SCROLL DOWN FOR SOME TIPS, EXAMPLES,
AND EXAMPLES FOR ADVANCED USERS.
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You can customize your keyboard
so that pressing the <Alt>, <Ctrl>,
or <Shift> key (or any combination of these) plus
a number or a letter (e.g., <Ctrl+1>, <Alt+Shift+m>),
will -
- play a macro, or
- use a WordPerfect feature, or
- start a program,
or
- send a string of keystrokes to WordPerfect or your current document.
These keys are often called "shortcut
keys" or "hot keys," and their assignments are
stored in a keyboard definition. This is a small internal
area of the program you can access from the Tools menu.
You can have several keyboard
definitions on your system: WordPerfect ships with several default
definitions, but you can create custom definitions to
suit your everyday needs or for special purposes.
Before
you begin ...
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... please note:
- There are many WordPerfect features (e.g., inserting the current file's
path and name) or WordPerfect functions that you may find useful
candidates to assign to a key or key combination. (See Step #3
below for information on locating the list of these features.)
While many are pre-assigned to menus, toolbars, or keys, many
of them are not.
- You may find that some of these
features or functions are more useful when they are assigned
to a toolbar since their button icons might make them easier
to locate. If so, see Part 1 of this
series of web pages. You can, however, assign them to new or
existing menus as explained in Part 3.
- To directly play a specific
macro using a desired combination of keys
-- in contrast to playing a macro by choosing one from a list
with the standard <Alt+F10> keys or with Tools, Macro,
Play -- you should first ensure the macro exists on your system.
(This might seem obvious, but sometimes macros are moved or removed
by others.) If it does not, you will need to create your macro
first -- either by recording it (with <Ctrl+F10 or Tools,
Macro, Record), downloading
it from a site such as this one, copying
the code from somewhere, or by writing
the code for it, or by a combination of these methods -- and
then save it in either your Default or Supplemental macros folder
(which are specified in Tools, Settings, Files, Merge/Macro).
- For a list of navigation and text selection
keys that are used in
WordPerftect's Windows (CUA) and DOS keyboard definitions --
the former is the "standard" or "default"
keyboard used by the program -- you can read (left-click) or
download (right-click, then Save Target As) "CUA-DOS.pdf,"
a small Adobe PDF file. Normally, you will not want to assign
other things to these default keys unless you really need to
use them for a special purpose; if you do, it is always a good
idea to do so with a copy of the keyboard definition, as explained
below.
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How
to do it
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STEP 1:
- Click on Tools, Settings, Customize.
- Click the "Keyboards"
tab in the Customize Settings window, then select either the
default keyboard definition for your version of WordPerfect (e.g.,
<WPWin Keyboard>) or another keyboard definition (e.g.,
<WPDOS 6.1 Keyboard>).
- Then, do one
of the following things.
- Either click Create to create a new
keyboard (based on the definition you just selected);
- or click Copy to make a copy of
the keyboard (choosing the desired keyboard in "Select
keyboards to copy") and save it under a different name;
- or click Edit to edit the existing
keyboard.
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IMPORTANT: You might feel more comfortable with this process
by customizing a new keyboard definition or a copy
of the current or default keyboard definition -- the first two
alternatives above -- and leave your existing default or customized
keyboards alone. In fact, this is recommended unless you are
certain that you want to modify the existing default or custom
keyboard. It makes it much easier to restore things if you
do not like the changes you have made. |
- If you choose to Create a new
keyboard definition or Copy an existing one, be sure to select
it after you've modified it. You can do this by returning to
the Customize Settings window with Tools, Settings, Customize.
The keyboard definition you choose will remain in effect until
you change it.
Tip: If you right-click the status bar -- the very
bottom edge of the WordPerfect window -- you can then click Settings
and check the box, "Keyboards." This will put a small
icon on the status bar to let you quickly access the keyboard
definition of your choice. [This works in WP8 and later, and
may work in earlier versions.]
