Default formatting for new documents
The format and styles of new documents can be modified by creating a default template.
To create an enterprise-wide default template, first create a new document of the desired type using the File | New menu. Modify this document to match the desired template, setting the margins, styles, fonts, headers, footers, paper size, etc. When done, select File | Save, and for "Save as type", select the appropriate template type, such as OpenDocument Text Template (.ott). Then navigate to the directory where the template should be saved, enter a name for the template and click Save.
In the OpenOffice configuration settings under org.openoffice.Setup\Office\Factories\Factory['com.sun.star.format-type'], set ooSetupFactoryTemplateFile to reference the new template, for example, file://server/share/OpenOffice/template/corptemplate.ott. To prevent users from changing the default template, check Final.
When setting ooSetupFactoryTemplateFile, the template file can be referenced using one or more of the environmental variables shown at OpenOffice path variables, optionally followed by a subdirectory. Alternatively, a path can be set to an absolute file location. When setting an absolute location, the value must be entered as a file URL, in the form file://server/share/path/file.ext. For more infomation, see OpenOffice File URL's.
When a new document is created, it will then by default be created using the settings in the template. If the template cannot be opened, for example, if the network path is not accessible, then the new document will be created using OpenOffice's default document format.