How to Pin a Word Template to the New Document Backstage Tab Permanently

When you open Word and click File > New, the Backstage view displays a grid of template thumbnails. If you have a custom company template or a frequently used template, you likely want it to appear here every time instead of having to browse to a folder. By default, Word only shows a few promoted templates and your recent personal templates. This article explains how to configure Word so your custom template stays pinned to the New tab permanently, surviving application restarts and updates.

How the Backstage New Tab Template Pinning Feature Works

The Backstage New tab in Word (File > New) pulls template thumbnails from three sources: built-in Microsoft templates, featured templates from Office.com, and personal templates stored in your default Custom Office Templates folder. The personal templates appear under a section labeled “Personal” or “Custom.” Each template thumbnail has a small pin icon (thumbtack) in its top-right corner. Clicking this icon moves the template to a separate “Pinned” section at the top of the New tab. This Pinned section persists across Word sessions, but only if the template file is stored in a location that Word trusts. If the template is in an untrusted folder, the pin icon is grayed out or the pinning action fails after you close and reopen Word.

The default Custom Office Templates folder is typically C:\Users\[YourUserName]\Documents\Custom Office Templates. Word automatically trusts this folder. If you store your template in another folder, such as a network share or a subfolder under My Documents, you must explicitly add that folder to the Trusted Locations list. Without this step, the pinned state resets each time you restart Word.

Steps to Pin a Word Template to the New Tab Permanently

Follow these steps to ensure your template stays pinned in the Backstage New tab after closing and reopening Word. The steps assume you already have a .dotx or .dotm template file.

Step 1: Move or Copy the Template to the Default Custom Office Templates Folder (Recommended)

1. Open the default Custom Office Templates folder in File Explorer
   Press Win+R, type %userprofile%\Documents\Custom Office Templates, and press Enter. If the folder does not exist, create it by right-clicking the Documents folder and selecting New > Folder. Name it Custom Office Templates.
2. Copy or move your template file
   Right-click your .dotx or .dotm file and choose Copy. Navigate to the Custom Office Templates folder you just opened and press Ctrl+V to paste the file.

Step 2: Pin the Template in the Backstage New Tab

1. Open Word and go to File > New
   Click File in the top-left corner of the ribbon, then click New in the left navigation pane. The Backstage view displays a grid of template thumbnails.
2. Locate your template under the Personal or Custom section
   Scroll down past the Featured and Built-in sections until you see a heading labeled “Personal” or “Custom.” Your template should appear there as a thumbnail with its file name.
3. Click the pin icon on the template thumbnail
   Hover your mouse over the template thumbnail. A small pin icon (thumbtack) appears in the top-right corner. Click it. The icon changes to a filled pin, and the template moves to a new Pinned section at the top of the New tab.
4. Verify the pin by restarting Word
   Close Word completely and reopen it. Go to File > New. The Pinned section should still display your template. If it does not, proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Add the Template Folder to Trusted Locations (If the Pin Did Not Stick)

1. Open Word Options
   Click File > Options. The Word Options dialog opens.
2. Navigate to Trust Center settings
   In the left pane of the Word Options dialog, click Trust Center. On the right side, click the Trust Center Settings button.
3. Open Trusted Locations
   In the Trust Center dialog, click Trusted Locations in the left pane. A list of currently trusted folders appears on the right.
4. Add the folder containing your template
   Click the Add new location button. In the dialog that opens, click Browse and select the folder where your template is stored. Check the box “Subfolders of this location are also trusted” if you store templates in subfolders. Click OK to close the Browse dialog, then click OK again to add the location.
5. Close all dialog boxes and restart Word
   Click OK to close the Trust Center dialog, then click OK to close Word Options. Restart Word. The pin should now persist across sessions.

If Pinning Still Does Not Work After Adding Trusted Locations

Word Does Not Show a Pin Icon on the Template Thumbnail

If the pin icon is missing entirely, the template file may not be a true Word template (.dotx or .dotm). Word only shows the pin icon for files with these extensions. Rename the file extension to .dotx if it is currently .docx. Also ensure the file is not corrupted; open the template in Word and verify it loads without errors.

The Pinned Template Disappears After a Windows Update or Office Update

Windows or Office updates can reset the Pinned section. This is rare but documented. To recover, repeat Step 2. If the problem recurs frequently, store the template in the default Custom Office Templates folder and ensure that folder is in the Trusted Locations list. Updates do not remove the default folder from the trusted list.

The Pin Icon Is Grayed Out (Unclickable)

A grayed-out pin icon means the template file is in a location that Word does not trust and cannot mark as trusted automatically. Apply Step 3 to add the folder to the Trusted Locations list. If the folder is on a network share, you must also enable “Allow Trusted Locations on my network (not recommended)” in the Trust Center.

Word Template Pinning Behavior: Default Folder vs Custom Folder

Item	Default Custom Office Templates Folder	Custom Folder (Non-Default)
Folder path	%userprofile%\Documents\Custom Office Templates	Any folder on local drive or network
Trusted by default	Yes	No
Pin icon available	Always	Only after adding to Trusted Locations
Pin persists after restart	Yes	Yes, after adding to Trusted Locations
Requires manual folder setup	No (folder may need creation)	Yes

You can now pin any Word template to the Backstage New tab permanently by storing the file in the default Custom Office Templates folder or by adding your custom folder to the Trusted Locations list. After pinning, the template appears in the Pinned section every time you open Word. For templates that you update frequently, consider setting the file to Read-only via File Explorer Properties to prevent accidental changes. As a next step, explore the File > Options > Save > Default personal templates location setting to change where Word looks for personal templates globally.