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Macros, tips, and templates for Corel® WordPerfect® for Windows®
© Copyright 1996-2013 by Barry MacDonnell. All Rights Reserved.

Download LETTERHD.ZIP (version 2.0; 06/26/12; 533,335 bytes; includes "Automating WordPerfect Templates") Compatible with WordPerfect 8 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

Included files:

!README FIRST.WPD, MY LETTERHEAD.WPT (two versions, one for WP8 and one for WP9/WP10+), and the guide, MY LETTERHEAD TEMPLATE.WPD, and AUTOMATING WORDPERFECT TEMPLATES (in PDF format, which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader; if you have Reader installed and want to view this file online, click here)].

Other pages on this site which might be of interest:

Custom templates - How to easily create and modify your own custom templates

2footers.html - Using two footers simultaneously (one for page number, the other for separator line and filename, etc.) so that items do not overlap

2Trays.html - Print your letterhead page from one printer tray, and second and subsequent pages from another tray ("two-tray" printing) - The functions of WordPerfect's Page Setup dialog

Assoc.html - Automatically associate a personalized keyboard or menu with a template

AutoDate.html - Automatically insert the current date as unchanging text in a letterhead or other template

AutoNumb.html - Automatic paragraph numbering, outlines, and numbered lists - How to turn these on and off, temporarily or permanently

AutoSpel.html - Automatically run the spell checker before printing a document

Boilerplate.html - Ten ways to insert 'boilerplate' and other repeating items: QuickWords, QuickCorrect, Shortcut keys, Styles, Macros, Floating cells, Insert>File, and (in WordPerfect 10+), Text variables, the Corel ClipBook, and other utility programs

CustomRA.html - Customize the return address on envelopes with graphics and font attributes

CustPrns.html - How to create new, customized copies of your favorite printer choices - Controlling the tray source, ink color, and other features of your printer

Env2Prn2.html - Print envelopes to another printer, then reset WordPerfect 10 to your default printer

HeadFootWM.html - Headers, Footers, and Watermarks - Some useful WordPerfect features you can add to multi-page documents ... and how to start, stop, replace, change, or delay their appearance (links to related topics, such as page numbering and page identification, can be found on the left column of the page)

LoadLetr.html - Load a letterhead (or any other document based on a template) with a mouseclick or keystroke

MailingAddress.html - How WordPerfect finds a mailing address on your letter

MergeMP.html - Merging multiple-page letters using letterhead paper for page 1 and plain paper for subsequent pages - Merging multiple-page documents so that formatting is identical from record to record - Page numbering in multi-page form documents

PageNumb.html - Page numbering in WordPerfect (plus related links)

ResetMargins.html - Need to reset page margins on page 2 (if there is a page 2) back to the one-inch default or some other setting? Here's how to do it in either the current document or in a template.

StampDoc.html - Creating "DRAFT," "COPY," and other identification stamps on the pages of a document

Here is an automated custom letterhead template. The download file (see left column) contains detailed, step-by-step guides to modifying the included sample templates and creating other "prompted" templates. 

Note: Two nearly identical sample templates are included in the download file (see left column): One is for WordPerfect 8 (which has slightly different Address Book fields than later versions), named "My letterhead (WP8).wpt"; the other one is for WordPerfect 9 and later versions, named "My letterhead (WP9).wpt". The main instructional guide is named "My letterhead template.wpd" and it is a regular WordPerfect document, not a template.

Tip: To create a non-automated (or unprompted) custom template, see here. To add items to it such as headers and footers on certain pages (and not other pages) see here.

Screen shot 1: Page 1 of sample letterhead document (easily customized) 

Screen shot 2: Page 2 of sample letterhead document 

As shown in screen shot 1, the template uses a simple text letterhead inside a graphic box at the top of the letter. The use of text makes it easy to edit and change; the use of a box keeps the letterhead information together on the page.

