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

How to create a toolbar button to play a macro, load a program or file, use a built-in WordPerfect feature, or play back keystrokes

First, please note:

If you need to create a brand new custom toolbar to host one or more toolbar buttons, see "How to create a new, custom toolbar." To add a button on one of WordPerfect's context-sensitive property bars, see "Adding buttons to the context-sensitive Property Bars". To be able to see toolbars you must have enabled them with View, Toolbars.

Step 1 - Open the Toolbar Editor

• Right-click on the appropriate item -- for example, the main toolbar just below the main menu, or the Header/Footer property bar that appears while you are inside a header or footer, etc. Then left-click on Edit from the drop-down context menu that appears. The small Toolbar Editor window will open.
• Alternative: Click Tools, Settings, Customize. Under the Toolbars tab, choose the toolbar from the list by clicking on the name in the list. Click the Edit button to open the Toolbar Editor.

Step 2 - Use one of the following procedures:

• To have the button play a macro:
  • Click on the Macros tab, then click the Add Macro button.
  • From the Select Macro window, choose the macro from the file list, then click Select.
    • Usually, you can answer the "Save macro with full path?" question with "No" (unless you deliberately want to store the macro in a folder other than the Default or Supplemental folders shown in Tools, Settings, Files, Merge/Macro).
  • A small gray "cassette" button appears on your toolbar. Right-click on it an choose Customize. Give the icon a Button Text name of your choice (also see the second tip below about using an ampersand) and a Quick tip name of your choice.
    • If you want to customize the button's icon, click on the Image Edit button, then click Clear to remove the default image. Then use the tools to create your own custom icon. (Or you can simply edit the existing icon to add something or some color to make it unique. For the artistically challenged, here are some more tips to make the button unique.)
• To have the button start a WordPerfect feature:
  • Under the Features tab, scroll down in the "Feature categories" drop list to choose the appropriate category, such as File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Tools, etc.
  • In the lower Features list, choose one or more features (one at a time) you want to assign to a button, and click on the Add Button for each feature. A pre-defined icon appears on your toolbar for each feature chosen.
• To have the button play an external program or load a file:
  • Method 1: Click the Programs tab, then the Add Program button. Locate and choose the exectuable program to play.
  • Method 2: Drag-and-drop a program (or macro) shortcut from your Windows deskop to the WordPerfect toolbar or property bar. Be sure it's a shortcut (it will have a small arrow on the icon), left-click on it, and drag it to the WordPerfect toolbar or property bar (note that the latter may be a context-sensitive bar, so it may not always be visible). To reposition it, just hold down the <Alt> key and drag the icon to a new location. To remove it later, just hold down the <Alt> key and drag the icon from the toolbar or property bar.
  • Tips:
    • You can use this method to load an existing file (such as a list of telephone numbers) from your disc.
      • Alternative: Drag the file from its directory/folder in Windows Explorer or My Computer to the WordPerfect toolbar.
      • Alternative: Create a vertical toolbar to load favorite documents, open favorite folders, etc. See the PDF file, How To Create a Vertical Toolbar...".
    • For instructions on loading a new document based on a custom template, see "Load a letterhead - or any other document based on a custom template - with a mouseclick or keystroke" here. Also see "Automating WordPerfect Templates" here.
• To have the button automatically type pre-assigned text into the document:
  • Click the Keystrokes tab -- the same procedure shown in Step 3 in "Assigning a macro...to a key..." -- but here you would assign the keystrokes to the toolbar button. Once the keystrokes are assigned to the button, you can click the button and it will stream the keystrokes into the document at the cursor location. (This probably is only useful for relatively small blocks of ordinary text. For large blocks of text, which might contain formatting or graphics, see the page on using boilerplate.)

Step 3 - Finish

• You can drag the new button into another position (either on the same toolbar or any other toolbar showing onscreen) while the Toolbar Editor is still on screen. You can also drag it from the toolbar to delete it. (If the Toolbar Editor is closed, you can press and hold the <Alt> key while you drag the button.)
• When done, click OK all the way back to the document window.

Tips

To modify a macro button's default icon (the gray audiocasette image), see here. If you put an ampersand ("&") in the Button Text, the letter that folllows the ampersand can be used with the <Alt> key to play the macro, in addition to clicking the toolbar button itself. (This is sometimes referred to as a mnemonic key.) For example, if the Button Text is something like "Fax this document," and you change it to "&Fax this document," then <Alt+F> will play the macro, the same as if you click the button with your mouse. Note that, in this example, <Alt+F> would normally bring up the WP File menu; now it will not. So, to bring up the File menu, simply press and release the <Alt> key, then press the <F> key. [Thanks to P. Wolfgang Deiminger for the ampersand tip.] To delete a button from a toolbar (or property bar) when you are back in the document window, simply hold down the <Alt> key and drag the button off the bar. To restore any non-custom toolbar to the factory settings: Right-click on the toolbar and choose Settings. Select the bar in the list if it isn't already selected. Click Reset. You can move or copy an existing button from one toolbar to another (assuming both are visible). To move it, hold down the <Alt> key while you drag the button to the other toolbar. To copy it, hold down the <Ctrl> and <Alt> keys while you drag it. [Most people probably will want to copy the button, not move it, so that the source toolbar remains the same.]