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Macros, tips, and templates for Corel® WordPerfect® for Windows®
© Copyright 1996-2023 by Barry MacDonnell. All Rights Reserved.

WordPerfect Templates

Even new, blank documents are based on a template.

When you open WordPerfect the blank document you see is based on the default template, which sets up some basic formatting (see point #3).

From the program's File menu you can also open a new document based on a WordPerfect Project or other factory-included template. These include memos, newsletters, sample reports, and many other school, business, and creative items.

You (or your organization) can also create special purpose custom templates.

All these types of templates are explained in detail below.

2.  In WordPerfect, the word "template" has a very specific meaning.

A template is a WordPerfect document — a file on your disk — with a special filename extension, “.wpt,” where the “t” stands for “template”.

WordPerfect recognizes this special extension and "knows" it is a template and not an ordinary document (e.g., one with a .wpd extension, where "d" stands for "document"). It then uses it to create a mirror image of itself (among other things).

This is NOT the same thing as some common meanings of the word might imply.

3.  Templates define formatting and program options for a document. 

These items include a default font, margin and tab settings, etc., as well as Heading styles, Outline styles, etc. 

They also enable various default and custom options for menus, toolbars, and shortcut/hot-key assignments (a.k.a. keyboard definitions). 

These items are stored inside the default template (or custom template, if used), though they can be changed or augmented in the resulting document (see next point below).

In essence, templates provide you with a "skeleton" structure or "shell" that you can use to start a new document.

4.  Once created, a template file is used to automatically create a copy of itself in a new WordPerfect document window.

Major benefit of using a template: The template itself is out of harm’s way for the casual user, making it more difficult to accidentally modify or delete. The document "spawned" from it can then be edited, re-formatted, printed, and saved without impacting the template itself. This might be particularly beneficial in many office environments.

Another potential benefit: 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.)

5.  There are several types of WordPerfect template.

■   Default template: Even new, empty documents with names like Document1 (in the title bar at the top of the WordPerfect window) are based on a special, version-specific template, called the default template (discussed below). When you open WordPerfect for the first time, the blank document you see on screen awaiting your input was created ("spawned") by the default template, which sets the default margins, font, and so forth. (These can be changed to suit your needs, as explained below.)

Notes

¤  You can't avoid having a default template. When you install WordPerfect on a computer, it will create the default template automatically if it does not already exist — and even if you delete it (i.e., the currently active version of it) or otherwise make it unavailable, the program will automatically create a brand new, virgin copy of it the next time WordPerfect is loaded. Basically, each computer must have its own copy of this special file for WordPerfect to function.

¤  There can be only one currently active default template for your system. To locate it, see below.

¤  If you install another version of WordPerfect, it is NOT a good idea to simply copy the existing default template file into the other version of WordPerfect, and then rename it with the same name as the new version's template, in order to preserve any customizations stored in it. WordPerfect default templates are version-specific. (See the next note below about migrating customizations.) Exception: If the other version is exactly the same — i.e., the same default name and created by the same major version of WordPerfect — you probably can just make a copy of it, as discussed here.

These templates fall into two general sub-groups:

Wait, there's more! Some newer versions and editions of WordPerfect (e.g., versions X8, X9) might have an additional menu option: File, New from Template. This template preview dialog displays over 150 additional factory-shipped templates (if they came with your program and if they were installed). These items are static templates: they are not automated in the same way as many Projects. They are simply Corel's formatted "model" templates with various text labels ("Your Name Here", "Company Name", etc.) to guide you where to type your own information on the pages.

■  Custom templates (discussed in a separate section below): Unlike the typical default template, these user-created templates usually also include text, such as the “From:” and “To:” headings in a memo, or the logo and company name in a letter. They can be based on another template such as the default template, or they can be created from scratch, or they can even be based on a normal (.wpd) document. Custom templates can be created any time you need a specially formatted document that you might want to use again. They can also be automated with prompts, bookmarks, and macros to get information, insert it, modify it, and so on.

