SharePoint Document Library Templates Save Location

[NThoman]

I have the following scenario:

• I have a document library configured to always open in desktop app.
• I have predefined document types with template word docs linked to them

When I user selects "New" from the document library drop down and selects a document template, the document opens in Word but the default save location isn't picked. The user then has to go back and find the location again to save the document. My work around right now is to turn off the Always Open in Desktop App.  Have the template document get created in the library. Then the user pick Edit in Desktop app. This isn't ideal because people get confused that they are not in the desktop app at times and some document feature do not work in the web app. For instance Linked Meta data fields do not populate.

Is there a work around or trick to make this work?

[#2]

@NThomanI have the same exact issue as you and have not been able to make this work as expected which renders SharePoint useless for this very common requirement. In my case I have document properties in the document as fields which require the use of the Word application (not the browser). I would never attempt the workaround you are using as my users would never in a million years figure this out. The site has many, many libraries so it is not reasonable to expect them to figure out where to put this (and the document properties wouldn't work anywhere else anyway).

This appears to be a complete miss by Microsoft... just straight up doesn't work the way we want it to (i.e. the way any normal user would expect it to). Hoping someone can prove that I'm wrong about this...

[#3]

I was really hoping someone was going to respond with I was doing something stupid.....

Didn't this work with On-Prem in 2016 and 2013? I thought it did.

I noticed a new issue with my work around. The option to "Open in Desktop App" seems to be missing for some people recently. Not sure if this is caused by permissions (I do have the list locked down since it is related to HR Employee Information) or an update to how the Web App now loads.

[#4]

Figured out my issue with the "Open in Desktop App" issue. I had a custom roll for managers to approve documents but they also needed the permission "Use Client Integration Features".

[#5]

Also there is no way to use a Adobe PDF fillable form as a SharePoint document library template. This also will not work. It's hard to believe that this monstrosity called Office 365 cannot decently accommodate this dead simple Clerical task... This is hard to report to the people who pay for this stuff. I would use this hundreds of times if it actually worked. Meanwhile they roll out mixed reality in PowerApps and whatever the latest Teams feature is that nobody cares about. I would just be happy if the absolute basics, things that Google docs has done for years, would work.

[#6]

By the way, even if the save location worked as expected, all of the word documents created using the library's docx template (I know about the dotx thing) that has controls in it are corrupt and cannot be opened so I guess it doesn't really matter because it wouldn't work anyway :worried_face:

Simple requirement would be for user to click the new button, open a template with controls in it in the Word application, click save and close and have the document save in the library, with the values from the Word controls mapped to the columns as document properties without a bunch of convoluted workarounds that the average user would never figure out. individual pieces of this work but to put the whole thing together cannot be surfaced to a group of users without a bunch of crazy workarounds therefore it is all useless.

[#7]

Same annoying issue on multiple tenants here, there is not much info on this I was glad to find this thread.

[#8]

@Jacob Cats Same issue here. Also, users need to have activated 'synch library' with OneDrive in order to be able to navigate in a standard 'windows explorer' user experience.

Very unfortunate and making this unusable for standard user population.