Clair

Oh, how I wish Windows had that option. Don't hate me. I am forced to use a company provided Windows laptop @ work.

April 11 2007 at 3:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
uros

Wait... this really reminds me of the way the Lisa worked. There were stationery pads on the desktop, and you would tear them off to make new documents instead of running the app first.

April 11 2007 at 3:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Troy McClure SF

I can't cite System 1.0, but this has been there since 6.0.7 on the Mac Classic.

April 11 2007 at 1:53 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Karl Childers

That's sweet! More reason to love OS X!

April 11 2007 at 1:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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