■   Additional Objects template (discussed in a separate section below): This template can be specified in the program as a repository of additional customized menus, toolbars, styles, and the like. It is a sort of "secondary default template" which mostly is used on networks to provide a common source of such default "objects" (e.g., a customized toolbar) for all users on the network so their own WordPerfect default templates can be updated easily by an administrator.

6.  The importance of styles in templates.

Styles are design elements — like bold, italics, font type, font size, color, or line spacing — that can be applied to text.

In WordPerfect, styles consist of specialized codes (visible when the Reveal Codes window is open) containing computer instructions about the formatting to apply to the document. 

Some styles can even act as "containers" to hold one or more of these design elements (format instructions), and some of them can even hold text, graphical items, tables, watermarks, and even other ("nested") styles.

They are easy to use since many of them are available on a menu, toolbar or property bar. You can also create your own custom styles if you wish. 

Additionally, WordPerfect will apply certain styles automatically, such as a document's initial Open Style:

Templates set up a special, initial style code that passes such design elements "downstream" to new documents when they are created.

This code, [Open Style: DocumentStyle], is visible at the very top of the new document in Reveal Codes, and it will remain present for as long as the document exists. (If this code is not present, see Footnote 4.)

It is the vehicle that transports whatever other styles or format elements you wish to pass on to the downstream text in new documents based on that template.

Typically these include a default font, font size, and page margin settings. It can be easily modified to customize it (more below).

Incidentally, WordPerfect has many features such as headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, outlines, and graphic boxes that are actually built-in styles.

7.  Understanding the WordPerfect "stream".

The main thing to keep in mind here is that unlike some other word processors, WordPerfect is a "stream oriented" program, where format codes take effect until they are either discontinued (i.e., stopped or suppressed by user intervention) or replaced by another code of the same type (e.g., a new text color).

Hence, new formatting applied in the document can be downstream from previous formatting and upstream from other (actual or potential changes in) formatting.

This is similar to the way we type (or dictate, or assemble) material into a document: There is a overall stream of information with a beginning, middle, and end, where occasionally we give the computer an "in-line" instruction to change the appearance of something in the stream — like hitting the Caps Lock key to emphasize letters as we type them. WordPerfect format codes do the same thing.

Note especially that single format codes can be inserted into the stream of text and they will affect subsequent, downstream text; or, if you select text first, they will bracket the selection with a pair of codes — one to start the formatting and one to stop it — and the formatting will apply to just that selection.

A bit of "trivia":

Web pages using HTML formatting are stream-oriented, too, since they have beginning and ending codes (or "tags") for fonts, paragraphs, and so forth. So stream formatting is not unusual, though it might be unfamiliar at first. [For a little more on this topic as it relates to WordPerfect, see "Streaming code architecture" on the WordPerfect Wikipedia page.]

■ The default template's file name

•  Each installation must have (and use) this template on the computer in order to function. And as noted elsewhere, even if you delete it (i.e., the currently active version of it) WordPerfect will create a new, factory fresh, "virgin" copy of it the next time the program loads. (Network administrators who wish to provide a common "default template" for all users should see the Additional Objects template section below.)

Normally you will see this important file in the folder specified above.

If you can't find the default template file (or QuickWords template file or other WordPerfect program file such as User Word Lists) on your disk with File Explorer, Windows Explorer, My Computer, or other file manager, it might be because of two typical default settings in Windows itself that prevent you from seeing certain files.

There are a couple methods to make this file (and some others) visible in File Explorer or other file manager.

Method A

For example, using Windows 10 (for earlier Windows versions see Method B) -

1. Click the Windows Start button to open the Windows Start menu.

2. On the Windows Start menu open File Explorer.

Tip:

An alternative to steps 1 and 2: In Windows you can simply press and hold the Windows key while you press the S key. Then search for File Explorer.

3. Click on the View tab at the top of the Explorer window.

You should see two checkboxes on the right side of the Explorer window (on the "ribbon"):

"File name extensions"
     and
"Hidden items"

4. Enable (i.e., tick) both boxes.

You should now be able to find the file shown in the "Actual location..."  section above.

