Allow setting a default template for new documents

[Alok-S-Sharma]

What the problem is:

I often write in raw / draft mode, where the priority is to capture thoughts, ideas, and imagination as fast as possible before they fade away.
At this stage, I usually do not yet have a name for the Part, Chapter, or Scene.

By default, new documents created via New Part / New Chapter / New Scene insert document headings (titles). Even though custom templates exist, I still need to manually navigate to Ctrl+N → From Template and select the desired template every time.

This adds friction and interrupts the writing flow—especially when creating many draft scenes in quick succession.

What you want to happen:

Allow users to set a custom template as the default template for a given document type, for example:

• Default template for New Part
• Default template for New Chapter
• Default template for New Scene
• Default template for New Document
• Default template for New Project Note

If a default template is set, novelWriter would automatically use it when creating a new document via the standard “New” actions—without requiring manual selection from From Template.

This would make it possible to start writing immediately, without headings, when working in raw or exploratory draft mode.

Any alternative solutions or features you've considered:

• Continuing to use Ctrl+N → From Template works functionally, but it breaks writing momentum.
• Manually deleting headings after document creation is possible, but repetitive and unnecessary.
• A global toggle like “Disable automatic headings” could also work, but default templates provide finer control and flexibility.

[vkbo]

I'll look into that, sure. In the mean time, you can create multiple scenes in one go by adding them all to a single document and then using the right click -> Transform -> Split Document by Headings.

See: https://novelwriter.io/docs/user_interface/split_and_merge.html