Taking note
Imperfect import
Count those words
A portable WinWord dictionary
A faxing dilemma in WP 6.0 for DOS
Faster WordPerfect spelling checks
A filename on every page in WP
In the Word Processing Q&A section of your August issue, Karen Smith inquired about hiding text in AmiPro 3.1. The reply given was accurate, but somewhat (in my humble opinion) cumbersome. It seems that all Karen was after was the ability to make "brief notes to myself" which do not print.
AmiPro has a facility for inserting non-printing notes into text. Try Edit-Insert-Note. This will open a Note box that is stamped with an id, the time and date, and allows for a sizeable note to be inserted. Once your note is composed, click outside the box and it will minimise to a small yellow (on my PC) box that you double-click on to maximise.
I think this was all Karen was looking for, and may be of interest to your readers.
- Ross Crossman
I was quite annoyed when I found out that when you try to import text into Microsoft Publisher 2.0 from WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS, Publisher does not recognise WordPerfect files. Not only that, in the Publication name box it provides a *.doc extension, which is totally wrong - WordPerfect 5.1 files do not require a file extension!
Anyway, the only way I found to bring up my WordPerfect 5.1 files was to type in *.* in the Publication name box and press <Enter>. This was, and is, pretty stupid considering that Publisher should have automatically detected my WordPerfect 5.1 files! And one other comment; people who have never used MS-DOS wouldn't know the *.* command, and therefore not be able to access WordPerfect files.
- Simon Goeschl
In the World's Greatest Word Processor - AmiPro! - try this method of using the power of AmiPro's macro abilities.
Select Tools-Macros-Playback, then choose _autorun.smm. Scroll the left pane down to View-Displays-word count etc, highlight this line; click details and view the information response. Click Install, then OK; follow the directions on the screen.
You may be surprised at the number of macros that can be selected to load automatically. (Try loading collect.smm for automatic macro usage.) Once macros are loaded, click View on the top menu bar; at the bottom of the list that this opens, click Display Word Count and all pertinent information on the file is available.
- Ron Martin
Editor's comment: In major modern word processors, macros can tailor functionality to make almost any job a simple button-clicking matter. It's a pity that most users pass macros by, not realising how easy they can be to create and apply.
Q I use WinWord 6.0 on both my desktop computer and my notebook. I'd like to transfer my AutoCorrect and custom dictionary entries from my desktop to my portable so I can have the same corrections available without having to re-enter everything. Do you have any suggestions?
- Adam Couture
A All you have to do is find the correct files on your desktop's hard disk and copy them to your notebook. The trick is figuring out where WinWord stores the files you need.
WinWord keeps the AutoCorrect entries in its normal.dot template, which you'll usually find in the winword\template directory. The file where WinWord stores your custom dictionary entries, custom.dic, can be trickier to find. That's because where it's stored depends on whether you installed WinWord as a stand-alone program or as part of Microsoft Office. To locate the file, first try your winword directory. If it's not there, check the windows\msapps\proof directory.
If all else fails, you can use Windows' File Manager to find the file. Launch the utility, select File-Search, and in the Search For box type custom.dic. In the Start From box, type the name of the root directory you want to search, check the Search All Subdirec-tories option box, and click OK. After searching your hard disk, File Manager should display a window indicating the location of the file. Once you've found both files, you can copy them to a floppy, then transfer them to your portable PC. Because you'll want to overwrite the corresponding files on your notebook's hard disk, you'll need to copy them to the right directories. (Just remember that anything you've already entered into your notebook's AutoCorrect file will also be overwritten.) Follow the steps outlined above to find out where the files are stored on your laptop.
One last note: if you've never added a word to WinWord's custom dictionary on your notebook, custom.dic won't exist. You should add at least one word to create the file on your notebook, so you'll know where it should go.
Q I do most of my faxing with Delrina WinFax Pro and a Class 1 fax modem. As long as I'm using Windows, everything works just fine, but WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS is my word processor. I know it's supposed to handle fax modems, but I can't seem to make it work. In fact, the Fax Services option is greyed out in the Print-Fax dialogue box. The manual hasn't been much help. Can you tell me how to get this fax feature to work?
- Jack Drooger
A You're right, the main manual's entry on Fax Services is pretty limited. "Appendix S" in your manual is more infor-mative. It'll tell you how to install the FaxDirect software that shipped with your copy of WordPerfect. Read this appendix carefully and follow its instructions to the letter.
You should also find README.FAX in your main WordPerfect program directory; it offers additional advice. Load the file into WordPerfect and read it - or print it out as a reference if you don't like trees.
Q When I want to check the spelling in a WordPerfect 6.0 document, I have to select Tools-Speller, then click the Start button inside the Speller dialogue box before it will look for the first misspelled word. That seems like it shouldn't be necessary. Is there some way to begin the spelling check without this extra step?
- Rivka Dunninger
A WordPerfect works that way so you can set options for the spelling check before it starts. However, to start the check automatically, select Options-Auto Start in the Speller dialogue box, then click Close. From now on, whenever you do a spelling check, WordPerfect will automatically find the first word not in its dictionary, without expecting you to click a button first.
Q Is there a way to force WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows to print the name of the current file on every page of the document?
- Steven Dobrow
A WordPerfect handles this job easily. First, open the document and select Layout-Header/Footer. Choose one of the Header or Footer options in the Select list, and click Create to insert it in your document. WordPerfect will create a new toolbar at the top of the screen (see Figure 1).
To insert the file name into your header or footer, select Insert-Other, then either Filename or Path and Filename. Depending on whether you chose a header or a footer, your document's filename, with or without the full path, will appear at the top or bottom of the page.
Use the other buttons on the Header and Footer toolbar to format the text, add page numbers or lines, and adjust the element's position on the page. When you're done, click Close to resume editing your document.
George Campbell