Note

Typically these options are disabled (boxes are cleared) as the default for Windows 10. Disabled, they were meant to help prevent users from deleting important computer files -- usually components of installed programs such as template files (.wpt), macro files (.wcm), and backup files (.bk!).

Here, you need to enable them. You can easily reverse your changes in the File Explorer window after dealing with your WordPerfect template file on disk.

Method B - the traditional ("legacy") method with slightly different option names and several other options

For example, using Windows 10/8/7 -

 1. Click the Windows Start button to open the Windows Start menu.

Tip:

An alternative to this step in later versions of Windows:
Simply press and hold the Windows key while you press the S key. Then do step 2.

2. In the Search field, search for "File Explorer Options" (or "Folder Options" in some earlier Windows versions).

3. On the File Explorer Options dialog (shown below) click on the
View tab:

From WordPerfect's X5's (and X6's) Help file:

"You can ... choose an additional objects template. This is a second default template that stores objects such as keyboards, menus, template macros, toolbars, and styles that you can use in addition to or in place of those in the default template. For example, a system administrator could use an additional objects template as a network template that would overwrite a user’s default template [assuming the Update default template... option is enabled; see below]....

To choose an additional objects template

1. Click Tools Settings.
2. Click Files.
3. Click the Template tab.
4. In the Additional template folder box, click the Browse button.
5. Choose the drive and folder where the template is stored.
6. Click Select.
7. In the Additional objects template box, click the Browse button.
8. Click the template you want to use as the additional objects template.
9. Click Open.

If you want to update the default template with styles from the additional objects template, enable the Update default template from additional objects template check box.

Note

It is not always recommended that you update the default template with the additional objects template. Updating might only be useful, for example, if many users on a network use the styles in the additional objects template. The network administrator could enable the Update default template from additional objects template check box to update each user’s default template."

[Tip for intermediate/advanced users: You can simply rename a standard document with a .WPT file name extension; this creates a simple template from the document. Moreover, the template can be located anywhere you wish. This has the advantage of simplicity — but it also has a few disadvantages (discussed in Footnote 5) over the traditional 3-step method described next.]

Step 1.

•  Click File, New from Project (or just File, New in WordPerfect 8). The PerfectExpert dialog opens. (In WP8 this dialog is named New.)

•  Under the Create New tab, select "Custom WP Templates" — or any other preferred group from the top drop list. This group is where you want to see the new template's name appear in the Project category list when you have finished creating it.



•  Click the Options button, then click "Create WP Template" on the drop list that appears.

Note: If you wish to modify a custom template that is not in the File, New from Project list — such as when the template was created by merely renaming an existing .WPD file with a .WPT extension as discussed in Footnote 5 below (which you should read first!) — simply open it with File, Open. You can then skip steps 1-3 below.

Caution: If you wish to modify a standard WordPerfect Project, rather than a user-created custom template, note that some Projects are automated with internal coding and an additional "helper" file. This can mean that your modifications might render them partially or completely inoperative. (A clue is the presence of [Named Region] and/or [Bookmark] codes visible in Reveal Codes. Don't delete them.) Make a copy of the Project with the Options button and work on the copy.

If an embedded template macro does not play automatically — such as when you attempt to use a WordPerfect Project (File, New from Project) that contains them to provide some type of automation (e.g., the Monthly calendar needs to format the calendar for the desired month) — then WordPerfect's template macros may have been turned off (i.e., disabled) in response to a program dialog message prompting you to "disable macros".

Here's the dialog:

[Another (less common) reason for the failure of a template macro to play: The original template file might be unavailable on your system to "trigger" the template macro in the current document that was saved to your disk. See Footnote 6.]

Typically, WordPerfect will automatically display this message whenever you launch a Project or other template containing a template macro.

