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Macros, tips, and templates for Corel® WordPerfect® for Windows®
© Copyright 1996-2012 by Barry MacDonnell. All Rights Reserved.

MakeSubDocs.wcm - A WordPerfect 9+ macro that inserts multiple files (e.g., book chapters) into the current (master) document as subdocuments. See more below.

Resources For more information on creating master and subdocuments, see WordPerfect's online Help (F1 key, "Using master documents"). Laura Acklen wrote a tutorial, "Working with Master Documents and Subdocuments," for the Corel Newsletter (March 2005 edition). Also helpful is the section, "Working with Master Documents and Subdocuments," in Special Edition - Using WordPerfet 12 [or Office X3] by Laura Acklen and Read Gilgen (QUE Publishing). See also "Notes and tips for Master/Subdocuments" below.

Important notes on using the MakeSubDocs.wcm macro The first time you play the macro or edit it, you will probably get a warning message about the SortArray command being obsolete. However, this command seems to work just fine. Just press "Continue Compilation" if you get this warning. (Warnings about obsolete commands were implemented by Corel in WP9/sp4. But even though many commands have been named 'obsolete' by Corel since very early WP versions — probably with a view toward consistency and conservation of code overhead — most still work, and probably will work in versions to come.) You should first ensure that the files you want to include as subdocuments are all in the same folder on your disk. This macro will process ALL files found in that folder with the specified filename extension. You may want to play this macro while inside a new, empty master document first until you see how it works. You may want to modify the default values displayed on the macro's menu. You can change them in the redlined User Modification Area of the macro's code. The order of files in the source directory/folder may be different than expected due to the way Windows stores files. Hence, you have a choice of "ascending" or "descending" order on the menu. Try each to see which works best for your particular setup, and set the default menu choice below. (If you want more technical information, see the comment at the end of this macro about FileFind, SortArray, etc.)

Notes and tips for Master documents and Subdocuments Note that a master document contains links (shown in Reveal Codes as [Subdoc]) to the files on disk (the subdocuments). When the master is expanded with File, Document, Expand Master, WordPerfect displays the subdocuments in the master. They are still on disk as separate files. This linking behavior is a common source of confusion. (See related tips below, especially about working simultaneously on a master document and one or more subdocuments.) Until you are comfortably familiar with the master and subdocument feature, make extra backups. You don't want to trash your first novel! (Even after you become familiar with this, it is wise to make multiple backups.) See the Corel tutorial, "Working with Master Documents and Subdocuments," in the Corel Newsletter (March 2005 edition). It also contains some valuable tips, such as these: "... You should always condense a master document before you save it. Otherwise, you save the same information twice [in the expanded master and in the subdocuments] and consume twice the disk space. Because you've already saved the subdocuments, you don't need to save that same information in the master document. If you are working in both master documents and subdocuments [i.e., the master and one or more subdocuments are open simultaneously in separate windows], you may run into a situation whereby changes that you have made to a subdocument and saved do not show up in the expanded master document. These changes will appear in the master document only if you follow this procedure: 1. Condense and save the master document. 2. Make changes to the subdocument. 3. Save and close the subdocument. 4. Open and expand the master document. [I.e., refresh the links.] The changes now appear in the expanded master document. At this point, you should generate the document (Tools, Reference, Generate) to update the index, table of contents, table of authorities, and so forth. ..." Be especially aware that when condensing one or more subdocuments without saving them, you merely hide them from view and any changes previously made to the subdocuments will not be saved at that time. This is analagous to using an outline, where you can hide/expand various outline levels to help you focus on particular sections of the document. But it differs in that if you don't save subdocuments (in the Condense/Save Subdocuments dialog), the edits to the subdocuments are lost, even if you save the master document. While this might be what you want to do, you should know that changes in the subdocuments must be deliberately saved, just like any open document. Master document formatting codes apply to subdocuments, except where codes of the same formatting type but with different settings are found in a subdocument. Note that in WordPerfect, format codes take effect until replaced or discontinued, so since subdocument codes are "downstream" from the expanded master, they can replace earlier versions with different settings (such as if they have a different line spacing from the line spacing code in the master). Conversely, "upstream" codes can affect material in later subdocuments, as explained below. Also, format codes can be stored inside styles, so be sure to check styles if they are "upstream" from a format problem (including the initial [Open Style] style code in documents). Keep this "stream" model in mind when trying to solve format issues in documents. Also see the tip below by Charles Rossiter about forcing subdocument formatting to "stick." If the same formatting code with the same settings exists in both the master and the subdocuments, it might be stripped out in subdocuments (WordPerfect will see it as redundant) when you condense and save the master: See Footnote 1. [Also see the next item about styles.] Master document styles will override any subdocument styles that have the same name. [This includes the initial Open Style: DocumentStyle code that is found at the beginning of all documents. As Noal Mellott wrote on WordPerfect Universe: "The codes in the master document's OpenStyle will override and overwrite all the [initial] OpenStyle [code]s in the subdocuments when the file is generated...."] Note that styles are like small containers, and a [Style] code can contain other styles as well as format codes, etc., so you should open them (double-click on the code) to see what they might contain when setting up or formatting a master document with subdocuments. Obviously, this same-name style issue can create a problem: Some formatting in the subdocuments of a master document can be replaced by similar formatting in the master document's style(s), which is "upstream" from them. Also, the entire contents of a "downstream" style's code can be replaced by the contents of a same-name style in the master, and will be saved with the subdocuments. (Conversely, new styles with unique names created in subdocuments-- such as you might create with the following tip -- are saved with the master document. This can be handy if you add more subdocuments later and need to apply the unique style: they will be available to subdocuments because they will be inherited from the expanded master.) Tip: You can force subdocument formatting to "stick": From Charles Rossiter, Corel C_Tech: "At the top of a sub-document, set up your formatting as you wish. Now select all the codes (and text, if any) that make up that formatting, and do Ctrl+C to copy to the Windows clipboard. Next, do Format, Styles, Create. Name the style. [Ed.: Use a unique name. For example: _InitialChapterStyle. The Type of style should be set to "Document (open)" so it applies to the entire subdocument.] Click in the style editor window and do Ctrl+V to [paste] your chosen formatting. Save the style. [Ed.: For more on creating and saving custom styles, including saving them to your default template or other template, see here.] Then whenever you first [or next] open one of your [sub]documents, apply that [custom] style [at the top of that document]. [Ed.: Don't put the new custom style inside the initial [Open Style: DocumentStyle] code in the subdocument, for the reason given above. Just put it in the body text area, before all other codes if possible. This should also make them easier to find and modify if necessary.] Note that by naming the style [with a leading "_"] the style will be at the top of the style drop-down list, making it easy and quick to select. If you find you need to change that [custom] style, you can just edit it and it will automatically apply to all documents with that style." Certain subdocument styles can override master document styles -- the opposite of the previous item. For example, if you used an outline style in one or more subdocuments, and you expect the outline to increment continuously throughout the entire (expanded) document (and not start at "1" in each subdocument), the [Outline] code that is inserted at the beginning of each outline can override the normal (sequential) order of outline items. Each [Outline] code contains a "definition" -- including numbering, where to begin, etc. Solution: Expand the master document and find the first [Outline] code. Then delete all [Outline] codes after that one, in each of the included subdocuments that follow this first code. By deleting all but the first [Outline] code, the outline should be continuous through the master document. When you remove a subdocument link (shown in Reveal Codes as [Subdoc]) from a condensed master document, the subdocument file remains on disc as a separate file. You have simply broken the link to it from the master document. When you remove a subdocument link (shown in Reveal Codes as [Subdoc]) from an expanded master document, the subdocument file reverts to normal WordPerfect text inside the master document -- just as though you had inserted the file into the master document with Insert, File. It will no longer be a link to an external (subdocument) file. Remember to save the file under a different name to preserve the original master/subdocument format. [Related tip:] If you use MakeSubs.wcm to insert multiple files and then want to turn all the files into ordinary parts of the current document, simply place the cursor at the very top of the expanded master document and then Click Edit, Find and Replace. Place the cursor in the Find field, and click Match, Codes. Scroll down in the Codes dialog to "Subdoc Begin" and select it, then click Insert & Close. Click Replace All. Since the Subdoc Begin code is part of an On/Off code pair, removing the first part of the pair removes the second part. The document should now be an ordinary WordPerfect document, not a Master document. You might need to do some reformatting of the newly included sections. Remember to save the file under a different name to preserve the original master/subdocument format. [Related tip (to the one just above):] One user reported that this technique of turning all WordPerfect subdocuments into ordinary parts of the current document works well before converting all documents into a single Microsoft Word document. Use Draft view in the master document to see the names and paths of the subdocuments. (If you don't see the path and name, click Tools, Settings, Display, Document and enable "Margin Icons.") Related tip: Place all subdocuments in a folder whereby the path to that folder and any subdocument name will not exceed 55 characters. Otherwise, you may not see the filename. You can rearrange subdocuments in a condensed master document by selecting the desired [Subdoc] code in Reveal Codes, cutting it to the clipboard with <Ctrl+X>, and inserting it in the new location with <Ctrl+V>. If the master document is not condensed, select everything (for that subdocument) from the [Subdoc Begin] code to the [Subdoc End] code, including both of these codes, and cut/paste the material to the new location in the master document. If you insert a hard page break (Ctrl+Enter) between each subdocument code in the master -or- at the top of each subdocument, you can force each of the subdocuments to begin on a new page. Endnote placement: You can place endnotes at the end of the entire document by placing the placement code (using the Insert, Header/Footer dialog) at the end of the master. Or you can place them at the end of each subdocument (be sure to select "...restart numbering"). For this and other reasons listed here, you might consider setting up two custom templates for each type of project, one for a master and one for a subdocument. Always place footnote or endnote option codes (spacing, numbering method, etc.) in the master, not in subdocuments. Consider setting up two custom templates for each type of project, one for a master and one for a subdocument. One handy setting that can help eliminate the problem of accidentally deleting codes, especially when working with master/subdocuments: Use Tools, Settings, Environment, Prompts (tab), and enable "Confirm deletion of codes...." Make lots of backups when working with master and subdocuments. The MULTISAV macro, NewFN#.wcm, in the Library can help.

From Using WordPerfect Office X3 by Laura Acklen and Read Gilgen (Que, 2006):

"Automatic Code Placement (the behind-the-scenes WordPerfect feature that positions certain codes for you) . . . can strip out redundant codes, resulting in a subdocument that can no longer stand on its own. For example, let's say you have a double-spaced master document. When you expand a subdocument with a double-spacing code in it, the Auto Line Formatter [a component of Code Placement] strips out that code, because it's redundant. When you save the subdocument, it is saved without the double-spacing code so it is saved as a single-spaced document. . . ."

So it appears that Charles Rossiter's tip (above) about creating a new, custom style for the top of all subdocuments is a practical solution that will force the formatting of those subdocuments, regardless of what happens in the master document. Your formatting should "stick." It's a simple method, too, and relies on the simple idea that if you set codes at the top of a document they will be available for the rest of that document (unless replaced or discontinued). Since styles are like "containers," they are easily inserted where needed, even if they contain many format codes (and even text).