STEP 2:
- The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog
box will now be open. Choose the key or key combination you want
to change (reassign) in the left-hand "Choose a shortcut
key" window. (You may have to scroll down a bit.) Choose
an available letter or number combination -- perhaps Y+Alt or
3+Ctrl. In this example, the assigned macro (or feature or keystrokes)
will play when you press <Alt+Y> or <Ctrl+3>.
- Make a note so you'll remember
which keys are being reassigned. (WordPerfect 11+ users can click the
Print Report button to print a list of current shortcut key assignments.)
- Tips:
- The checkbox at the bottom,
"Allow
assignment of character keys,"
will bring up a list of ordinary character keys (A, B, C, a,
b, c), punctuation marks, and extended characters. Normally,
you will have little use for this list (except perhaps to assign
a "quick save" macro to the period [full stop] key;
see here for this
trick), but certain infrequently used keys could be used to play
a macro, such as the ` key (next to the 1 key). These might be
best used to play a "two keypress" macro so that you
still have use of the key for normal text entry. See the Advanced
User section below.
- You might also want to enable
the "Shortcut
key appears on menu"
checkbox so that you'll see it in on WordPerfect's Insert menu.
STEP 3:
- Either click on the Remove Assignment
button if the key already has an assignment;
- or select the type of new assignment from the right-hand side of the dialog box, the
area that shows four tabs: Features, Keystrokes, Programs, or
Macros.
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For features, under the Features tab, scroll down in the Feature
categories drop list to choose the appropriate cateogory, such
as File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, etc. In the lower "Assign
a feature" list, choose the feature you want to assign to
the keystroke or combination, and click on Assign Feature to
Key. [You might find some features you didn't know about by scrolling
through the list and trying them out in a test document.] |
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For keystrokes, under the Keystrokes tab, in the "Type the
text to be inserted..." pane, enter the keystrokes, characters,
or symbols you need, like this:
- For keys such as <Alt>,
use {Alt}. Other examples: {Ctrl}, {Shift}, {Space}, and {Tab}.
- For combinations such
as <Alt+F>, use {Alt+F}.
- For text strings such as "the,"
enter them directly, or if this does not work, use {t}{h}{e}.
- For accented characters (diacritical
marks), use the numeric keypad and enter the proper
code found in the Windows Character Map (under Start, Programs,
Accessories, System Tools, Character Map).
- For example, to enter an é
in the Keystroke field, put the cursor in the field an type <Alt+0233>
on the numeric keypad. (The leading zero is required.)
- Charles Rossiter (Corel C_Tech)
writes: "For example, I use Alt+e for e-acute, Ctrl+Shift+E
for E-grave, Alt+a for a-umlaut, Alt+Shift+O for O-umlaut, Alt+Shift+C
for C-cedilla, etc. There is no conflict with other Alt-key shortcuts
(e.g., Alt+a for T_a_ble): Alt+a gives a-umlaut [i.e., press
and hold the Alt key, then press a]; Alt,a gives T_a_ble
(i.e., press and release the Alt key, then press a)."
- For symbols, press <Ctrl+W>,
select the symbol, then click Insert and Close on the Symbols
dialog.
- When done, click "Assign
Keystrokes to Key."
Notes
- There may be a limit to the
number of characters (including the left and right braces) that
you can enter into this dialog window.
- WordPerfect
X3: Using WordPerfect X3 (build 13.0.0.565, perhaps
in earlier builds, too) in Windows XP and Windows Vista means
you can use only text strings and/or WP symbols in the Keystrokes
pane. Script commands (i.e., {Alt}, {Space}, etc.) are ignored
under Windows Vista. Consider using other methods of inserting
boilerplate.
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For programs, click the Programs tab, then the Assign Program
to Key button. Locate and choose the exectuable program to play. |
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For macros, click the Macros tab, then click "Assign
Macro to Key..." and select the desired macro from those
listed in your macros folder. This will assign it to the shortcut
key combination.