But if you then -

[1] check (tick) the box "Do not show this message again," and
[2] click the Disable Macros button

- then you will have told the program to prevent playing any embedded template macros and not show this dialog again. (Unless a user's organization tells them otherwise, most users will probably want to enable template macros.)

It's #1 that can cause confusion and a "problem" with the Project since it effectively hides the message in the future, when you probably have forgotten that message or how you answered it. You are left trying to figure out why a Project or other automated template is not working as intended.

So ... what if you want to enable template macros but cannot do so because the above dialog no longer appears?

Here's how to restore (un-hide) the program's message so you can answer it differently. It does require a small, simple change to the Windows Registry — but that's why the Corel article also shows how to back up the Registry first.

From the Corel Support Knowledgebase:

"How do I restore the template macro prompt dialog after hiding it?

When a template is opened which contains a PerfectScript® template macro, a [message] dialog is presented asking if the user wishes to disable the macros in the document. If you answered [in the affirmative, and you also] enabled the "Do not show this message again" option [with] 'Yes,' you will be unable to use any template macros within WordPerfect.

When opening templates which contain PerfectScript® projects in WordPerfect, some options may not work or may not be shown if the template macros are disabled. If you are not prompted on opening a template containing macros, you may need to reenable the template macros.

If you are not prompted when using a template which contains macros you can follow these directions to restore the prompts to factory default:

Please read this [Microsoft Support] article prior to performing these steps:

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When you have multiple versions of WordPerfect installed on the same computer: 

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 displayed name in the Project list to make them easier to find and edit.

Try one of these methods:

  -or -

[Thanks to Roy "lemoto" Lewis in a post here at WordPerfect Universe for the first tip, and Noal Mellot in his post here for the second 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 Template toolbar.

First, back up the target template you wish to modify.

Second, if the source template is not already in the same directory/folder as the current default template (or any other "target" template you wish to modify), then copy it there with Windows Explorer or Windows Computer. The location of the default template folder will be indicated in Tools, Settings, Files, Template. You should rename the source (e.g., MyOldDefaultTemplate.wpt) before copying it so it will not conflict with an existing template of the same name. (The source template needs to be in the same folder as the target template.)

Third, open the target template for editing. [See Method 2 above for complete steps.] When it opens, simply click the Copy/Remove button on the Template toolbar that should be visible (it will have these buttons: Build Prompts...; Copy/Remove Object...; Associate...; and Description....) Then choose the "Template to copy from" (the source), and then choose the "Object type" (i.e., Styles). Select one or more objects, and click Copy to import them. Click Close when finished, then Save the template.

Footnote 3

[Continued from a Note above:]

More on using the Format, Font dialog:

The Format, Font dialog has a Settings button that allows you to "Set the font and point size as the default for all document." If you use it I believe you might have similar problems to those explained in the Footnote 9 below ("I do not recommend using ...").

This particular dialog might have been "inherited" from WordPerfect 8 and earlier versions, and while it might have worked well in those versions, it probably should not be used in recent versions of WordPerfect to set the default font and font size for future (new) documents. See Method 1 above, which uses File, Document, Current Document Style to set the default font and font size for all new documents.

To add one final — if esoteric — blow to using this Format, Font dialog:

Some users have discovered that clicking in the "+" symbol in the Font list in that dialog lets you choose a "sub-font" or "sub-face" such as Times New Roman Italic or Times New Roman Bold. Applying italics or bold this way can be problematic since their format codes might not be easily found — even with a macro such as Replace Codes (which can replace one format code with another) — if you want to remove or replace them. Instead, you might consider applying text attributes such as italics or bold with the Text property bar on the main document screen or by using the shortcut keys Ctrl+I or Ctrl+B on selected text.

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Footnote 4

Recommendations

•  If you need to create new, blank documents that will include personal customizations previously made in your default template, then do it the traditional way with File > New on the WordPerfect menu or click the "New Blank Document" toolbar button.

That way, you are sure to be using the default template that is set in Tools, Settings, Files, Template — the one that passes downstream to the new, blank file any customizations you may have made to that template (default font, page margins, etc.).

