How to modify templates in the Calendar Printing Assistant for Outlook

Editing Calendar Printing Assistant templates is really easy when you use my speedy in-place modification method.

Step 1: Set permissions on the Template folder

Open the Calendar Printing Assistant template folder. On 64-bit Windows, it’s at C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Templates, on 32-bit, its at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates.

1. Right click on the Templates folder and choose Properties.
2. Click the Edit button
3. Click Add and type your Windows username in the large text box at the bottom of the Select Users or Groups Screen and click Check Names. Your Windows user account should come up underlined with the computer (or domain) name, like this: DORY\Diane
4. Click OK to return to the Permissions Dialog.
5. Select your account in the top of the dialog and click Full Control in the bottom. Click Ok and close the dialog.

Now you can work with the files in this folder.

1. Find the template you want to edit
2. Select it
3. Press Ctrl+C, V to copy and paste it

This gives you a backup copy you can restore later. This is important!

Step 2: Open the *.catx file and edit Content.XML

If you do not have WinZip or another 3rd party compression utility, download and install Winzip. I recommend the 45 days trial, as it will give you plenty of time to edit templates. (I don’t recommend the advertising-supported free version.)

If you have a third party zip-compression utility installed, it may work. Follow the steps below to see if the changes to the Content.XML file update the catx file. The Compressed folder utility that is included with Windows will not work – it won’t let you write back to the zip file. While you could work in another folder and copy the file back to this folder, its easier to just edit in place using a full featured zip utility.

Once you have WinZip installed, double click on the template file. A dialog will come up telling you Windows can’t open the file. Choose the second option to Select a program from the list of installed programs and choose WinZip.

It’s your choice if you want to set Winzip to always open these files.

Now we’re ready to edit the Content.XML file

1. Browse to the Content.XML file and right click on it, choosing Open with…
2. If Notepad is listed, select it; if not, choose Choose Program and find Notepad.
3. Edit the XML file and Save (Ctrl+S or use the File, Save command.)

Click on the WinZip window to update the catx with the changed XML file.

A dialog will come up asking if you want to update the zip. You want to update the zip.

Step3: Check your work in the Calendar Printing Assistant

To check your changes, go to the Calendar Printing Assistant.

You will need to refresh the view to see the changes. The easiest way is to select a different template, then select the one you edited.

Repeat the edit, save, and refresh steps as needed to edit then check your template. If you keep Content.XML open in Notepad and keep the CPAO open, editing the template is a very quick chore, giving you more time to figure which lines need edited.

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