Word 2016 hangs when opening a document based on a template

So is this bug still there? Do I have to live with old versions yet?

I have been unable to open any .dotx file I have created and saved in one of my documents files as a template, when I double- click on any of my Word 2016 dotx files.  I see a momentary flash of a blue box like the one I see when I open .doc files in MS Word 2016.  So, I tried Patrick Conlin's suggestion of first opening  Word 2016 application, clicking on File and selecting  and then clicking on OPEN to open a saved .docx or .dotx file.  When doing that, I am able to open the .dotx files I was otherwise unable to open.  Just a bit frustrating that I can't open the file directly in its location in my documents files.  The other difference I'm noticing in my template files between earlier versions of Word and Word 2016 is that I formerly was able to save a created template file and then when I wanted to create a .doc file using a saved template, the template would open as a new unnamed .doc file, so that the saved template file did not get altered in creating a .doc file from it.  That is no longer the case in Word 2016.  If I want to do the same thing in 2016, I have to remember that once I've opened and used the .dotx file for creating a .docx file from it, I have to remember to change the file extension when I go to save the .docx created from the .dotx file otherwise the new .docx file I intended to create while preserving the .dotx file's content, will simply become a replacement of the original .dotx file.  What happened to that safety feature that protected the .dotx file's content from being so easily changed if you did not remember to change the file extension to .docx in the save of the document you created from the .dotx file?  The only way you formerly were able to change the content of an existing saved .dotx file was to make the changes you wanted to the template and then deliberately save it with a .dotx extension.

Double-clicking a template (*.dotx) file should still create an unnamed document based on the template. Try repairing your Office installation. Choose the online repair option, if it is available. Note that an online repair usually requires that you re-active Office, for example by signing in to your Office account (or by entering a product key). See https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Repair-an-Office-application-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b.

You should save .dotx files in the User Templates folder at:

C:\Users[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates

and then use File>New to select the template as the basis of the document that you want to create.  To make that process more simple, add the New Document or Template command to the Quick Access Toolbar as using that command will take you straight to the templates dialog.

Sorry but there is 8 pages to read through.  I too have had this issue and have been able to work around that is a bit annoying.  Under file -> options -> add-ins you find the manage dropdown below.  Selecting templates and go opens up the Templates and Add-ins.  In this window you should see your templates in the bottom section.  Mine are usually unchecked each initial time I open Word.  By checking the template you intend to use with opening the word document, the document does not hang up when opening.  So long as you don't close down all instances of Word it maintains the template location and opens any document using that template with no issues. 

The problem seems to be, in my experience, that word tries to open the template/dotx used each time you open a docx file that it created from but can not find it.  This seems to happen only on the machine that the docx was created on because anyone that I send the file to can open is up with no issue. 

I've tried to relocate the folder that word should look for templates but with no better results.