And you will get access to the important and editable [Open Style: DocumentStyle] code placed at the top of the new document.

[As noted, a more advanced way is described in the tip below, which shows a Registry edit that will force Windows to always "point" the program to your currently active default template (.wpt) file instead of the WordPerfect.wpd file described above.]

•  What if you want to be able to start a new empty file (using the Windows context menu method above) in the folder it's supposed to be in, rather than the Windows Desktop?

Use Window File Explorer, or any file manager, or even WordPerfect's File > Open to navigate to a desired folder first. Once you can see the contents of the desired folder, right-click in that View pane (the one that shows icons, details, etc.) and use method [A] above.

An alternative is to create a special toolbar or other method to quickly  navigate to the relevant folder before starting a new, empty file using the Windows context menu method. (You probably have to navigate there anyway, right?) See, for example, Navigating quickly to your favorite folders, files, and templates from inside WordPerfect.

•  Advanced users: 

▸ Macro writers:
Another bit of arcana related to this initial format code was discovered with WordPerfect X5: Using a macro in a global search/replace routine for all [Open Style] codes will delete the initial code as well. It is better to use a macro routine that starts searching just after the initial code before it replaces any of these particular codes.

▸ More on starting a new document from the Windows context menu:
See the WordPerfect Universe post starting here about the discoveries made and the recommendations offered.

▸ Forcing Windows to use the WordPerfect default template:
Here is a method based on a WordPerfect Universe post in 2012 by member (and frequent contributor) Larry Lewis that makes a single change to the Windows Registry so that the "template" file that is accessed when you create a new WordPerfect document from the right-click context menu on the Windows Desktop (or File Explorer) is the same WordPerfect default template file used when opening a new document with File > New on the WordPerfect menu.

Caution: Obviously always back up the Windows Registry before editing it. You assume all risks when using this or any method that involves changing the Registry.

Step 1. First, get the [full] Path and Filename of your current default Document Template.

Step 2. Open the Registry Editor (regedit.exe).

Result:

Now when you right-click the Windows Desktop (or File Explorer) and choose New > WordPerfect [...] Document, the WPD document that appears will be based on your WordPerfect default template and contain the standard [Open Style: DocumentStyle] code at the top of that document.

But be aware that the document will be named (and sequentially numbered if more than one exists in that folder) the same way as before your modification to the Registry. For example, using WordPerfect 2020:

     New WordPerfect 2020 Document...wpd

Obviously, you can rename (or copy or move) it from Windows or open it in WordPerfect and then save it with a new name (and location, if desired).

Additional advantage:

Disadvantage:

The one-time method above requires modifying the Windows Registry, which might not be desirable or even allowable in some organizations.

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Footnote 5

Is there a quicker or easier way to create a custom template (than the method described above)?

Yes. You can simply create a normal document with the usual .wpd filename extension, save it, and then rename it with a .wpt filename extension. Choose it in the File, Open dialog and it will spawn a duplicate of itself, just like any other template.

Disadvantages:

A small disadvantage here is the template could then be located almost anywhere — which might not be optimal for some folks, such as those in an office where machines might be shared. The traditional methods described above for creating a custom template will automatically create an entry in the File, New from Project list, and place it physically along with other custom templates. This might make it a bit easier to use or edit. (Of course, you can always use Windows Explorer to move the template to the disk location used for any desired Project category. You can then access it the same as other Projects, as explained above.)

Another disadvantage is inherent in the method itself: To edit the template later and make changes you will need to (1) locate it, (2) rename it back to a normal document with a .wpd filename extension, (3) edit it [note that in later versions of Windows you can right-click on the .wpt file to edit it], (4) save it, and (5) rename it back to a template file with a .wpt extension.

Still another (potential disadvantage): See Footnote 6.

