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The default
template - how to find it, modify it, or fix it
How to create a custom
template
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Every WordPerfect
document you create is based on a template.
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In WordPerfect, a template is
a document on your disk with a special filename extension, “.wpt,”
where the “t” stands for “template”.
Think of it as a stencil, or model, that you can use to make
(or “spawn”) copies of the original.
Even new, empty documents
with names like Document1 are based on a special template,
called the default template (discussed below).
Templates — whether default
or custom (discussed below) — define
formatting and program options for a document such as margins,
tab settings, styles, menus, toolbars, and keyboard definitions.
Custom templates, unlike the typical default template, usually
also include text, such as the “From:” and “To:”
headings in a memo, or the “Sincerely yours” closing
in a letter.
Some editions of WordPerfect
— usually the more expensive ones — ship with many
predefined static templates, such as a simple, preformatted
“To Do” list, as well as many dynamic, automated
Projects that you can use to create personalized memos, faxes,
résumés, and so forth, with little thought or effort.
These custom templates are divided into groups, or categories,
and can be seen when you click File, New from Project (or File,
New in WordPerfect 8). [Tip: While
many of these predefined templates are installed during a Typical
WordPerfect installation, more may be available using a Custom
installation.]
Once created and located in a
template folder, templates are used only to create a copy
or image of the document on your screen (i.e., in your
computer’s temporary memory). The template itself is out
of harm’s way for the casual user, making it more difficult
to accidentally modify or delete. The document can then be edited,
printed and saved without impacting the template.
Best of all, templates can be
automated: You can insert prompts, bookmarks, and template
macros in them to save many keystrokes and reduce the chance
of input error. (For more on automating templates see here.) |
Default template
- The default template's file
name: The actual default
(or "shipping") template file on disk -- the one specified
and used by WordPerfect when it is first installed -- is named
WPnnxx.WPT, where nn=version
(e.g., 8, 11, etc.) and xx=language
(e.g., US, UK, CE, etc.).
- Standard location on disk
(WP9+): [Note that
this might not be the actual location on your particular system;
see the next paragraph below.] For standard locations, see http://support.corel.com
and search for Answer ID 753791; this document lists the Corel
"standard" installation locations for default templates
for WordPerfect versions 9-12.
- Actual location on disk: The location and filename of your currently
specified default template can be found under Tools, Settings,
Files, Template. [Note that unless someone has changed the location
of this file during or after installation, it will be found in
one of the standard Corel subfolders (see above paragraph).]
- Note: The reason why both the standard and
actual locations are listed here is that some users might want
to know where Corel puts this file during a normal (i.e., not
custom) installation.
- Tip: This author has copied his own default
template to a sub-folder in the My Documents folder; it
then is automatically backed up along with other data files.
The path to the default template that was specified in Tools,
Settings, Files, Template was changed to reflect this so that
WordPerfect can locate the correct default template.
- Tip: If you can't find the default template
(or any other template) in Windows Explorer, see the "Finding
it" section below.
- Using Windows Explorer or
My Computer to find your default template: Normally you will see this file in the folder
specified above. If you still can't find the default template
file on disk with Windows Explorer, it might be because of a
default setting in Windows itself that prevents you from seeing
certain files. Here's what to do.
- [Windows CP:]
- Open Windows Explorer;
- click on the Tools menu;
- select "Folder Options...";
- click on the View tab; then
- (1) select (check) "Show
hidden files and folders";
- (2) deselect (uncheck) the "Hide..."
options; then
- click on OK. You should now
be able to find the file.
- [Windows Vista:]
- Click Start, Documents;
- press the Alt key, then click
Tools, Folder Options;
- on the View tab, uncheck the
box that says Hide extensions for known file types;
- click OK.
- Tip: To find out which template (default
or custom) the currently open document is based on, click
on Tools, Template Macro, Edit. You can see the template's filename
in that dialog, or you can see it if you click the Location button
in that dialog.
- Automatic generation of the
default template: If
the default template file (WPnnxx.WPT) is deleted from the disk
or, better yet, renamed to something else (e.g., MyDefault12.WPT,
WP13USbackup.wpt, etc.), a new (virgin) one will be created the
next time WordPerfect is opened.
