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Macros, tips, and templates for Corel® WordPerfect® for Windows®
© Copyright 1996-2008 by Barry MacDonnell. All Rights Reserved.

CONVERTR.WCM - Either delete or convert previously "marked" draft text <<like this>> or existing parenthetical material (like this phrase), quoted material or [bracketed text].

BRACKETR.WCM - Bracket or "mark" the word at the cursor location, or a block of selected words, with a text character (quotes, parentheses, brackets, etc.) or symbol. A good companion to the ConvertR macro.

Download CONVERTR.ZIP (01/11/08; ZIP=34,087 bytes)

Compatible with WordPerfect 7 and later versions

WordPerfect 11 users: See important information about using macros in the first release of WP11 (11.0.0.233) at the top of this page.

Downloading, Documentation, Modifications, and Support

CONVERTR.ZIP contains two macros: ConvertR and BracketR

CONVERTR.WCM (v1.04; 01/11/08) "The Converter" is a macro that either deletes or converts previously "marked" draft text <<like this>> or existing parenthetical material (like this phrase), quoted material or [bracketed text]. INSTRUCTIONS All you need to do is mark your document's text with your own text markers -- such as <<double beginning and ending brackets>> -- to "park" draft material or insert quick annotations, reviewer's comments, passing ideas, etc. Play CONVERTR at a later time to "clean up" your document by removing these items or converting them to another form. You can use almost any "markers" -- even typographical ("smart") quote marks (but not straight quote marks: see sidebar) or other WordPerfect symbols. The only requirements are that (1) the beginning and ending markers that surround a string of text must be different in some way, and (2) the number of markers on either side of the text be equal in terms of number of characters (e.g., "<<<" and ">>>" and not "<<<" and ">"). The default choice on the macro's menu is to delete such specially marked text (after optionally prompting you for confirmation). Alternatively, you can convert the marked text to normal text, footnotes, endnotes, WordPerfect comments, italics, redlined text, or highlighted text. (You can even convert all existing WP comments to marked text before beginning so that they are treated in the same manner as other marked text by the macro.) EXAMPLE After playing the macro, if the document contained some text like this: ... the <<new product>> sample is enclosed ... and you chose the option to delete it (the default choice), the result will look like this: ... the sample is enclosed ... [i.e., bracketed text and markers deleted] If you chose to convert it to normal text, it will appear like this: ... the new product sample is enclosed ... [that is, markers are deleted and the text is converted to body text]. WHY USE TEXT MARKERS? Speed and convenience. While other methods of marking up draft text in WP are available (e.g., highlighting, redlining) this method may be more useful if the marked-up document is shared with non-WP users or send back and forth as plain text across the internet. Also, users who prefer the keyboard to the mouse may find that typing text markers during the draft stage is easier (and faster) than creating customary WP comments or using highlighting. Finally, some folks (like me) tend to use parentheses more than they should. CONVERTR can delete them or convert them to ordinary text, footnotes, etc. See the enclosed document, CONVERTR.WPD, or annotations at the top of the macro code for more information, tips, etc. Also see NOTE2TXT, which converts footnotes or endnotes to bracketed text. LIMITATIONS The macro does not process items inside headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, or text boxes. For example, WordPerfect won't let you convert material inside a footnote into a footnote (which would be a "nested" footnote), so the macro does not search for items inside such "substructures." WordPerfect does not support footnotes in parallel columns. (However, footnotes can be created in newspaper columns. You can change parallel columns to newspaper columns by double-clicking the [Col Def] code in Reveal Codes.) You should examine the document and make any required changes in these areas by directly editing them. Version 1.01 adds a minor adjustment to deal with large footnotes that span several pages. Version 1.02-03 - Changed menu fields to accept WP symbols. Added option to convert to redlined text. Added detection of single quotes used in contractions (e.g., "can't"). Added check for identical markers. Added color wheel selector for highlighting. Minor subroutine improvements. Version 1.04 - Minor fix to 'Please Wait' routine for Vista compatibility.

BRACKETR (v1.02; 10/19/06) INSTRUCTIONS "The Bracketer" is a macro that can bracket or "mark" the word at the cursor location, or a block of selected words, with a text character (quotes, parentheses, etc.) or symbol. To bracket the current word or a selection of text, just play the macro. (The cursor must be in body text, not in a header, footer, note, text box, or other substructure.) If desired, you can modify the macro'c code (just open it like any other document and follow the instructions at the top) to make it insert markers of your choice. The macro uses two simple commands to insert the brackets around the text. The default is to use double angle brackets <<like this>> around words. You can change this to use other text characters, quote marks, or symbols. See the examples at the top of the macro's code. TIP You can assign this macro to a toolbar button or keystroke combination for quick and easy access.