Excel 2013 apply chart template not working

In our courses we have come across a situation where the Excel 2013 chart templates are not working as they did in Excel 2010. It is unclear why this is happening but there are some work arounds.

In 2010 you could use some data and create a chart e.g. a column chart, and then change the chart type so that it uses a chart template you previously created. This worked fine.

However in Excel 2013, it seems that if you try this method it will not allow the use of the template (note this is only a problem where you try and change an existing chart into a custom chart).

In order to use the template in Excel 2013, you need to point at the data and create the chart from scratch using the custom template. Then it seems to work fine.

If you have already created the standard chart and want to change it to a custom type you can click on an example of your custom chart, copy it (CTRL + C), click on the standard chart and go to the HOME tab and choose Paste Special. Choose the FORMATS option and it will change to the custom chart type.