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How to insert 'boilerplate' and/or repeating items
and in WordPerfect 10 and later versions
-
or with -
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'Boilerplate' generally refers to standard
or routine blocks of text, which may include graphics. It is
sometimes called 'form language' and it rarely changes (if at
all) over time. It is inserted in various documents as
needed, and can be anything from several standard contract paragraphs
to a single signature block or company logo. [This is more or
less the opposite of a form,
which is a typically a document already filled with static text
and spaces for your (variable) input.]
'Repeating items' generally refers to either
boilerplate (above) or to unique, single-use material (text and/or
graphics) that needs to be inserted in several places
in the current document.
Both types of material can be used in the
same document. Here's how to create them with the various tools
available in WordPerfect.
QuickWords
(Available in WordPerfect 8 and later versions.)
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Need to quickly insert boilerplate
material? Try using QuickWords (click on Tools, QuickWords).
Major advantages: QuickWords are very easy
to create, and they can insert more than just small groups of
words such as letter closings, scanned signatures, or special
phrases or "boilerplate" paragraphs. They can also
insert tables, watermarks, logos or other graphic images, and
even one or more WordPerfect formatting codes (e.g., columns)
-- or any combination of these things. And the size of an expanded
QuickWord is not usually an issue: Multiple pages full
of formatted material can be stored as a QuickWord!
Another advantage -- shared with QuickCorrect
(see next section below) -- is that
your hands need not stray from the keyboard, since QuickWord
abbreviations (i.e., the characters you type into your document)
are simple keyboard characters. There is no need to reach for
the mouse.
A disadvantage is that you might not be able
to remember all the QuickWord abbreviations you have created
(see macro solutions in the bullet list below).
- See the QuickWords
page for more information and tips on using, managing, and
backing up QuickWords.
- You can also use a QuickWord to create custom
envelopes with multiple fonts or graphics in the return address
of an envelope. Click here for more
information about custom envelopes.
- QuickWords are stored in a separate file
(QW#XX.WPT, where # is the version number and XX is the country
or language code), and thus may be less likely to become corrupted
compared to QuickCorrect entries. But QuickCorrect entries have
some advantages, and can be used to help you "speed type"
(see below).
- If you have created lots of QuickWords, you
can use a macro to list them and insert (and expand) them.
See, for example, the PickList
macro in the Library. Also see the tip (about recording a macro
to play a QuickWord) on the main QuickWords page here.
- To migrate QuickWords to a newer version
of WordPerfect, see How
do I migrate Quickwords to WordPerfect (Corel Answer ID 755943).
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QuickCorrect
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To quickly type a string of text characters
or a symbol such as ¥ into a document,
you can set up and use QuickCorrect to convert your easy-to-remember
entry into a desired string of characters or a symbol.
Advantages:
It is somewhat easier to remember QuickCorrect
abbreviations than QuickWord abbreviations, since most QuickCorrect
abbreviations are "shorthand" representations of the
expanded word.
Moreover, QuickCorrect conversions or expansions
will automatically adjust for capitalization. For example, an
abbreviation for "president" might be "prs";
typing "prs" will expand to "president,"
while typing "Prs" will expand to "President".
(For possessives, such as "president's", see below.)
And unlike QuickWords, abbreviations expand
even if they are followed by a punctuation mark. (QuickWords
require a space, hard return, or tab to expand.)
Disadvantages:
Unlike QuickWords, this method does not let
you insert graphics, tables, or large amounts of text into the
document, or include new formatting such as a new font or font
attibute (italics, bold, large, etc.).
To set up QuickCorrect abbreviations:
- Click on Tools, QuickCorrect. Then enter
the 'Replace' and 'With' entries and click the Add Entry button.
Be sure the 'Replace words as you type' box is checked.
- To enter accented letters or other
symbols in the 'With' field, use the <Alt> key plus the
numeric keypad to enter the proper numeric code found in the
Windows Character Map. The Character Map is located on your Windows
desktop, under Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Character
Map. When it loads, simply choose a character or symbol and copy/paste
it into WordPerfect, or jot down the <Alt> key combination
shown on the bottom right of the Character Map dialog and use
it instead. For example, to enter the Section symbol (§)
in the 'With' field, press <Alt+0167> on the numeric keypad.
