Important information you should know about WordPerfect

All program versions

WordPerfct 11 (only)

WordPerfect 10 and later

WordPerfect 9 and later

Know your WordPerfect "build" number

• Some macros -- and some tips and troubleshooting suggestions -- work only in specific versions and builds of WordPerfect. Also, on support sites such as WordPerfect Universe, this information is almost always requested if you have a problem or want some advice. Here's how to find the build number:
  • Look in WordPerfect's Help menu (<F1> key), and click "About WordPerfect". You will see a four-digit number like 11.0.0.300 or 13.0.0.568. The first part of the number is the major version number (e.g., 11 or X3); the last part is the minor version number, or specific "build." [To find out about which updates are available, see the WordPerfect Universe FAQ.]
    • Tip: If you can't get into the WordPerfect program, you can find the build number in a small text file in the root directory of the installation CD, named Volinfo.txt. You can open this file in Windows by double-clicking on the name in Windows Explorer or My Computer.
  • Is your version of WordPerfect up to date? See What "version" of WordPerfect do I have; what updates are available for my version? in the FAQ Forum at WordPerfect Universe. It contains important information and links to the Corel download pages for WordPerfect Service Packs ("patches").
• Also, for troubleshooting purposes it is often helpful to know your edition of WordPerfect: Standard, Professional, Student & Teacher (now repackaged as Home & Student), Home, Small Business, Family Pack, Trial, OEM, etc. Different editions might omit some third-party features. See the file, Volinfo.txt, in the root directory of your installation CD. Then see here.

About this site

• Most macros on this site have instructions, comments, or tips about their operation.
  • You'll find them on the macro's download page, and/or in a separate document inside the download (ZIP) file. They are also found at the top of the macro's code (macros can be opened like any other WordPerfect document to view their contents).
• Some macros on this site will not work (or work properly) in very early releases of WordPerfect.
  • Is your version of WordPerfect up to date? See What "version" of WordPerfect do I have; what updates are available for my version? in the FAQ Forum at WordPerfect Universe. It contains important information and links to the Corel download pages for WordPerfect Service Packs ("patches").
• More about documentation and instructions for these macros, making modifications, downloading and support, etc., can be found here.

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A problem with WordPerfect 11

In the original release (or "build") of WordPerfect 11 (i.e., build 11.0.0.233) there is a bug (see Note 1 below) that causes some macros created/edited/played in that version -- no matter who created them -- to fail to terminate properly when later played in WordPerfect 11.0.0.300 (or higher build of WP11), and vice versa.

1. The macros appear to play but do not return to the main document screen and appear to "hang," or else they go into an endless loop.

2. This is a major problem, and it will also exist in the 30+ macros shipped with WordPerfect 11.0.0.233, since they were originally compiled by Corel in that release (see Note 2 below).

3. The problem will also exist in some Project templates (File > New from Project) that use template macros (see Note 1 below).

4. Moreover, some standard WordPerfect features "call" on a shipping macro when you access that feature.

Solutions

One solution is to open each macro (after applying at least Service Pack 1) as you would any document, add a space character, delete the space, and then click Save & Compile on the macro toolbar to "recompile" the macro.

Here's a tip from Charles Rossiter:

"The good news is that you can do this en masse as follows: Open a macro in WPWin11.0.0.300 (or later build) and add a space. [Click on] Compile and Save to ensure that PerfectScript 110 is active. Then in a Windows Explorer window, right-click on all the macros, and select Compile."

Alternative to the above tip:

Here's a WordPerfect 9+ macro in a ZIP file to do this for you for all macros in a specified folder (such as the shipping macros folder): Recompiler.zip, v1.02, 19,123 bytes, 06/08/09. It opens each .WCM file (or whatever filename extension is otherwise specified in a drop list), one at a time, and adds/deletes the space, then saves the file. It can process up to 1000 files of a specified type (e.g., .WCM files or .FRM files) in a folder. Be sure to back up your macros before playing it. [You can change its menu defaults by editing it (Tools, Macro, Edit).]