If you get a message, "Save
macro with full path?" you most likely will want to answer
"No." WordPerfect will then use the path to
the default and supplemental macros folders specified
in Tools, Settings, Files, Merge/Macro. If you answer "Yes"
you can specify a path to a any other folder; however, if you
do so the paths specified in Tools, Settings, Files, Merge/Macro
will not be used for that macro.
Then click OK.
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STEP 4:
- Close all dialogs with Close
or OK.
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Tips
For macros,
features, programs, and keystrokes:
You can use "reserved"
keys such as <Alt+T> (which normally accesses the Tools
menu). But if you do, the macro (or feature or program or keystrokes)
will play instead of the Tools menu opening. However, you can
still get at the reserved keys: If you press Alt, release it,
and then press T (i.e., press the keys in sequence, not simultaneously),
the Tools menu will open.
For macros
only:
If customizing your keyboard
is not an option, you may want to use an old WP trick to play
a macro: Give the macro a name such as ctrlx.wcm
or ctrlsftx.wcm, where "x" is a keyboard
letter from A to Z or a number from 0-9. WordPerfect recognizes
macro filenames that use "Ctrl" and "CtrlSft"
(notice there's no "hi" in "Sft") in the
filename as special. So, for example, if you press <Ctrl+J>
or <Ctrl+Shft+J> the macro named CtrlJ.wcm or CtrlSftJ.wcm
will play. This assumes, of course, that the macro exists in
the default macros folder, which is specified in Tools, Settings,
Files, Merge/Macro.
Notes
If the <Ctrl+(key)> combination
you want to use as a macro filename has already been assigned
in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog, then that keyboard assignment
will take precedence over any macro on disk with the same filename
as the key combination.
For example, in WP10 and later
versions, <Ctrl+1> normally inserts single spacing, and
<Ctrl+2> inserts double spacing -- neither of which might
be obvious when you press these keys. In this case, a macro on
disk named Ctrl1.wcm will not play automatically when you press
<Ctrl+1>, since these keys have already been assigned.
However ...
You can verify if the combination
is in use by opening the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog (see above
steps); you may be able to change the current control-key assignment
or remove it altogether to allow the named macro to play.
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Examples
EXAMPLE #1
- Starting and Outline
Suppose you want to bring up
the Outline feature quickly, using the keyboard instead of clicking
on Insert, Outline/Bullets, OK. In the old DOS keyboard, for
example, "Outline Body Text" was assigned to <Ctrl+T>,
but you can assign this feature to any unassigned keystroke combination.
Here's how.
- Click on Tools, Settings, Customize,
then the Keyboards tab. Select the keyboard you want to edit
(e.g., <WPWin 9>), then click on Edit to bring up the Keyboard
Shortcuts dialog. [As mentioned above under step 1, some users
may feel more comfortable with customizing a new keyboard or
a copy of the current keyboard definition, and leave their default
keyboard alone.]
- In the left pane, scroll down
to an available key combo that you want to use (e.g., O+Alt)
and select it with your mouse.
- On the right side of the dialog,
use Feature Categories to select the Insert category, then in
the lower pane select Outline Body Text.
- Click on Assign Feature to Key,
and also (optionally) enable the "Shortcut key appears on
menu" checkbox so that you'll see in in WP's Insert menu.
- Click on OK, then Close (twice).
Now, when you press <Alt+O>
the outline should start. Press <Alt+O> again when you
want it to stop.
If you want to use a key combo
to start an outline item with a new number (e.g., "1")
you could assign "Outline Number Set..." to, say <Alt+Shift+O).