(You could use something like 'sss' in the Replace field.)
- Note that you can also insert symbols from
the WP Symbols set (normally found in the top [Insert] menu)
by using <Ctrl+W> when the cursor is inside the 'With'
field.
- See also the Notes and Tips section below.
Notes
and Tips
- "Un-doing" QuickCorrect
changes: Immediately after QuickCorrect
expands an abbreviation, press <Ctrl+Z> or <Alt+Backspace>.
(This works to undo the last change. Try it with automatically
underlined e-mail addresses or Internet URLs!)
- Limits to QuickCorrect: Be aware that, unlike QuickWords, you cannot insert
graphics with QuickCorrect. Also, the sizes of the QuickCorrect
'Replace' and 'With' entry fields are very limited.
- The 'With' field. Charles Rossiter, Corel C_Tech, concludes from testing
that there are replacement entry limits -- i.e., limits to the
QuickCorrect "With" field (the right-hand field)
-- depending on whether the replacements are copied-and-pasted
into the field, or whether they are manually typed into the field.
- "First, you can create the QuickCorrect
replacement entry by selecting text. Irrespective of how much
text you select, it is only the first 63 characters, minus the
number of space characters, which will be included in the replacement
text. Or, in other words, the limit is 63 characters, with each
space counting as 2 characters.
- Second, you can create [a longer] QuickCorrect
replacement by typing in the replacement window in QuickCorrect.
The number of characters that can be created manually for a QuickCorrect
replacement also varies according to the number of space characters.
The limit is 126 characters, minus the number of spaces. Or,
in other words, the limit is 126 characters, with each space
counting as 2 characters." [Quote]
- HOWEVER ... There appears to be a bug in
QuickCorrect that can cause QuickWords to crash if QuickCorrect
replacement entries are longer than 20 characters. There seems
to be an adverse interaction between the two features. This bug
has existed since WP9, and Corel's support database states: "In
order to correct this issue you need to remove any entries in
QuickCorrect that are over 20 Characters in length." Since
the bug exists even in WP12, it's doubtful there will be a fix
for this. If you need to use expansions (the "With"
part of QuickCorrect entries) longer than 20 characters, you
could try the utility program, As-U-Type, described below,
which can expand up to 80 characters and works independently
from WordPerfect's QuickCorrect and QuickWords features (but
works well with them).
- The 'Replace' field. With respect to the QuickCorrect abbreviation in
the (left-hand) "Replace" field,
- "...there is a limit to what can be
entered in the left-hand "Replace" window. That left-hand
window can take 80 non-space characters, or 79 non-space characters
and one space." [Quote]
- Because the QuickCorrect file might be more
prone to corruption than the QuickWords file, you may want to
limit the total number of items in QuickCorrect, and use either
QuickWords, the Corel ClipBook (see below), or menu-driven macros
instead. (Some users have reported that they have several thousand
entries in QuickCorrect, but such large lists probably are harder
to maintain than maintaining similar sized QuickWord lists. See
QuickWords for more information and
tips on using, managing, and backing up QuickWords.)
- From a FAQ on WordPerfect Universe: "The
user word list (the list of words you have added while running
a spell-check), along with the list of your QuickCorrect entries,
is kept in a file called WT#XX.UWL (where # is the version number
and XX is the country or language code, e.g., WT11US.UWL). ...
Note that these files may be stored in an "unexpected"
location, such as C:\My Documents\Corel User Files."
- QuickCorrect is automatically
turned off for
all open documents when you are editing a macro or conducting
a merge. If you need QuickCorrect under these circumstances,
or just need to be able to turn some QC features on and off,
see the QC macro in the Library,
or record your own macro and select the features you want toggled
on or off.
- [From WordPerfect's Help <F1>:] When
the "Correct other
mistyped words when possible" check box is enabled, WordPerfect replaces typographical
errors that have only one possible correction without notifying
you of the change. Use this option only if you are confident
that a document uses words found in a standard word list.
Unusual spellings and proper nouns might be changed automatically
when you enable this option. (Most power users disable this setting.
They don't want strange "corrections" slipping into
important documents unnoticed. In any case, see the next note.)
- "Note that in the original release of
WPX3 (13.0.0.406 to 446), correct words were flagged as spelling errors if the option
"Correct other mistyped words when possible" was active.