But what makes it truly useful is this: It pops up a fill-in Template Information dialog, then automatically uses this information (and certain other information) in various places in the letter. The information includes such things as the current date, delivery method, recipient's name and address, reference information, and page numbers on subsequent pages.

Screen shot 3: Template Information dialog 

The template also creates informational headers and footers in their proper locations depending on the number of pages in the letter. If the letter has more than one page, page 2 and following pages will have different headers and footers from the ones used on page 1. The header on page 2+ (see screen shot #2 above) will show the recipient's name, a RE: item (if used), the current date, and the page number. The footer on page 2+ shows just the company name and address. (Again, these can be customized.)

Finally, a template macro -- a macro that was saved inside the template -- removes certain text strings if they are not used (and the lines they would have occupied) such as empty address lines, reference lines, and "cc:" information.

Note

The last two pages of the included guide (My Letterhead Template.wpd) contain a sample of the letter that is generated by the letterhead template. Print both pages to see if the letterhead design is something you want to modify and use for your own letters.

If you like the way the letterhead works you can modify the text (inside a text box) at the top of the page, the letter's closing, and both footers to use your own name and address. Instructions are given in the included guide document, including the steps needed to make more extensive modifications.

"Automating WordPerfect Templates" (Automating.pdf) is an included Adobe PDF file that contains more information about using prompts, bookmarks, and template macros in a template to help you automate it. It may be particularly useful to newcomers as a "How To" guide on creating other automated documents such as invoices, fax cover sheets, memos, etc.

Tip

• Setting up a non-automated (or partially automated) letterhead template

You may not need (or want) the kind of "fill-in" automation that this template contains, but the "Letter design" section of the "My letterhead template.wpd" file that is included in the download archive explains the use of the first-page text box, setting up the second page header, both footer types, etc. You should be able to use it as a guide to setting up your own formatted multi-page letterhead template, including setting up headers and footers that automatically change on page 2 (if there is a page 2). [For information on creating custom templates, see here.]

In brief, here is the basic formatting used in the "My Letterhead" template:

The letterhead on page 1 was created inside a text box (click Insert, Text Box) that is attached to "Page" (right-click on a text box to set its Position). [Alternatively you could use a Header that is discontinued with a Delay code (see here for more on Headers and how to discontinue them). There are several alternatives for designing a "page 1 letterhead" -- e.g., columns, watermarks (see below), etc.]

Header A, created on page 1 and suppressed on page 1 with Format, Page, Suppress, is used for second and subsequent page identification (recipient's name, date, page number). This leaves Header B for any other purpose. [In a non-automated letterhead, you could simply copy the recipient's name into that Header A; the date and page number can be automatically inserted with codes from the Insert and Format menus.]

Document identification is contained in the two footers:

Footer A, created on page 1 and displayed there, is used for the telephone number, e-mail address, and fax number. Using a Delay code, this footer is discontinued on page 2 so that it shows up only on page 1 of a multi-page letter. (Here's how: At the top of page 1, click Format, Page, Delay Codes, 1, OK, then click Insert, Header/Footer, Footer A, Discontinue, and then click Close.)

Footer B, also created on page 1, is used for secondary page information (such as the firm's name and city/state/zip), and it is suppressed on page 1 with Format, Page, Suppress. Thus, it will show up on page 2+ on a multi-page letter.

This "manual method" of setting up multi-page letterhead templates with [Suppress] and/or [Delay] codes is also outlined here: "The manual method of suppressing and/or delaying items in templates".

To make the cursor go to the proper location in the letter -- i.e., where you wish to start typing -- you can set up a bookmark in the template itself, and use a template macro to find that bookmark as soon as the new document based on that template opens. See Footnote 1 below.

More tips

• Watermark logos. You can use a watermark instead of a graphics or text box for your page 1 letterhead "logo." This lets you create or use a shaded or transparent image:
  • At the top of page 1, click on Insert, Watermark, <choose the watermark type, A or B>, Create;
  • insert the logo image (either paste it from the clipboard or insert it from a file with the button on the property bar);
  • right-click (or drag) the inserted image in the watermark window to set its position/size on the watermark page (or use the button on the watermark property bar);
  • click outside the image and use the special button on the watermark property bar to increase or decrease the image's shading (brightness) as desired;
  • exit the watermark window with the Close button on the watermark property bar, or simply use File, Close;
  • back in the main template document window, discontinue the letterhead logo on page 2:
    • Click on Format, Page, Delay Codes, 1, OK; this brings up the Define Delayed Codes window;
    • click on Insert, Watermark, <choose the watermark type, A or B>, Discontinue;
    • optionally set new default page margins, printer tray, etc. - see the tip below;
    • click the Close button (or File, Close) to return to the main document.
• More than one logo? If you also want your logo to appear on subsequent pages, but in a different size or form, use the other watermark (e.g., Watermark B, with the logo in a different size) at the top of page 1 and simply suppress it on page 1 with Format, Page, Suppress.... The watermark will not show on page 1, but will show on subsequent pages until it is discontinued or replaced.
  • Alternatively you can simply start the other watermark in the Define Delayed Codes window (see above tip).
• Using two trays. Note that the second page can also contain a custom page setup ("page definition") that specifies a new paper source (a specific printer tray). When in the Define Delayed Codes window (see above tips), click Format, Page, Page Setup, and then create/add a new custom page definition with a printer tray ("source") specified for all "second" pages. This is a common way to have the printer print the letterhead from one tray, and the rest of the letter (if there is more than one page) printed from another tray.
• Reset margins. Need to reset margins on page 2 of a letter or other document? Here's a tip (which also offers a workaround for a small bug in inserting a delay code in WordPerfect 10 and later versions).
• Load the letterhead. See "Loading new documents based on custom templates" for toolbar and menu methods of leading the document.

Page Top

Footnote 1

How to position the cursor at a specific location in a document as soon as the document opens.
[This material is for those who wish to create just a cursor-positioning function in any template -- the same thing that exists in the MyLetterhead.wpt template above.]

Note: Unlike with saving an ordinary document, setting a QuickMark with Tools, Bookmark and enabling the option "Go to QuickMark on open" will not work when saving a template that has a QuickMark embedded in it. This small problem seems to be present since at least WordPerfect 8 and is still present in WordPerfect X4. However, the following method will work to automate the initial positioning of the cursor in documents based on a particular template. It uses a standard bookmark, not a QuickMark bookmark.

1. Edit (or create) the custom template.

2. Place the cursor where you wish the user to begin typing.

3. Click Tools, Bookmark, Create and give the new bookmark a name (e.g., Start or Text, etc.). (Don't check the box, "Selected Bookmark," under the name in the Create Bookmark dialog; that creates a paired bookmark. Here, you just want a single bookmark code.) Click OK, then Close, to return to the template document you are editing.

4. Next, create a template macro by recording it while the template document is still on screen:

4a. Click Tools, Template Macro, Record. In the Record Template Macro dialog that appears, give the new macro a name (e.g., Start Typing) and click the Record button.

4b. Immediately go to Tools, Bookmark (and select the bookmark if it is not already selected), then click the Go To button. (In the macro itself, this adds the command, BookmarkFind(<name of bookmark> ).)

4c. Stop the macro recording with the button on the Macro toolbar (with a black square on it) or by de-selecting the menu choice, Tools, Template Macro, Record.

5. Now, you need to associate this macro with a trigger (see also http://wptoolbox.com/tips/Triggers.html):

5a. On the Template Toolbar (the one with the "Build Prompts" button), click on Associate, then on the Triggers radio button, then choose "Post New" in the left-hand drop list. This sets the macro to play when you open a new document based on that template.

5b. In the Macros drop list, choose the name of your new macro. Click OK to return to the template document.

6. Save the template document. Test the effects of the new macro by loading a new blank document based on that template (File, New...). Done!