Rick Strahl was struggling to apply a template to an open document:

My quest today: Apply a template to an open document in Word. Where the hell is that option buried?

My generic solution to this kind of problem is the Quick Access Toolbar. Here’s how it works in this case:

Click the little down arrow at the right of the Quick Access Toolbar

1. Choose More Commands…
2. Choose All Commands
3. Scroll down the list to Templates, select it and click Add
4. Close the the dialog

Now you can click the Templates icon on the Quick Access Toolbar and it works just like Office 2003.

Of course I still don’t know how you are meant to find it in the ribbon. This technique subverts the ribbon by providing a long, simple list of everything in Word; a kind of super-menu. But it’s actually a fair solution, since the icon stays there giving one-click access to your favourite obscurities. Further, should you happen to find it elsewhere on the ribbon, you can easily remove it.

PS: the Templates dialog is also available on the Developer ribbon, which you can display through Word options