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Here is a WordPerfect 9+ macro that
counts all lines in the current document's body text area (including
table rows) that have text in them (i.e., alphanumeric characters).
Note that it does not count lines that contain only
punctuation, space characters, or graphics/text boxes, since
these are not normally considered "lines."
You may have noticed that WordPerfect has
a built-in line counter, of sorts. You can go to the top of a
document and use Format, Line, Numbering, then check "Turn
line numbering on," and un-check both "Restart numbering
on each page" and "Count blank lines." This gives
line numbering in the left margin, with the last numbered line
showing what is in effect the total number of lines. When you
no longer need it, delete the [Ln Num] code from the Reveal Codes
window.
However, the LineCounter.wcm macro shows a
message onscreen that gives
- the total line count;
- the total number of lines (i.e., some lines
may be blank or contain just spaces or punctuation marks);
- a word count;
- a line count based on the traditional 65
characters (including spaces) per line.
There is no menu. Just play the macro in your
document and it will count the lines in it.
Be sure to play the macro
again if you edit or reformat the document, or if you select
or use a different printer.
These may cause the number of lines to change. With respect to
printers, WordPerfect makes heavy use of Windows printer drivers
to format text, which in turn can cause slight differences in
document formatting if the document is automatically or manually
reformatted for a different printer.
Note that WordPerfect's Format, Line, Numbering
line count will include a count of any text box/graphic
image on a line, as well as lines with nothing by space characters
or punctuation marks in them. This macro does not count these
items as 'text' lines unless they include alphanumeric characters
on the same line. (However, the "traditional" 65
characters-per-line method mentioned above does include
spaces.)
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Some thoughts about line count accuracy
Line counting in the old "typewriter
days" was easier than it is today. You could depend on material
in the lines not moving, since what you typed was immediately
set firmly on paper. With computers, you have a choice between
using typewriter-like monospaced fonts and typeset-like proportional
fonts. The latter can produce problems when you try to count
lines to get an accurate total.
Using a proportional font means that if you
select a different printer (File, Print, <printer name>)
or load the document on a different system with a different printer
attached, the new Windows printer driver can (and most likely
will) change the number of lines slightly due to inter-letter
and inter-word spacing adjustments.
Furthermore, in WordPerfect there is a setting
in Tools, Settings, Environment that forces WordPerfect to reformat
documents (when opening them) to the current default printer's
specifications. This will surely make minor changes to the line
count on larger documents. Hence, WordPerfect will adjust lines
to fit the new printer driver specifications. [This frequently
happens with documents faxed from inside WordPerfect. The Windows
(or fax software) fax driver -- much like a printer driver --
wraps words to suit its format requirements. As a result, a 'one-page
fax' created in WordPerfect can run over onto the next page when
faxed. This is a good reason to preview faxes before sending
them!]
Al of this is accomplished automatically in
WordPerfect using printer metrics (i.e., measurements).
According to the WordPerfect Help file (which section does not apply to WordPerfect
8 and earlier versions):
". . . By default, WordPerfect determines
line endings through printer metrics. If you will be moving a
document between different printers often, you may wish to prevent
the document from reformatting every time you change printers.
You can do this by disabling printer metrics. When you disable
printer metrics, WordPerfect determines line endings by display
metrics.
To disable printer metrics (in WP9 and later
versions):
1. Click Tools, Settings.
2. Click Convert.
3. Click the Compatibility tab.
4. In the Options section, enable the "Don't use printer
metrics to format document" (or in WP10+, "Do not format
document using printer metrics") check box.
Note: If you disable printer metrics,
printer fonts will not be visible in your list of fonts."
This setting uses a 1200 dpi (dots per inch)
'virtual printer,' and then sends the document to the physical
printer formatted to match the screen display pagination. This
process effectively removes reformatting / repagination problems.
So line count 'accuracy' is relative, depending
on several factors and system settings. If the line count is
made on the same system and the same printer where the
document was physically printed, there should be no problem or
discrepancy. However, it the line count is done first (for invoicing
a client, as a transcriptionist might do), and the .WPD file
is then sent to a client who prints it on their own system, the
client might find that the line count is off a bit.
I can't see any way around that, other than
to send a hard copy with the built-in line count feature turned
on, showing line numbers in the left margin. (To use this feature,
go to the top of a document and use Format, Line, Numbering,
then check "Turn line numbering on," and un-check both
"Restart numbering on each page" and "Count blank
lines." This gives line numbering in the left margin, with
the last numbered line showing what is in effect the total number
of lines. When you no longer need it, delete the [Ln Num] code
from the Reveal Codes window.)
I think a word count is a more accurate means
of measuring production. But I see lots of people on the Corel
newsgroups and elsewhere trying to find ways to quickly and accurately
count lines in a document, so there must be a need for this.
Hence, the reason I wrote the LINECNTR macro.
See this site's Disclaimer,
which is particularly applicable if you depend on absolute accuracy
in line counts. |
Programming notes
- You could use SelectLineEnd in place of the
first two commands (SelectMode(On!) And PosLineEnd) in the macro's
main Repeat loop. However, in WP10 and later, a new checkbox
exists in Tools, Settings, Environment: "Use WP9 text selection."
If this is left un-checked (the shipping default), it will change
the way SelectLineEnd (and several other selection and cursor
movement commands) works compared to WP9 and earlier versions.
The method used in this macro circumvents this potential problem.
- You can use the values stored in vCount,
vTotCount, and vWordCount to print a report.
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Barry MacDonnell's
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