This has been remedied with Service Pack 1." [Quote]
- Problems with QuickCorrect
changing a word into something you don't want? Or skipping past
a word you want flagged as a possible misspelled word? First, see the previous note (above). Second, you
can create an "exception" or a "skip word"
entry in your QuickCorrect list (which the spell checker uses,
along with its own dictionary):
- Open the spell checker (Tools, Spell Checker;
then answer "No" to "Close spell checker?");
click the Options button; click on User Word Lists (the User
Word Lists dialog that opens should default to WTnnxx.UWL, where
"nn"=your WP version and "xx"=your language);
either browse to the relevant QuickCorrect pair and click it
to select it, or if it's a new QC pair not yet in the list, type
the incorrect word in the "Word/phrase" field, the
correct word in the "Replace with" field, then click
the Add Entry button. Either way, be sure the pair is selected,
then -
- If you want multiple "correct"
entries for a word (e.g., the typographical error "ADN"
could be either "AND" or "DNA"), you can
make the spell checker stop and let you choose an alternate
word from the User Word List:
- Depending on your version of WordPerfect
-
- Highlight the word and its replacement in
the User Word Lists dialog, click the Properties button, then
choose Exception Entry, then put your cursor in the Replace With
field (still in the Entry Properties dialog window), press Enter
and add the replacement word there; then click OK The new item
will show up in a second line in the list. Click on Close.
- -or-
- Highlight the word and its replacements (put
each on a separate line) in the User Word Lists dialog, click
the Properties button, then choose Exception Entry, then click
OK. Each replacement will show up as a separate entry in the
user word list dialog.
- If you want the spell checker to skip
any word in the user word list during spell checking: Highlight
the word and its replacement in the User Word Lists dialog, click
the Properties button, then choose "Skip word," then
click OK.
- Alternative to editing the User Word List
/ QuickCorrect list: You can "mark"
words in a document to be skipped over by the spell checker and
grammar checker. This can be done with a one-line macro with
this command in it: WritingToolsDisable. (See here for how to create
the macro.) Then select the word and play the macro;
it will place a pair of codes around the selection, which tell
the program not to spell-check or grammar-check the selection.
(You can assign the macro to a keyboard shortcut, toolbar, or
menu, as described here.) Note this
is particularly useful in skipping over single symbols (such
as Greek characters inserted with Ctrl+W), since these cannot
be entered into a User Word List or QuickCorrect.
- QuickCorrect weirdness. When you type
(i), (c), or (r), do they change into other characters? Do dates
typed as "1/27/08" change to a numerical fraction?
Here are some remedies.
- QuickCorrect
and possessives. If you have (for
example) a QC abbreviation "pf" that is replaced with
"plaintiff" (both items are entered without quote marks)
when you type "pf," you might notice that "pf's"
will not expand to the possessive form ("plaintiff's").
Here's a way to ensure that adding an apostrophe-s to an abbreviation
will also add it to the expanded word. [Thanks to Noal Mellott
for this tip.]
- [Note that this works in WordPerfect X5,
English language version, but should work in other versions.
Note also that it does not work just using the Tools, QuickCorrect
dialog; you must use the steps below.]
- 1. Click Tools, Spell Checker. If you are
asked to close the spell checker, answer "No."
- 2. Click the Options button in the Spell
Checker, then choose "User Word Lists" from the menu
that pops up. (This is also known as the "QuickCorrect file".)
This opens the user Word Lists dialog, and it should show your
available user word lists (.uwl). Select the one for your version
of WordPerfect (e.g., WP15US.UWL for the US version of WPX5).
- 3. In the "Word/phrase:" field,
enter (without the double quotes) "'s" (i.e., apostrophe-s).
Leave the "Replace with:" field empty (i.e., blank).
- 4. Click Close to dismiss the dialog, and
then Close the spell checker. Done.
- [Additional information from WordPerfect
X5's help file:
- Using User Word Lists:
- A word list is a list of words or phrases
scanned when you proof your text using the writing tools. Writing
tools scan two types of word lists: User Word Lists and Main
Word Lists.
- Each language comes with a default User Word
List. User Word Lists can be customized to add, delete or replace
words.
- Main Word Lists are lists of specialized
words used by Spell Checker for a particular language, field
or company. You can have ten lists of each type active when you
use the writing tools. The active User Word Lists are scanned
first; if the word or phrase is not found there, the active Main
Word Lists are scanned. Main Word Lists are available only in
Spell Checker.
- For detailed information about using user
word lists, see “Using writing tools” in the main Help.]
- More on QuickCorrect:
- For an extended discussion of QuickCorrect
versus QuickWords, see this
thread by the same title on WordPerfect Universe, and this
QuickCorrect
FAQ.
- QuickCorrect
entries -- along with words you have added when running a spell-check -- are stored in User
Word Lists (with a filename of WTnnxx.UWL,
where nn=version and xx=language). If this file does not exist
(e.g., it was accidentally deleted) a new, virgin copy will be
created when WordPerfect is started.
- You can export the QuickCorrect entries to
a normal .WPD document by converting the lists using the Spell Utility
(which in most WordPerfect versions can be started directly from
the WordPerfect group on the Windows Start menu); see the next
paragraph for how one user did it. [The Spell Utility lets you
create, edit, merge, or convert main word lists for your business
or field, such as medicine or law.]
- On WordPerfect Universe, it was found that
converting the default QuickCorrect user list into a WordPerfect
document (.WPD), then pasting the contents of that document (with
Edit, Paste Special, Unformatted text)
into a new, blank, and "clean" WPD document (no user
styles, etc.), and then converting the new WPD document back
into a new default User Word List (.UWL), cured a strange problem
with the QC entries. See here.
- See also Footnote 1 below
for a method to print these entries in a table format. See also
the WordPerfect Universe FAQ
for more information on Word
Lists.
- If correctly spelled words are flagged as
misspelled, it might be caused by a corrupt QuickCorrect file.
[It could also be a display (video driver) problem, or an errant
language code somewhere in the document or in the Open Style
code at the very top of the document.] You can try renaming the
QuickCorrect file: See the Corel
Support Knowledgebase and search for "Quick Correct"
(note the space between words) or search for "3561".
The procedure shows how to find and rename the QuickCorrect (.UWL)
file so that a new one will be generated when next you load WordPerfect.
- It might be possible to repair a corrupt
QuickCorrect file using Corel's free utility, WPLOOK. See this page for more on obtaining and
using it.
- To back up QuickCorrect, see the "What
files do I need to back up if I need to uninstall/reinstall/upgrade?"
FAQ on WordPerfect Universe.
- To migrate QuickCorrect entries
to a newer version of WordPerfect, see
Migrating QuickCorrect List to current version of WordPerfect.
(Corel
support database, Article # 11190)
- The main dictionary ("Main Word List") is kept in a different file, with the filename extension of .MOR (not .UWL). It can be edited with a special program that comes with WordPerfect, the Spell Utility. The Utility can help you migrate a customized main dictionary to a newer version of WordPerfect. See this FAQ on WordPerfect Universe.
- Speaking only as a satisfied customer ...
you might also consider As-U-Type (http://www.fanix.com/).
If you are not a touch-typist (or even if you are), this little
utility program can correct typos and spelling errors as you
type. It even works alongside WordPerfect's QuickCorrect, and
can expand abbreviations like QuickWords -- in any Windows program,
such as your e-mail program. It "learns" from your
mistakes, it's easy to toggle on and off as needed (LShft+RShft
keys), and overall it's very easy to use. Free 30-day trial.
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QuickMacros
and regular macros
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QuickMacros
Regular macros For some links relating to creating or using
regular macros, see Need
help creating macros and templates? and also the top of the
main Library page. To record a regular macro: - It often helps to plan the steps and write them down for reference. Once you know what you wish to record -
- Click Tools, Macro, Record.
When the Record Macro dialog appears, give the new macro a name (spaces
are OK), then click Record. You should now be back in your document and
the Macro Toolbar should be visible. (If not, be sure to un-tick the menu option, View, Hide Bars.)
- When finished, stop recording with the small black-square button (■) on the left end of the Macro Toolbar (alternative: click Tools, Macro, Record once again).
- Done. The
macro is now saved to disk in the Default macro folder specified in
Tools, Settings, Files, Merge/Macro. It can be played with Tools, Macro, Play (or Alt+F10) or it can be assigned to a toolbar, menu, or keystroke combination as described here.
