# Use templates

Comic Life includes two kinds of starting templates: script and layout.

- Script: provides a simple word processor for writing your comic script.

  Once the script is complete and the images captured for the story you can start your comic where you can choose one of the layout templates and still retain access to your script.

- Layout: template is a predesigned set of elements for creating a document - a layout, placeholder text and images, and so on. Placeholders give you an idea of what a document created with this template might look like when you use its text and element styles.

Every time you create a new document, you choose a template from the template chooser (shown below) as a starting point.

After you open a layout template, you can add your own text, replace placeholder graphics or delete them, and add new elements (panels, balloons, captions, lettering, shapes, and stamps).

You can change a setting in Comic Life to always open a new document in a particular template instead of from the template chooser.

1. Choose Comic Life > Settings (from the Comic Life menu at the top of your screen).
2. Click General at the top of the settings window, then select "Use template."
3. Do one of the following:
   - Use the currently selected template: Verify that the name of the template you want to use appears after "Use template."
   - Choose a different template: Click the Change Template button, click a template, then click Choose.
4. Close the settings window.

After you change this setting, you can still open a new document with a different template. Hold down the Option key, then choose File > New from Template Chooser (from the File menu at the top of your screen).

You can modify any of the predesigned templates, then save your changes to create your own custom templates. See Create and manage custom templates.

## See also

Print a document

Create and manage Comic Life templates