- Tip: Renaming the default template and reloading
WordPerfect is a standard trouble-shooting technique. If it solves
the problem at hand, your customizations can be restored to the
new template. For more on this, click here.
- Note: Unlike with default templates, it is
not possible to automatically generate a custom
template by renaming the existing custom template. This is a
good reason to keep backups.
- Modifying your default template:
- Before you begin modifying your default template, it
you don't intend to make a copy of it in another folder to serve
as a backup you should at least rename the default template
file to something else. First find it on your system (see
above paragraphs), then rename it with a new filename that you
will recognize as being the backup of your original default template
(e.g., WP13US_BACKUP.wpt).
- Important:
- Renaming the default template
is an easy way to make a backup of this important file. As mentioned
above, a new, virgin (a/k/a shipping) default template will be
recreated automatically the next time WordPerfect loads if it
cannot "see" WPnnxx.WPT in the default (installation)
location. You can then copy customizations such as personalized
toolbars from the backup (for more on this topic, click here.)
Hence, you will then have both the new version and the unaltered
(and renamed) shipping version.
- If you also relocate
this customized default template to another Windows folder, be
sure to immediately specify any change you might have
made to the new template's location and/or name in Tools, Settings,
Files, Template so that WordPerfect can find it and use it instead
of the usual shipping default template. Then: (1) select it as
your default template in Tools, Settings, Files; and (2) refresh
your Projects list with File, New from Project, Options, Refresh
Projects. (See also Footnote 1.)
- Method
1: (For minor changes to the default template.)
With a document open, you can use File, Document, Current Document Style (or simply double-click the [Open Style:
DocumentStyle] code in Reveal Codes, at the very top of the document)
to make changes to the current document and also save them to
the default template that is currently specified in Tools,
Settings, Files, Template. For example, you might want to
change the current font and font size, and make them the default
for all new documents, too. To do this, make the changes in the
Styles Editor dialog, then be sure to enable the box at the bottom
of the dialog, "Use as default," and click OK. The
changes will affect both the current document and the default
template.
- Note: I do not recommend using File, Document,
Default Font to change fonts or font sizes, since font
changes made in the Styles Editor with File, Document, Current
Document Style (or simply double-clicking the [Open Style:
DocumentStyle] code in Reveal Codes, at the very top of the document)
are "downstream" from changes made with File, Document,
Default Font and thus will over-ride them. I explain this in
more detail in a thread
at WordPerfect Universe about changing the default font for both
existing and new documents. I suggested in a post
there that you always use File, Document, Current Document Style
(or simply double-click the [Open Style: DocumentStyle]) to change
fonts or font sizes with the Styles Editor dialog. In addition,
this method will set the default font for all printers, whereas
File, Document, Default Font (or even Format, Font) applies to
the current printer only.
- Method
2: (For moderate to extensive changes to
the default template.) You can modify (edit) the default template
directly to customize it, by opening it for editing. This
is often done to delete previous customizations, or to add more
complex formatting codes, or to copy certain customized "objects"
(keyboards, toolbars, etc.) from other templates. (For the latter,
see Footnote 2.)
- Click File, New from Project
(or just New in WP8).
- Under the Create New tab, in
the upper drop list, choose "Custom WP Templates."
- In the lower drop list,
choose "Create
a blank document." This
oddly named choice is the default template shipped with WordPerfect.
- [For those who have multiple
versions of WordPerfect installed on the same computer, see Footnote 1.]
- Right-click the name to Edit
it (or click the Options button). Note the full path and filename
at the top of the WP program window when it loads, to verify
this is the template you want to modify (i.e., the one that is
currently specified in Tools, Settings, Files, Template).
- You can make most changes in
the template's initial style (e.g., font changes) by double-clicking
the initial [Open Style: DocumentStyle] code in Reveal Codes;
then use the Styles Editor's Format menu to make font changes.
The changes will be stored "inside" all new (blank)
documents' initial style codes, and thus be less likely to be
deleted accidentally. When finished, click File, Save or Save
As.
