1997's Best WP Win Tips

by Kendall Callas

Year end seems a good time to recap the best tips I wrote this year about WordPerfect for Windows (version 6.x and later):

1. Right click for QuickMenu.
Click the right mouse button for a context sensitive "QuickMenu". The QuickMenu offers a likely set of commands for what your mouse is pointing to. This allows you to interrogate items on screen and see what you can do with them, or find out what's available at that spot on the screen. Very handy at the edit screen as well as the File Open screen.

2. Double click the status bar buttons.
The indicators at the bottom of the screen can also be `activated'. Double click the date or time to type it into your document at the cursor position; double click CAPS to toggle the caps lock key, double click the page/line position to use the Goto menu (to change the cursor position). Fabulous!

3. Automatic lines. (WP7 and later)
The QuickLines feature offers automatic horizontal lines -- graphic lines across the page from left to right margin. On a blank line, type three or more hyphens ("- - -") then Enter for a single horizontal line, or three or more equal signs ("= = =") then Enter for a double horizontal line. (In WordPerfect 8, type four or more of them.) Check the setting (under Tools, QuickCorrect) to make sure the QuickLines feature is turned on.

4. Ctrl-key shortcuts. (all versions)
You can quit mousing around by using Ctrl+letter keys to for cut+paste and also bold/italics/underline. Select (highlight) text first.

Use these keystrokes for cut+paste:
- Copy = Ctrl+C
- Cut = Ctrl+X -- Think of the X as scissors blades.
- Paste = Ctrl+V -- Think of the V as an editor's arrow or "insert here" mark.

The keystrokes above are useful in moving text within a document, between documents, and even between programs.

Use these keystrokes to turn emphasis on/off (select text first):
- Bold = Ctrl+B
- Italics = Ctrl+I
- Underline = Ctrl+U

These cut+paste and emphasis keys are standard keystrokes that also work in all Windows programs that allow these features.

5. Quick outlines. (WP7 and later)
For easy outlines, the QuickBullets feature automatically provides bullets and numbers when you begin a new line with a clue, such as "1.<tab>" (that is, type a one, a period, then the Tab key).

Automatic paragraph numbering starts when you begin a new line with a number, a period, then the Tab key. Type a little bit, then press Enter and you'll get the next number. Instead of numbers, you may use roman numerals, upper or lower case (such as i.<tab>), or begin with a letter for a lettered list, upper or lower case (such as A.<tab>).

To begin your paragraphs with bullets instead of numbers, begin a new line with a symbol, then the Tab key. For example,
- for small round bullets ... type an asterisk + <tab>
- for large round bullets ... type an upper case letter "O" + <tab>
- for stars ... type a plus sign + <tab>

(To use QuickBullets, first check the Tools, QuickCorrect setting to make sure it's turned on.)

6. Useful macros that ship with WordPerfect:

Filename Stamp. (WP 6.1 and later)
A macro called FILESTMP helps with document tracking. Run it to identify a document by printing the filename on each page. You can choose the font, left/right/center alignment, filename or path+filename, and header or footer, A or B. Use it in your templates and form documents.

Clickable Checkboxes. (WP7 and later)
Especially nice if you create forms for filling in on-screen, WordPerfect now ships with a macro called CHECKBOX. Run the macro to create a "ballot box" in your document then click it with your mouse to turn on or off an X in the box . I usually like to enlarge the font to 20 point size. (If you distribute document files which contain these check boxes, note that these check boxes only work in WordPerfect 7 or higher.)

Copyright (C) 1997 by microCounsel. All rights reserved.