Tips
- Note that not all things can be recorded in a macro (e.g., styles
in WP9+), so some saved macros will need to be edited (Tools, Macro,
Edit) to manually add or modify commands to them. See here for more.
- Here's a Corel
WordPerfect Tutorial on Creating
a Signature Block Marco that should help get you started
with macros.
- For some simple "menu" macros,
see Footnote 2.
- You can use a regular (multi-function) macro
(PICKLIST) to instantly
type blocks of text, insert disk files, expand QuickWords, play
other macros -- all from a single menu "pick list."
- It's not a QuickMacro, but ... for those
comfortable with regular macros, see Gordon McComb's Document
Construction Kit - A Macro for Fast and Easy Document Assembly.
- Also see Gordon McComb's Macmenu
at http://gmccomb.com/vault/.
The help file indicates it can insert files as well perform several
other functions.
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Insert
files (boilerplate files)
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Insert a disk file at the current cursor location
with Insert > File. If you do this often with several
files, you can record individual macros to bring the files into
the document (also see Footnote 2 for a single
macro that displays a menu to let you select a file).
The macros can be played from a menu, keystroke,
or toolbar button; see here for how
to do this. [For a more flexible and powerful macro, see the
PickList macro in the
Library. With this macro you can instantly type out symbols,
words, or paragraphs; insert disk files; expand QuickWords; or
play other macros -- all from a single menu "pick list".]
Tip
- A custom document based on a custom template can also be
thought of as "boilerplate,"
since the document itself can contain text and graphics that
remains the same each time you use it. Using a template-generated
custom document is a different approach from using Insert > File,
since a new document is generated ("spawned") each
time you access the template, rather than merely reloading an
old document from disk. But it has the advantage that the template
is relatively immune from causal editing or accidental deleteion;
moreover, since a custom document is spawned each time, the resulting
document can be saved under a different name or simply discarded
after printing. The template itself remains untouched. Another
big advantage: custom templates can be automated
to insert various material, prompt the user, etc.
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Custom
templates (with optional prompts and other automation)
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A custom document based on a
custom template can
also be thought of as "boilerplate," since the document
itself can contain text and graphics that remains the same each
time you use it.
Using a template-generated custom document
is a different approach from using Insert > File
(above), since a new document is generated ("spawned")
each time you access the template, rather than merely reloading
an old document from disk. But it has the advantage that the
template is relatively immune from causal editing or accidental
deleteion; moreover, since a custom document is spawned each
time, the resulting document can be saved under a different name
or simply discarded after printing. The template itself remains
untouched.
Another big advantage: Custom templates can
be automated to insert various
material, prompt the user, use built-in macros, etc.
A related concept: Use a keyboard
merge to fill in a form document.
If you plan to fill in the form in one sitting, you can set up
the form as a "merge form" with "keyboard stops".
This is a one-choice-to-one-location type of operation.
If you need to enter the same information in multiple locations
(one-choice-to-several-locations), consider using an automated, prompted template or (in
WordPerfect 10 and later versions), text
variables.
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Floating
("linked") table cells
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If you have created one or more tables and
need to have the contents of certain cells -- such as a column's
total -- appear in the text area(s) of your document, use floating
cells to duplicate the contents of those table cells elsewhere
in the document.
Here's how:
- Create a table with something in the cell
that you wish to have duplicated elsewhere in the document with
a floating cell.
- Position your cursor in the text area, as
desired. Click on Table, Create (or Insert, Table in WP9 and
earlier), Floating Cell, Create. In Reveal Codes you’ll
see a pair of codes -- [Flt
Cell><Flt Cell] -- with the cursor
between them. This is the "floating cell."
- Use the Table Formula toolbar that appears
when you create a floating cell to insert a formula in the floating
cell, or insert the name of a table cell to reference information
in that cell.
- For example, if you have a single table it
will be named Table A by WordPerfect, and if you
have the phrase "New York" in cell B1 of that table,
then when you create the floating cell (step 2 above), and the
cursor is between the codes, click in the Formula field in the
toolbar and type this formula:
- then click the checkmark button to the left
of the Formula field. The contents of cell B1 of the table should
immediately show up in the floating cell. (You might have to
click the Calculate button to "refresh" the floating
cell.)
