Creating a Template

The first thing to do is create a brand new document. From the File pull-down menu, choose New --> Text Document. Then save it (File --> Save As). 

Save it as a Text Document Template, and be sure to save it in the directory ~/OpenOffice.org1.1.0/user/template/, where user templates are found. If you have OpenOffice.org set to provide the extension automatically, it should provide one of .stw.

Now verify you can use the template once you've done something useful with it. Start a new document with File --> New --> Templates and Documents. Click on Default, and you should see test (no extension) in the list of available templates.