A better solution is to refrain from playing any macros in version 11.0.0.233 (the original release) until you can patch the program with at least Service Pack 1 (SP1). See also the Notes below.

Service packs ("patches")

There have been several Service Packs issued by Corel since the initial release of WordPerfect 11. See this FAQ on WordPerfect Universe, which describes the various releases of WP11 and also explains how to download and apply the appropriate patches for each release. 

[UPDATE, 2011: The WordPerfect Universe FAQ linked above gives some important information, but the location of the patches for many older versions of WordPerfect has changed, as noted in the first post in the FAQ thread. (As you might imagine, and which is true of many software companies, Corel does not support outdated versions of the program.) You might still be able to download them directly from an older Corel FTP site here: ftp://ftp.corel.com/pub/WordPerfect/wpwin/. But be sure to read the remainder of this section before applying any patches to WP11.)

For example, Service Pack 3, issued in March 2005 (for the Standard Edition only), will bring your version up to 11.0.0.410.

IMPORTANT

You need to have Service Pack 1 installed to apply later patches. You cannot apply Service Pack 2 or 3 to the initial release (11.0.0.233) of WordPerfect Office 11; you must apply Service Pack 1 to the initial release first.

Service Packs and Patch Notes can be downloaded directly from the WordPerfect Office FTP site here. Be sure to read the relevant Patch Notes before installing SP1 or other patches.

The download patch file has an .MSP filename extension; once downloaded to your hard drive (not a CD-ROM drive), insert your original WP11 CD#1, and double click the patch's filename to update WP11. If the install does not start when you doubleclick a downloaded Service Pack with a .MSP filename extension, it may be because that extension (.MSP) may have been associated with another Windows program (Microsoft Paint?)

Try this: Click on the Windows Start button, then Run. Then type something like this, including the quote marks as indicated, as well as the path and name of the patch file:

c:\windows\system32\msiexec.exe /p "[path\name of update MSP file]"

EXAMPLE (using SP1)

c:\windows\system32\msiexec.exe /p "C:\Temp\WPO11SP1.msp"

An alternative to downloading the patches, which are quite large, is to call Corel at 1-800-772-6735 (North America; for other countries see this FAQ) and see if they will send a replacement CD for your release (Standard, Family Pack, Productivity Pack, Dell OEM, etc.) to bring it up to the latest version. Usually they can do this for a small shipping charge. Have your serial number handy. See here fore more on ordering CD replacements. Note that the shipping macros and Project templates installed by that CD will still need to be recompiled (see Note 1 below).

Note 1 Heather Blaine (Corel) has reported that "...a small set of macro tokens got mis-aligned in the original release. Recompile your macro in version 11, SP1, and all will be good again." This means that after updating the original release of WP11 you will have to recompile WP11/SP1/SP2's template macros, too. Many shipping templates ("Projects") come with embedded macros that perform certain tasks. You can download recompiled template Projects (in several smaller ZIP files) at WordPerfect Universe (see this thread). They contain the shipping templates/macros and two new term paper templates -- the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Chicago Manual of Style (Turabian). (Courtesy of Charles Rossiter, Corel C_Tech, posted 08/12/2003). Note 2 Apparently this bug affects WordPerfect shipping macros. You should recompile them (see the tips under the SOLUTIONS section above). See Tools, Settings, Files, Merge/Macro for the locations of the default and supplemental macros folders. Shipping macros will include Abbrev.wcm, Concord.wcm, and several dozen others.

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How is text selected now, compared to earlier versions? How does your cursor move?

How are your macros affected by these changes?

A new feature introduced by Corel in WordPerfect 10 (see Tools, Settings, Environment, "Use WordPerfect 9 text selection") -- and present in all later versions! -- can cause problems with macros, and can even make some macros unreliable. Read about this issue and the workaround code you can add to your macros.

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Got warnings?

Starting with WordPerfect 9 (Service Pack 4), Corel implemented warning messages about "obsolete" macro commands. Most often, these can be ignored, as explained here.

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