- A floating cell can be copied or cut to a
new location by opening Reveal Codes and selecting the codes
and the text between them. Then copy (or cut) and paste
in a new location.
- TIP
(from David Wallis): "you can also have one floating cell
refer to the contents of another. That's very helpful when you
use numbers that need to be repeated in various places in a document.
If the number changes, you only need to change it in one place
in the document."
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Faux variables
and 'variable' Character styles
Faux variables (for WordPerfect 9 and 10)
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Jim
Shackleford's FAUXVAR9 macro (for WordPerfect 9/10) mimics
WordPerfect 10's new 'text variables' feature (described below).
[Quoted from the Other
Authors page:]
Need to insert identical text in several
locations that you can change easily and quickly? Here's a macro
for WordPerfect 9/10+ to do it (for other WP versions, or to
use a Style as an alternative, see below):
FAUXVAR9.ZIP (16,867 bytes) - A WordPerfect 9/10 macro that mimics
WP10's new document variables feature. As Jim's overview states:
"WordPerfect
10, part of Corel WordPerfect Office 2002, introduced a new feature –
document variables [Ed: these are actually called 'text variables' in
newer versions of WordPerfect]. Document variables allow a user to
create, save, and retrieve variables which can be placed into a
document. This allows the user to simply change the value of the
variable in one place and have those changes reflected throughout the
document." [Ed.- This includes variables inside headers,
footers, notes, etc.]
"FAUXVAR is a WordPerfect macro
system which mimics the behavior of document variables through
the use of character styles. Up to 99 faux variables can be used
in a document. If you wish to create, edit, save or retrieve
faux variables, this macro will simplify the procedure. You may
still use WordPerfect’s built-in styles editor if you desire."
He also states, "You can use faux
variables with WordPerfect 10. You may wish to do this if you
share documents with others with earlier versions of WordPerfect."
NOTE: In addition to the method Jim describes
to edit a faux variable, you can also double-click the variable's
code in the Reveal Codes window.
Copy the macro and its two helper files to
your default or supplemental macros folder. You may want to play
the macro from a toolbar button or
key combination.
The macro has a Help button that explains
how to create and edit these variables.
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'Variable'
Character styles (for WordPerfect 9
and earlier)
|
For earlier versions of WordPerfect (i.e.,
WP9 and earlier) that do not have the Insert > Variable feature,
you can use a style to duplicate this feature:
Create a Character style that contains
the text you want to appear in various places in your document.
Then just apply the style in each location (no need to type the
text at those locations since it is already "inside"
the style itself). Here's how.
- Click on Format, Styles, Create. This brings
up the Styles Editor.
- Give the new style a name and brief description.
Choose "Character" as the Type. Be sure to check the
box, "Automatically update style when changed in document."
- In the Contents field of the Styles Editor,
enter (or paste) your text. Format it if desired.
- Click OK, then Close, to return to the document.
In the document (in an empty area), click
Format, Styles, and choose the new style in the left pane, then
click Insert. (Or, even easier: select the style from the drop
list on your property bar.)
The text should appear in the document, but
if you look in Reveal Codes, all you'll see is a pair of [Char
Style] codes. Click on any one of these codes to bring up the
Styles Editor, make any changes, then close the Styles Editor.
The change should appear wherever the style was applied.
NOTES
- This use of a style is basically the same
idea behind the new Variable feature of WP10/11.
- There appears to be a limit of about 4,000
characters that you can use inside a variable or style's Contents
field.
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Clipboard
extender (Available in WordPerfect 10.0.0.518 and later versions.)
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Use the Corel ClipBook -
- From ClipBook's Help: "Corel Clipbook
is a utility that works with any Windows application to store
multiple items, called clips, in an unlimited number of clipboards.
Clips can be text, sounds, and graphics. Clipboards can be shared
with other users over a network."
- For a "How To" introduction to
the ClipBook, see this
thread on WordPerfect Universe.
- Note that the ClipBook can be separately
installed or uninstalled from the Windows Control Panel.
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Text
variables (Text variables are included with WordPerfect 10 and
later versions.)
