Advanced: Editing a DBT Template

From DBT Version 12.2 onward, the Duxbury standard templates are distributed as ordinary text files instead of in binary form. However, they still retain the ".dxt" file extension. Though you do not normally need to edit DBT's template files, expert users who are familiar with what is in the template and what they need to change may find reason to do so.

You can edit a DBT template using any simple text editor, such as Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on the Macintosh.

It is important to appreciate that as a rule the templates in the DBT Templates folder should not, themselves, be changed. Normally they cannot, in fact, because they reside in a protected system folder. Therefore, if you attempt to edit a template using a text editor, plan to save the result as a new file in a different folder.

You need to save the resulting template in one of the folders used for custom templates (those created via the Document menu: Create Template function) so that they are found and added to the list of templates in the relevant DBT dialogs.

A custom template for your own use (option: Save for Me Only) is normally saved in your own computer profile.

~/Library/Preferences/Duxbury/DBT/Templates.

Although the Share with Others option may be active on your Mac, this option is intended for multi-user installations and is not yet enabled. Use the option: Save for Me Only.