- TIP: Since the label "Create a blank
document" is not very useful in indicating the fact that
it is your default template -- especially if you have several
versions of WordPerfect on your computer and use a common folder
for all of their default templates -- you can easily change the
description to reflect the actual filename(s) of the default
template(s): Right-click the "Create a blank document"
description label, then click "Project Properties..."
and take note of the filename in the Project filename
field. Then use it ("wp13US.wpt") or some other more
useful descriptor in the Display name field. (Thanks to
Roy "lemoto" Lewis for this tip.)
- Fixing a damaged or corrupted
default template: See this page.
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Custom templates
Creating, finding, modifying,
or fixing your own custom templates
- To create a custom template -
- Click File, New from Project
(or just New in WP8). The PerfectExpert (or just New in WP8)
dialog opens.
- Click the Options button, then
click "Create WP Template." A new, blank Template1
document will open.
- You can create the new template
from scratch, or you can use Insert, File to bring in a normal
document (.WPD) from your disk which will then become the basis
for the new template.
- Save the new custom template
withFile, Save. The "Save Template" dialog will appear.
- Enter a brief Description (used
in the list of Projects and Templates), a Template name (used
for the filename), and the Template category (group) you want
it saved in. Click OK.
- Since the file has just been
saved, you can close it with File, Close.
- Advanced tip: You can import other "objects"
(customized keyboards, toolbars, menus, styles, etc.) into the
new template from another template. See Footnote
2 below.
- To find out which template
(default or custom) the currently open document is based on, click on Tools, Template Macro, Edit.
You can see the template's filename in that dialog, or you can
see it if you click the Location button in that dialog.
- To modify a custom template: Like the default template described
above, you can modify a custom template by directly editing it.
- Click File, New from Project
(or just New in WP8).
- Under the Create New tab, in
the upper drop list, choose the name of category in which
the custom template is listed. Then in the lower drop
list, choose the name of the custom template.
- Right-click the name to Edit
it (or click the Options button). Note the full path and filename
at the top of the WP program window when it loads, to verify
this is the custom template you want to modify.
- You can make most changes in
the template's initial style (e.g., font changes) by double-clicking
the initial [Open Style: DocumentStyle] code in Reveal Codes;
then use the Styles Editor's Format menu to make font changes.
The changes will be stored "inside" all new (blank)
documents' (based on that particular template) initial style
codes, and thus be less likely to be deleted accidentally. When
finished, click File, Save or Save As.
- To fix a damaged or corrupted
custom template, use
the procedure to fix ordinary documents, explained here.
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Footnote 1
If you have renamed your default
template and/or you have several versions of WordPerfect installed
on the same computer, you will have several "Create a blank document" files listed in File, New from
Project. Each file belongs to its own copy of the default template
or its own version of WordPerfect, but you can change the description
in the Project list to make them easier to find and edit.
Simply click on File, New from
Project, then right-click the filename, choose Project Properties,
and edit the Display Name. (The actual filename is shown in the
field, "Project filename.") You can use the actual
filename as the Display name (e.g., "wp13us.wpt") or
simply add a version number to the display name (e.g., "Create
a blank document 13").
Note that you will have to do
this in each version of WordPerfect you have installed on your
computer, since each Project list is stored with its own version.
[Thanks to Roy "lemoto"
Lewis in a post
at WordPerfect Universe for this tip.]
Footnote 2
Advanced tip:
You can import other "objects" -- customized keyboards,
toolbars, menus, styles, etc. -- from another template (if they
are not already present in the new template) with the Copy/Remove
Object button on the property bar.
Simply click the Copy/Remove
button, choose the Template to copy from, choose the Object type
(i.e., Styles), select one or more styles, and click Copy to
import them. Click Close when finished, then Save the template.
- Save and back up the new
custom template before importing other objects. This is especially important if you have
spent a lot of time customizing the new template before importing
other objects into it.
- The template to be copied from
must be in the same folder on your system where the custom template
is located.
- Some Styles available in the
old template can be either normal format styles or outline styles.
WordPerfect doesn't tell you which type of style they are in
the Copy/Remove Template Objects dialog's Styles list, but when
you copy them to the new template they will show up in the new
template in the appropriate place (either the Format, Styles
menu, or the Insert, Outline... menu, respectively).
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Barry MacDonnell's