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Need to insert the same block of text
in several locations -- and be able to make global changes
easily and quickly, wherever it appears? Use a 'faux
variable' macro, 'variable' character
style, or (in WP10 and later versions) a text variable:
- "[Text] variables
allow you to mark text that you know will change, for example
dates, version numbers, or client names. WordPerfect allows you
to create a variable. Once you have created a variable you can
insert it in [multiple locations in] a document, edit it, or
delete it. You can also chose to display the variables in a document." (Corel WP10
Help file.)
- To create a text variable (WP10 and later
versions), click on Insert, Variable, Create. Give
the variable a name (limit=12 characters) and type (or paste)
the text into the Contents field, then insert the variable where
needed. (The content limit seems to be about 4,000 characters.)
You can format the text from the Variables Editor menu, insert
graphics, etc.
- To insert a variable
in your document: Position the cursor where you want to insert
the variable. Click Insert,
Variable. Choose a variable from the Variables
list. Click Insert.
- Alternative:
You can add a button to a toolbar that will allow picking and
inserting an existing text variable into the document. See the
first TIP below.
- To delete an instance of a variable at a particular location, delete its [Variable] code
in the Reveal Codes window.
- To edit a variable
click Insert, Variable,
<choose the variable>, Edit.
- Alternative:
- You can also double-click on any existing [Variable] code in Reveal Codes, or directly on the visible variable
text, to bring up the Variables Editor. Make your changes, and
your edits will instantly appear in all iterations of that particular
variable when you exit the Editor.
Tips
- Insert variables with a toolbar button:
Right-click the toolbar and select Edit from the context menu.
In the Toolbar Editor that appears, choose the Feature category
"Insert," and scroll down in the list to "Variables."
Choose it and click on Add Button to add the button to your toolbar.
(You can drag the new button to another toolbar location.) Once
you have created one or more variables, they will be available
from the new button to insert at the current cursor location.
- Related tips:
- Once variables have been created and inserted
into a document they can be copied to another document by simply
selecting the code pair ([Variable><Variable]) in Reveal
Codes, copying the codes to the clipboard, and then pasting them
into the new document.
- See also the tip below
about gathering several existing text variable codes together
in a single location with a WordPerfect Comment, which "hides"
the group from view and from printing. Then only that [Comment]
code needs to be copied into another document to duplicate the
same variables there. [If you select just the Comment code you
can turn it into a QuickWord for future
use in any document, assuming it is not already made part of
the default template.]
- Starting with WP11, you can visually "mark"
variables in the document with View,
Variables; this applies temporary (blue)
>arrow brackets< around
each variable.
- You could type a placeholder text string
(e.g., "PARTY-1"; "HUSBAND'S NAME"; etc.)
in each newly created text variable in a custom template or other
saved file, then insert them where needed. Then you could simply
edit any instance of a particular variable and change the placeholder
(e.g., change "PARTY-1" to "John Smith").
You can enable View, Variables during the editing phase to more easily find the
variables in situ; then turn off this feature before printing.
- To make any unused variables even
more visually evident in both the Variables dialog and in the
document itself, use an "all Caps" placeholder with
brackets, such as "[<-HUSBAND'S-NAME->]". This
should make editing and proofreading the document easier.
- If you use such text placeholders, you will
want to delete any unused variables from the final draft.
This is easily done with the Variables dialog's Delete button.
- Specify which variables you want to display
(i.e., those in the current document and/or those in the default
template) in the Variables list by clicking Options, Settings, and enabling
an option in the "Available variables list" area. [Settings
also lets you save the variables to either the current document,
default template (not always the best idea unless you truly have
frequent use for them in a wide variety of new documents), or
an additional objects template.]
- Find a particular variable (and move the
cursor to it) with Edit,
Go To, <variable>, <select variable name>. Note that you cannot find text in variables with
Edit, Find and Replace, since the text is inside the variable
itself, which is a style. [But see next tip.]
- Create a WordPerfect Comment
(Insert, Comment, Create) at the top of the document (or other
convenient location) and insert one instance of each created
text variable into the Comment. You can then modify any or all
of them more easily by simply editing the Comment and double-clicking
a variable, since they will be conveniently located in one (non-printing)
location.
- Related tips:
- Use a two-column table inside the Comment,
with instructions or copy-and-paste examples in the left column,
adjacent to each text variable in the next column. Simply read
the instructions, double-click the adjacent text variable and
edit it, read the next instruction, double-click the next variable
and edit it, etc.
