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

Notes (and also for future reference):

¤ If the new WordPerfect installation is truly new — it is not yet customized — you can probably just copy the currently active default template from the first installation to the new installation as long as both these templates have exactly the same name and come from the same version of WordPerfect. There's no need to copy individual items stored in the template, as the FAQ below explains. You are simply cloning the existing template file into the same version of WordPerfect.

However, if the installation is not truly new, or if your older default template comes from a different version or it has a different name from the factory default, you can follow the instructions in that FAQ (below).

[Resource: For more on locating your default template, etc., see The default template - how to find it, modify it, or fix it. This important file is the one on which all new, blank documents are based.]

¤ Even though you are installing the same WordPerfect version on a different computer, be aware that not all customizations are stored in the default template. Therefore, review the Check List below for other items you might wish to migrate to the new installation.

¤ Be aware, too, that Corel only supports the current version and the immediately previous version of WordPerfect. This can become important when Microsoft upgrades the Windows operating system — and you upgrade to it or buy a new computer with it installed — since earlier versions of WordPerfect might sometime have issues with the newer operating system.

¤ If you are upgrading from a Windows XP or earlier version of Windows to a newer version of Windows (Vista, 7, 8, etc.) see the Sidebar note in Part 1: "What happened to the Documents and Settings folder?"

You can easily transfer (i.e., copy) customized keyboards, toolbars, etc., to a newer version as explained in -

(A) the Transferring keyboards, toolbars, menus... FAQ below, or
(B) the Saving and Recovering Customizations FAQ below, and/or
(C) under the more comprehensive Check List for transferring (migrating) specific items, below.

Cautions

•  Not all customizations are stored in the default template! (See the check list in the next section for more information.)

•  Can you simply re-use a default template from another version of WordPerfect? You could ... but ... be aware that simply renaming an older version's default template with the factory-shipped name of a newer version's default template, or vice versa, for use in the different version is a bad idea.

Why? Default templates are created by Corel to be version-specific and as a result they have version-specific names.

Hence, it is better (read: less problematic) to use the transfer methods in the section below to copy many of your customized items from one default template into a different default template. (Most other WordPerfect templates — including any you have created — are not so constrained. For more on this topic see here.)

Tip: If for some reason you have already renamed a default template from an older version of WordPerfect to use in a newer version, you can simply rename it again (i.e., in the newer version template folder). When you re-launch the newer program it will automatically generate a factory fresh copy of the default template for that new version. Then you can use one of the methods above (A, B, or C) in this section to transfer the customized keyboards, toolbars, etc., into the new version.

Notes and tips

¤ You can have more than one version of WordPerfect Office on the same computer. See "Multiple versions...".

¤ Starting with WordPerfect X6 the (greatly simplified) installation routine lets you choose from several options to automatically migrate -

Note

This section has some of the same information found in sections I and II above, but it should be more comprehensive — especially since it deals with some items that are NOT stored in the default template.

Backed up files should (preferably) be stored on an external drive. These source files can later be copied back to the locations noted on this page and other linked pages, in preparation for migrating your customizations to the target installation.

□ Customized formatting — i.e., your preferred "default" formatting for new blank documents

The default font and some other factory-shipped (and, optionally, user-specified) default document formatting is set in the currently active default template.

Important points

The currently active default template (for certain reasons there can be more than one "default template" location) is specified in your program's Tools, Settings, Files, Template [tab] in two fields:

Those two fields tell WordPerfect where to find the default template each time the program loads.

However ... whether you can simply use that same default template file on another system, or whether you should instead copy various customizations in it directly into a new installation's default template, depends on whether you are using the exact same WordPerfect version on a different computer -or- whether you are upgrading to a newer WordPerfect version. (Yes, it can make a difference!) See Sections I and II above.

Further, some global document formatting — such as custom styles — can be added by users into the default template so that new (blank) documents will "inherit" them.

On the other hand, some formatting can be document-specific, and some can be stored in other system locations (i.e., separate program files, Windows registry, etc.).

Hence you should look over the following items to see if they apply to your situation.

□ Customized keyboards (a.k.a. "keyboard definitions")

"Shortcut keys" ("keyboard shortcuts") are stored inside the special default template file as part of various internal keyboard definitions — some of which you may have modified or even created anew.

Hence, before attempting to transfer or recover these definitions from the source computer, the currently active default template on that computer should be backed up first.

You can then use that backup file to extract your custom shortcuts and migrate them.

See here for how to find that template on your system.

See also the Transferring keyboards... FAQ below for help transferring those items to a new installation or recover them from a backup of the template file.

Related tips:

•  For future reference on how to set up (assign") keyboard shortcuts to program features or macros, see here.

•  IMPORTANT: If you have previously assigned custom macros to keyboard shortcuts see the Custom macros section below.

□ Customized menus

Like keyboard definitions (above), these items are stored inside the default template file.

It is better to manually re-create the old menu customizations on the newer menu using the older version as an on-screen reference. That way, you won't lose newer features or functions that might be included on the newer menu. (See also "Customize your menu - How to add, edit, rearrange, or remove menu items" here.)

You can do this two ways:

Method A: If you still have the older WordPerfect version installed, open it as your reference along with the newer version and switch between versions as you update your new version's top menu. Also see the tips page on adding new choices to a menu.

Method B: If you only have a back up copy of the older version's default template you can -

(1) copy and rename the newer program version's <WordPerfect Menu> with Tools, Settings, Customize (this will make a backup of it); then

(2) copy the older <WordPerfect Menu> into the newer version of WordPerfect to replace the existing (default) menu (you can use the same basic method used to copy custom toolbars — called "Objects" — as described below); then

(3) temporarily enable both the backup version and the new menu version (Tools, Settings, Customize) and use the backup as an on-screen reference to manually re-create any of your preferred customizations on the newer menu.

Also see the tips page on adding new choices to a menu ("Customize your menu - How to add, edit, rearrange, or remove menu items" here.).

□ Customized standard toolbars and user-created custom toolbars

As with standard toolbars, user-created toolbars are usually stored in the default template (or sometimes inside a custom template). Hence, the source template(s) should always be backed up first.

Tip: As noted in Section I above, if you are migrating from the exact same version of WordPerfect you were using to a new installation of that same WordPerfect version, you should be able to just copy that source's default template to the new installation, replacing its default template file.

For regular, standard toolbars that you have customized (i.e., modified) see the Transferring keyboards, toolbars, menus, etc. from old version FAQ below about how to copy (migrate) them.

On the other hand, if you have created a special customized toolbar in a previous WordPerfect version and you want to copy it, or buttons on it, into the new WordPerfect version, see this tip on the page How to create a new custom toolbar.

Notes

¤ Whether custom toolbars appear (or not) in your WordPerfect program, as well as where and how they appear, is determined by settings stored in the Windows Registry, not in the template itself.

These settings generally will have to be restored manually after migrating the toolbars; you can do this quickly and easily by enabling (ticking) them in Tools, Settings, Customize, Toolbars tab (and also the Options button, if you need to establish a specific toolbar appearance or screen location).

¤ If some buttons on the previous toolbar play custom macros, you might have to edit the moved/copied button with the Toolbar Editor to specify the new path to the related macro on the new system.

This is needed if the buttons on the previous toolbar contained a specific path to the custom macros they were set up to play.

However, if the custom macros are copied into either of the two folders specified in Tools, Settings, Files, Merge/Macro (i.e., the Default and Supplemental macro folders), then you should be able to use just their file names on the new version's toolbar buttons, without a full path (i.e., without the drive and folder name). The program will still find them if they are located in either of those special folders. See " How to create a toolbar button..." for details.

□ QuickWord lists

QuickWords (see here for a comprehensive reference on QuickWords) are expandable abbreviations that are stored in their own special template, which is located in the same folder as the currently active default template.

First, your current QuickWords template should be backed up (i.e., saved to a separate, accessible location) before migrating it — and obviously before you uninstall the old WordPerfect program (if you decide to do that: see here about the possibility of keeping it around a while, which is a desirable option for many users).

Next, see How to migrate your QuickWords to a different installation of WordPerfect. It outlines three methods, including a step-by-step guide as well as a method that can migrate individual QuickWords from one version to another. The step-by-step method differs slightly depending on whether the target installation is a different version from the original WordPerfect program or it's the same version. See the above link for details.

Alternatives

¤  Starting with Wordperfect X6 you can have the installation routine migrate this item (i.e., all your existing QuickWords) for you. But if you haven't done it that way, the above "old school" migration methods are good (and easy) options.

¤  See the "Saving and Recovering Customizations" FAQ below.

 □ QuickCorrect lists, Word Lists, and QuickCorrect settings

■ QuickCorrect lists

QuickCorrect (the first tab under Tools, QuickCorrect) has two related functions:

[For more on these two features see the QuickCorrect page, especially the section here.]

These two functions depend on Word Lists (see below).

To explain further:

QuickCorrect lists are stored in their own special program file(s) with filename extensions of .UWL ("User Word List") — and the location of the default list varies with the WordPerfect version and Windows operating system as described in the Corel support database linked below.

If you have created lots of QuickCorrect entries, you should locate and back up these files before migrating them to a different installation or a new version of WordPerfect. You can then use the backed up QuickCorrect files on the other installation.

Tip:

Starting with Wordperfect X6(released in 2012) you can have the newer program's installation routine migrate the .UWL file for you (assuming it still exists on your computer).

Or you can manually migrate these files later (assuming you still have access to them; see next paragraphs).

To manually migrate them:

A Corel support database article (Migrating QuickCorrect List to current version of WordPerfect) states this about the standard User Word List file:

... "One will need to copy the [standard] UWL file from the previous folder to the new. At the same [time], if the [standard] QuickCorrect file is for a different version of WordPerfect, one will need to change the number of the file name. [Emphasis added]

[For example] If going from WordPerfect 12 to WordPerfect X5, the file will need to be renamed from "WT12US.UWL" to "WT15US.UWL"."

As explained in the Word lists section below, there can be several user word lists — one standard list (usually set as the default) and up to 10 personal word lists. (Typically, most casual users use only the standard list but you may find additional personal word lists useful.)

Each one is a separate disk file, so they are accessible by the program when you are working on your other documents.

[There's also a Document Word List (described here) that is saved with the current document when doing a Spell Check on that document.]

In the WordPerfect Universe FAQ below ("What files do I need to back up...") you will will find this:

"User Word List and QuickCorrect Entries: The [standard factory shipped] 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., WT17US.UWL)."

The first two letters of the standard User Word List are "WT," not "WP". The number indicates the numerical version of the WordPerfect program. The above example illustrates the U.S. version of WordPerfect X7 (i.e., version 17).

Notes

¤  For standard locations on a computer, see Corel's support database article, Migrating QuickCorrect List to current version of WordPerfect ("How to migrate the QuickCorrect™ list from previous WordPerfect® versions to your current version of WordPerfect.") [Alternative: see the Saving and Recovering Customizations FAQ below.]

¤  Note that some users create separate personal user word lists for specific types of documents. These files (there can be up to 10 of them) might be named differently than the standard user word list (they will still have a .UWL extension). Moreover they might also be located in one or more folders other than the default folder. [For more, see the main QuckCorrect page here.]

¤  These standard User Word List files may be stored in an "unexpected" location such as in -

¤  Starting with Wordperfect X6 you can have the program's installation routine migrate these items for you. Or you can: (a) rename the new version's file (to back it up); then (b) copy the older version's file to the new version's folder; then (c) rename the copied file to include the new program's number (e.g., WP17US.UWL for the U.S. version of WordPerfect Office X7).

■  QuickCorrect settings

These are the checkbox/radio button options you can set under the tabs on the Tools, QuickCorrect dialog (i.e., not the QC correction entries).

They are stored in the Windows Registry. However...

There is a user-customizable WordPerfect macro on this site (QC.wcm) that toggles the state of the various QuickCorrect, QuickWord, Format-As-You-Go, SpeedLinks, and SmartQuote settings. (See WordPerfect's Tools, QuickCorrect for your current settings.)

Of course, you don't need a macro to set these options, but it makes it easier to restore them to your preferences.

■  For more information about WordPerfect word lists — Main word lists, User word lists, and Document word lists] — see "QuickCorrect is a dual-function "proofing" tool" or the WordPerfect Universe FAQ, "How Do I Edit Dictionaries (Word Lists)?".

□ Custom styles (including Outline styles and Graphic styles)

•  The best method is to first export — i.e., save to a special file — the styles from the other WordPerfect program and then import (retrieve) them from that file into the current WordPerfect program. The special file cal also be used to add them into existing documents.

•  If you still have the documents to which these styles were applied, you can retrieve the styles directly from the document(s).

•  See the page on custom stylesfor several traditional and non-traditional methods you can use to migrate them — such as copying them template-to-template, using a small macro to retrieve them, "clipping" them from an existing document, or creating them in any WordPerfect document or template with a macro (also useful for deploying styles in an organization).

□ Custom templates

□ Custom macros

Since macros are user files, they will not be overwritten or deleted by the program during an upgrade or uninstallation and reinstallation. But it is a good idea to back them up first.

If you have created or customized macros, see the article in this series entitled "Transferring macros from one system to another, or from an earlier version of WordPerfect to a newer version" here.

Starting with Wordperfect X6 you can have the installation routine migrate these custom items for you. However, if you intend to retain the earlier version of WordPerfect on your system alongside the new version, you might still want to keep them separate from the new macros for the reasons given on the aforementioned page here.

Note that macros are typically stored in one of the two factory-specified folders: the Default and Supplemental macro folders. These are shown in the Tools, Settings, Files, Merge/Macro (tab) dialog.

Side notes:

You could name other specific macro folders in either or both of those two factory-specified fields. Be aware the factory-shipped macros — some of which are called by the program — expect to be in one or the other of those special folders. So be sure to move those macros to that new location and then reload WordPerfect to refresh the settings.

However, this makes managing such macros more difficult, particularly when upgrading the program with lots of custom macros.

Further, you could place your custom macros in any other (non-factory specified) Windows folder as long as the full path to them is used with any related toolbar button, keyboard shortcut, or menu choice so the program can find those macros.

[The Toolbar Editor lets you directly specify the full path for a toolbar button. For keyboard shortcuts or menu items, just remove their assignments and assign the macros again. Note that the full path is not necessary if your macro is located in one of the two factory specified folders since the program looks there first.]

Again, this makes managing such macros more difficult, particularly when upgrading the program with lots of custom macros.

For these reasons you might prefer my own simpler location method for all custom macros and factory-shipped macros in "Transferring macros from one system to another, or from an earlier version of WordPerfect to a newer version" (in the Tips section) here.

□ Address book

□ Some other specific custom items

Important:

Several (but not all) of these items are stored in the Windows Registry, as noted below. Many other settings not listed here are also stored in the Registry.

Because many items in the Registry can vary with each user's system (or each user profile on the same system), it probably is best to re-create these items in the other/new version of WordPerfect. [If you decide to edit the Registry to export and then import registry keys from one (source) version of WordPerfect to another (target) version (at least, export both the source and the target version's key to serve as a backup), the typical locations are given in the relevant sections below.]

•  Page set-ups (a.k.a. "page definitions" — settings that specify the type and size of the paper, orientation, etc.)

•  Page numbering formats

When you create a new page numbering format with Format, Page, Numbering, Custom Format (button), the program will store it in a new Windows Registry key.

For example, using WordPerfect X6 in Windows 7 and Windows 10 it will be something like -

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Corel\WordPerfect\16\Page Numbering\<key name here>

Note: This key will not appear in the Registry until you have created a custom page numbering format in WordPerfect. The <key name> will be something like UserPageNum4 (<- the suffix number will vary).

Tip: Custom page numbering can be easily deleted while in WordPerfect using Format, Page, Numbering; then select the desired custom page numbering format and press the Delete key. The Registry will be updated when you close WordPerfect.

•  Labels ("label definitions" that specify the commercial label sheets or customized label layouts)

The customized items in Format, Labels are stored in a *.LAB file on your computer.

In this example, using WordPerfect X9's EN language edition it will be something like -

C:\Program Files (x86)\Corel\WordPerfect Office X9\Languages\EN\Labels

You might be able to transfer the .LAB file to a new system or new version with the method discussed in this WordPerfect Universe thread.

•  Sort keys (custom sorting rules created with Tools, Sort)

Like page set-ups and page numbering, customized sort keys created in the Tools, Sort dialog are stored in the Windows Registry.

For example, using WordPerfect X6 in Windows 7 and Windows 10 it will be something like -

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Corel\WordPerfect\16\Sort Entries

"Sorts can be exported from the registry and then imported on another machine or for a different WP version: locate the proper registry key, export just that key, import it on the new machine as long as the same WP version is on both machines and you haven't already created custom sorts in the new machine. If you're trying to move sorts from one version of WP to another or to combine sorts from two systems, open the exported registry file(s) in Notepad where you can make any necessary edits (change the registry path for a new WP version, copy sorts from one registry file to paste to another if combining, etc.), then when you have a registry file with all of the proper information, import it."

•  Undo/Redo levels (on the Edit menu), and whether they are saved with the document (which is not a good idea if the document is to be shared! [More here])

For example, using WordPerfect X9 in Windows 10 it will be something like -

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Corel\WordPerfect\19\Undo/Redo

•  Envelope information (on the Format, Envelop dialog) such as the font, return address data, whether to include the return address, the default envelope size, etc.

This information is stored in the Windows Registry.

For example, using WordPerfect X9 in Windows 10 it will be something like -

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Corel\WordPerfect\19\Envelope

•  Transferring keyboards, toolbars, menus etc. from old version is a WordPerfect Universe FAQ that gives -

"...step by step instructions [also copied for convenience below] for transferring ["migrating"] custom keyboard[s], toolbars, menus, etc., from a previous version to a new installation when you either still have the old version installed (even on an old computer) or you have a backup copy of your important files [read: a backup of the default template]."

[1] Locate the currently active default template file from the older WordPerfect version that contains the items you want to migrate.

The disk location of that template is shown in the older version's Tools, Settings, Files, Template (tab) (see image below) and is the source file containing the "object" — e.g., your custom toolbar or keyboard — that you want to migrate into the target WordPerfect program.

It is worth repeating that this must be (or was) the currently active default template for that source version, since there can be other factory installed (but inactive) versions of this important file installed on some systems.

[2] Using Windows Explorer, File Explorer or similar file manager, navigate to that Default template file (or its current storage location) and copy it to a temporary folder or to Windows desktop on the target computer. 

(Can't find that file using Windows? See here.)

[3] Rename that copied source file's name — but be sure to retain the filename extension of .wpt.

For example:

If the older default template is named wp17US.wpt, you can rename it to wp17US-OLD.wpt.

Be sure to retain the file name's extension of .wpt so that WordPerfect will recognize it in step 7 below.

[4] Copy that renamed file into the target WordPerfect program's Default template folder.

Tip: You can find its location with the same method you used in step #1 above to find the source template file — but instead use the target program's File Settings dialog to get the name of the currently active default template folder and file name used by the target program.

[5] Open the target WordPerfect program and click on Tools, Settings, Customize.

The Customize Settings dialog opens.

[6] Select the applicable tab at the top of the Customize Settings dialog.

In this example we'll use Toolbars to migrate a custom toolbar.

Notes:

¤  For keyboards:  If you want to migrate custom (or customized) keyboards use the Keyboards tab on the Customize Settings dialog. The steps will be similar to steps #7-#8 outlined below. (The dialog shown in step #7 will be named Copy Keyboard(s).)

¤  For menus and property bars:

¤  It is better to manually re-create any customizations that exist on an older version's menu on a newer version's menu rather than copy the entire old menu from the old/other template. See "Customized menus" above for more information.

¤  Customized property bars are context-sensitive and are best re-created in the newer WordPerfect version (see here). The Property Bars tab on the Customize Settings dialog above only allows editing or resetting property bars, not copying them (as is done in step #7 below).

[7] Click the Copy button on the Customize Settings dialog above.

The Copy Toolbars dialog opens.

•  (1) Choose the "Template to copy from" with the top drop list button. This should be the renamed source file (in step 3 above) minus the .wpt extension.

•  (2) Choose (click on) the item to copy from the source in the center field on that dialog (as in the image above).

•  (3) Choose the "Template to copy to" — i.e., the target program's default template — from the bottom drop list, if not already chosen. This should be the same version as the target program.

For example, if your newer version of WordPerfect is WordPerfect X9 and it's the U.S. language edition, it will be named wp19US.

•  (4) Click the Copy button.

If an item by that name already exists you can rename it on the Copy/Rename Object dialog that appears.

[8] Done. 

You should now be back in the Customize Settings dialog (image in step #5 above) where you should see the new toolbar item in the list. (You may need to scroll to see it.)

If the new toolbar is not already chosen you can enable (tick) the check box next to it.

You can always Delete it from that dialog later, if desired, which will delete it from the target program.

[9] Optional - consolidate the toolbars.

You can move or copy an existing button from one toolbar to another toolbar (assuming both bars are visible; if not, use Tools, Settings, Customize, Toolbars (tab) to enable their display on screen).

When finished you can remove the source toolbar from view either by un-ticking it in the Customize Settings dialog or by deleting it from the target program with the Delete button on that dialog.

•  Saving and Recovering Customisations - A general reference WordPerfect Universe FAQ on where certain customizations are stored, such as the QuickWord and QuickCorrect lists. It also deals with saving and restoring custom styles. However, for simply copying customized toolbars or keyboards from an older version of WordPerfect to a newer version, or from another computer using the same version, see "Transferring keyboards, toolbars, menus etc. from old version" above.

•  What files do I need to back up to uninstall/reinstall/upgrade? - An older WordPerfect Universe FAQ, but which might have some useful information for your situation.

•  About WordPerfect Universe (WPU):