EXAMPLE #2
- Deleting words the way Microsoft Word deletes them
Microsoft Word allows you to
press <Ctrl+Backspace> to delete the previous word, even
if there's a space after the word. In WordPerfect, this key combination
works only if there is no space. Here is a way to delete the
previous word or delete the next word in WordPerfect
with a key combination:
- Click on Tools, Settings, Customize.
Select the keyboard to edit under the Keyboards tab, then click
the Edit button. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog appears.
- In the left pane, choose a shortcut
key for the "delete the previous word" feature (such
as <Left+Ctrl+Alt>).
- Under the Features tab on the
right side of the dialog, in the Feature categories list, select
the Edit category. Scroll down in the "Assign..." list
to "Delete Word Begin" and select it. Then click on
Assign Feature to Key.
- Repeat the process for the "delete
the next word" feature, using <Right+Ctrl+Alt> and
"Delete Word." (Not "Delete Word End," since
that just deletes remaining letters in the current word.)
- Click OK when you are finished,
then Close.
When you press one of these key
conbinations (e.g., <Ctrl+Alt+LeftArrow>) repeatedly, you
can delete consecutive words at the cursor location.
[Thanks to Wolfgang Deiminger
for posting this tip in the public Corel newsgroup.]
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Advanced users
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"Double-key"
or "double-strike" macros are macros that are played by two consecutive
presses of an alphanumeric key, and can be constructed
using the following format. They can be useful to quickly play
a favorite macro or one that must be played multiple times to
process some text.
You should note, however, that
most alphanumeric keys are not very good candidates to
use to play a macro this way, since there are many letters and
numbers that might appear twice in a particular word or number.
You could use upper case (by pressing the <Shift> key),
but some might find this awkward. The best cadidates probably
are the ` key, the = key, and the backslash or backstroke key
(\). |
EXAMPLE:
Suppose you want to use the ` key
(to the left of the 1 key on most keyboards) to play a macro
that (1) deletes all multiple spaces at the cursor location
and (2) replaces them with a tab -- but you also want to use
this key to type a ` character when needed. The structure
below will do the job. Save it in your macros folder, then assign
it to the ` key using the procedure described above. (The
` key is located just above the left brace ( { ) in the shortcut
list when you check the "Allow assignment of character keys"
checkbox.).
Thereafter, pressing the ` key
once will type a ` character, as usual. Pressing it twice
consecutively will cause the first ` characer to be "seen"
by the macro on the left of the cursor, whereupon it will delete
it and play the working part of the macro (i.e., convert the
spaces to a tab) instead of simply typing another ` character.
// Macro begins here -
If
(?LeftChar="`") // if a ` character is on the
left -
DeleteCharPrevious //
- delete the character
// The "working"
part of the macro begins here -
vCount:=0 //
- initialize a counter
//
While the left character is a space, move to the left -
While (?LeftChar=" ")
PosCharPrevious
Endwhile
SelectMode
(On!) // - start selecting text
//
While the right character is a space, move right -
While
(?RightChar=" ")
PosCharNext
vCount:=vCount+1
// - increment counter
Endwhile
// If there's more than one
space, delete all of them -
If (vCount>1)
SelectDelete
Tab //
- then insert a Left Tab
Else
SelectMode
(Off!) // - turn select mode off
Endif
// The "working" part of the
macro ends here
Else
Type
("`") // - type a ` character
Endif
Quit
// Macro ends here
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Notes
You can directly download this
macro as 2Key-S2T.zip.
It also contains optional code to search for all multiple spaces
and replace them with tabs; you can use this code as a standalone
macro.
You can create "triple-strike"
or even "quadruple-strike" macros by having the macro
assigned to the alphanumeric key check the number of instances
of that character that appear to the left of the last instance.
If (for a triple-strike macro) the character appears two times,
then the third press of the key would cause the two characters
to be deleted and the macro to execute other commands. This approach
increases the number of ordinary alphanumeric keys that might
make good candidates to use to play such a macro. See "Make a key do 'double duty'..."
for examples.
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Barry MacDonnell's