So if you used this file renaming method to create the template, you still might want to place the resulting template file in the same folder or sub-folder as your other WordPerfect template Projects so that you can easily edit it without having to go through the file-finding-renaming-editing-renaming process. (When they are placed in that folder for the first time, simply Refresh the Project list with the File, New from Project, Option button.) Then to edit it just right-click on its name in the Project list, and choose "Edit WP Template."

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For those who are new to computers or to folder and file navigation using Windows File Explorer (which is installed on all Windows PCs), here's an easy way to find your currently active default template so that you can rename it (if necessary).

1. In WordPerfect, click on Tools, Settings, Files, Template (tab).

2. The "Default template folder" field on that tab should be selected (i.e., the contents are highlighted in reverse color). If it is not selected, right-click in that field and choose Select All.

3. Copy the selected contents of that field to the Windows clipboard with Ctrl+c (or by right-clicking the selected field and choosing Copy).

4. Close the dialog and then close the WordPerfect program.

Before doing any other task that invloves the Windows clipboard, do the following:

5. Right-click on the Start Orb ("Start button") on your Windows desktop. Click on Open Windows Explorer. [Alternative:  Click Start, (All) Programs, Accessories (folder), Windows Explorer.]

6. In Windows Explorer, click in the top field — in the empty space area to the right of the field's contents (the field shows the current path). Delete the contents of that field. (If you can't find an empty area in that field, try choosing "Computer" or "Desktop" from the left pane in Windows Explorer. This should shorten the displayed path in that field.)

7. In that field, paste the previously copied material (step #3) with Ctrl+v (or by right-clicking in that field and choosing Paste).

8. Press the Enter key. The folder containing the currently active default template should open in Windows Explorer. (You can click on the "Name" column heading to sort the items alphabetically.).

9. Scroll down to find the default template. It will have a name like wp16US.wpt — assuming you are using WordPerfect X6 (i.e., version 16) and the US language version. (If you can't find it in the Windows Explorer window, see above.)

10. Rename the first part of the name; for example, rename wp16US.wpt to wp16USbackup.wpt. (You can rename the file by clicking on its name to choose it, then use Windows Explorer's File menu to Rename it. Or you can just right-click on the file's name and choose Rename from the context menu that appears.)

When you next reopen WordPerfect, it will automatically create a new factory fresh (i.e., unmodified) version of the default template in that folder. You can then copy (transfer) various customizations from the backed up version into this new template file, as described above.

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Footnote 8

Since a template can contain various formatting codes (and perhaps text or graphics) so that it spawns new documents set up the way you want them to look, and since the new documents are clones of the template, some user-inserted format codes in the body text area of the spawned ("child") document might be accidentally deleted by users while editing — especially if they are located at the beginning of the document or where Reveal Codes is not visible to let users see what they might be deleting at that point.

Often, this happens with [Delay] codes that exist to do something on subsequent pages, such as set new tabs or margins, but it can happen with other (non-delayed) codes.

One solution is to "hide" these format codes inside the template's initial [OpenStyle: DocumentStyle] code. This is done by opening Reveal Codes, then selecting and copying (or cutting) the code(s) from the body text area into the initial [Open Style] code. Caveat: If you do this you would not be able to later modify those codes (e.g., a header or footer) while editing the [Open Style] code: You would need to cut (with Ctrl+X) the inserted codes back into a document, edit them there, and then paste them back into the [Open Style] code with Ctrl+V. Of course, you have to remember how to do this....

This little trick is briefly explained in a footnote here (using a [Delay] code as an example). Another example is used in a macro to set up line numbering (et al) in a macro's edit screen, which is found in the Library (MacSetup); the download page explains in an example how you can use the same trick to reset page margins on page 2 (if there is a page 2) in any document.

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Footnote 9

[Continued from above...]

Important note about using certain MENU options
to set your preferred FONT and/or FONT SIZE

I do not recommend using either File, Document, Default Font or  Format, Font to change your preferred default font or font size. [In WordPerfect 8: Format, Font, Default Font.]

Here's why you might not want to use those two menu options.

A frequent and often puzzling problem can arise from this:

How might this happen?

Finally:

Tip: