The invention relates to applying a liquid to pasty hot-melt adhesive to a substrate (44), comprising a template (29), having at least one cavity (38) for the hot-melt adhesive, and also comprising an adhesive-transfer infeed (33), which is assigned to the template (29) and through which the adhesive can be introduced into the cavity (38). The special feature consists in that the apparatus (10) further comprises a transporting-fluid-supply opening (35), assigned to the template (29), and a device for displacing (13, 15), in particular pivoting, the template (29) between a first position, in which the cavity (38) is assigned to the adhesive-transfer infeed (33), and a second position, in which the cavity (38) is assigned to the transporting-fluid-supply opening (35), and therefore the adhesive, in the second position, can be discharged from the cavity (38) by a transporting fluid flowing through the transporting-fluid-supply opening (35).