Classic Mac OS had OS-level support for document templates in the form of "Stationary Pads".
You could create a document to to use as a template, then in 'Get Info' (the equivalent of file properties in Explorer) you could check the 'Stationary Pad' checkbox.
Now the file is a template. When opened, the application behaves as if the user created a new document, and pasted in the contents of the template: in particular, the document would be 'Untitled Document' and Save would be unavailable, you'd have to use Save As to save the document to a new file, etc.
I think the file icon even changed to visually indicate its status as a stationary pad.visually.
The template feature being a property on a file means you can arrange your templates in folder structures which is handy if you have a lot, they can be on network shares for groups of users to use, etc. And, of course, it was easy for users to manage this themselves rather than relying on obscure registry keys...
You could create a document to to use as a template, then in 'Get Info' (the equivalent of file properties in Explorer) you could check the 'Stationary Pad' checkbox.
Now the file is a template. When opened, the application behaves as if the user created a new document, and pasted in the contents of the template: in particular, the document would be 'Untitled Document' and Save would be unavailable, you'd have to use Save As to save the document to a new file, etc.
I think the file icon even changed to visually indicate its status as a stationary pad.visually.
The template feature being a property on a file means you can arrange your templates in folder structures which is handy if you have a lot, they can be on network shares for groups of users to use, etc. And, of course, it was easy for users to manage this themselves rather than relying on obscure registry keys...