I need this to work for existing document, not just future new ones.

If you just want to replace the styles and not apply the new template, then open Styles and Formatting (press F11). Click the arrow on the rightmost icon at the top of the Styles and Formatting window and select "Load Styles". In the Load Styles dialog, select your template. Check the types of styles you want to replace and the Overwrite option. Click OK.AutoNow wrote:Surly openoffice allows for removing the original template styles of the document and replacing them with the new defaults SOMEHOW... right? Or no?
This is a workaround for applying templates to old documents. You could try this or open a new document based on the new template, then use File > Insert to insert the existing file in the new document.floris v wrote:* If you want to apply a template to an existing file, the easiest way *may* be to start a blank document with that template, then copy/paste the content of the existing document into that new document.