- A template macro can be used to immediately
find and open this special Comment when a document based on the
template is opened or edited. For more on template macros, see
here.
- If you select just the [Comment] code in
Reveal Codes you can turn it into a QuickWord
for future use in any document (assuming it is not already made
part of the default template).
- You can use a variable as a chapter title
or section title and also insert the variable in a header or
footer (or anywhere it is needed).
- Once the variable is created and inserted
in the body text area, you can make the chapter or section title
into a formatted paragraph style (in the body text area of the
document) by selecting both of these new codes in Reveal
Codes, and applying a heading style (e.g., Heading 1) to them
from the Text property bar's Select Style drop list. This will
not only add formatting to the title, it will allow the title
to show up in a Table of Contents. (The variable's title displayed
in the header or footer will not be formatted with the paragraph
style. Use normal formatting methods in such structures.)
- If you change your mind about the title,
just edit the variable with Insert, Variable, <variable name>,
Edit. When you change the Contents field, you will change what
is displayed in the document.
- If you want the title of each section
of the chapter to show up in a header (a/k/a "running heads,"
"dynamic headers"), see the macro, DYNAHEAD.
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Other utility
programs
- As-U-Type
by Fanix Software
- PURPOSE: If you are not a touch-typist (or
even if you are), this little utility program can correct typos
and spelling errors as you type, using one or more user-created
lists as well as several standard dictionary lists (US, UK, CA,
AUS).
- COMPATIBILITY: It works very well alongside
WordPerfect's QuickCorrect, and can make corrections in any
Windows program (such as your e-mail program).
- "QUICKCORRECT"-LIKE FEATURE: Its
automatic correction feature can expand an abbreviation up to
80 characters, and you can create your own correction lists to
load/unload as needed.
- "QUICKWORDS"-LIKE FEATURE: The
program can also expand text abbreviations into long blocks of
text just like WordPerfect's QuickWords (but unlike QuickWords
you cannot include graphics or WordPerfect formatting codes in
the expansions). The abbreviations are called "Shortcuts"
in As-U-Type, and you can have different shortcut lists for different
purposes, and load/unload them as needed.
- OTHER FEATURES: AUT learns from your mistakes,
and can be automatically turned off in specified programs or
manually toggled on and off as needed (LShft+RShft keys). Very
easy to use, even with its many features.
- COST: Free 30-day trial; US$39.95 to register.
- Unicode Keyboard by Fanix Software
- PURPOSE:
"Unicode Keyboard is a smart OS-level typing assistant software that
helps you type any accented and Unicode character on US keyboard
without having to learn and remember awkward key combinations. ..."
[From their download page. Not yet tested by the WPToolbox.]
- COST: Free 30-day trial; US$19.95 to register.
- TypeItIn by WavGet
- PURPOSE (quoted from their website): "TypeItIn
lets you define buttons that will type in any information you
want into any application. You can use TypeItIn to fill out forms
on the web, or process forms at work. It's a great tool for applications
where you frequently type the same thing like creating HTML code
or writing standard letters or emails. Another great use is for
entering user names and passwords. You can also launch applications
or web sites with the click of a button. You can create up to
1000 password protected groups, each with up to 200 buttons.
TypeItIn can automatically type in the time, date, month, or
day of the week too. In addition, you can also Record your own
typing to automatically create buttons."
- NOTE: If you also use As-U-Type (above),
TypeItIn will prevent As-U-Type's auto-correction feature from
working while TypeItIn is active. Solution: Load each from the
Windows launch bar as needed, then unload them from the system
tray. Both actions take just a mouse click or two.
- COST: Free 30-day trial; US$19.95 to register.
- PhraseExpress
- PURPOSE: PhraseExpress organizes your frequently
used text snippets:
- Expand abbreviations and common phrases as
you type.
- Launch applications by entering text shortcuts.
- Autocomplete phrases with the predictive
text feature.
- Quickly handle email responses.
- Works in any Windows program.
- NOTE: PhraseExpress seems to work well with
As-U-Type (above). If you use them simultaneously, to take advantage
of AUT's auto-correction, it is suggested that you use a different
phrase delimiter (e.g., "#") than those you might have
used in AUT.
- COST: Free for personal use.
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Barry MacDonnell's