Fast text formatting in WinWord
Sudden death
Prompt(less) WinWord deletions
Corruption!
Colour my word
Hiding text in Ami Pro 3.1
The WordPerfect 6.0 text shuffle
Getting the font you want in any word processor
Selecting it all in Ami Pro
Q I'd like to select blocks of text in Word 6.0 for Windows that aren't adjacent to each other, then format them in one operation. In other Windows programs, I can select noncontiguous items in a list by holding down <Ctrl> and clicking with the mouse, but that doesn't work in WinWord. Do you know of a way to do this?
- Arthur Phillips, Chicago
A There are times when I wish I could do the same thing; unfortunately, WinWord won't let us. Still, there are a couple of ways to format text that are almost as fast.
If you want to change just one style attribute - for example, to make text italic - you can do this with a few simple keystrokes. Start by selecting the first block of text you want to format. Apply the formatting, then select each of the other blocks in turn and press <F4> to make WinWord repeat the last command you issued.
If you want to perform several formatting commands at once - for instance, to change the fonts and the paragraph width - you can use WinWord's Format Painter tool. Select a section of text and format it the way you want. With the text still highlighted, double-click the Format Painter icon in WinWord's toolbar. The mouse pointer changes into a paintbrush. Go to the beginning of the next block of text that you want to format, hold down the left mouse button, and then select the block. When you release the button, Word for Windows "paints" the new text block to look like the old one.
Repeat these steps to format the rest of your text blocks, then press <Esc> to turn off the Format Painter tool. But remember, to apply paragraph formatting you have to select the entire paragraph each time; otherwise, WinWord changes only the font.
Q In August 1994 your Brian Livingston said that "You can't even delete a file from within Word 6.0". My response published in October 1994, page 201, suggested two methods which, in short, were, firstly, use File Find, then the "Command" button, and then delete, or secondly, to activate File Manager from the floating tool-bar, select the file, click on "File", and then delete.
I recently came across a devastatingly simple and effective macro that will do the job.
Here it is:
Sub MAIN activename$ = FileName$() FileClose Kill activename$ End Sub
Connect this to an icon and simply click when the offending file is open. Beware of the results as this method is instant and devastating!
- Ralph Latta, Hawera, NZ
A That's a beauty, Ralph. As you say, this isn't one you want to put in innocent hands, but it can save some time and trouble if you know what you're about - and pay attention . . .
Q Whenever I try to delete a block of selected text in WinWord 6.0 by pressing the <Delete> key, the prompt "Delete Block? No (Yes)" appears in the WinWord status bar. This forces me to press Y to finish the deletion. It's a nuisance and is slowly driving me crazy. I know there must be a way to change this, but I can't figure it out. Can you help?
- Bonnie Granzow, San Diego
A Figuring out why this was happening to you almost drove me crazy - it's just not the normal way WinWord does things. But after digging deeper into the program, I found the problem. You have WinWord's Help for WordPerfect Users feature enabled. This useful tool lets old WordPerfect veterans use familiar keystrokes, but it also duplicates annoying features like deletion confirmation.
The solution is simple, as long as you're willing to give up the rest of WinWord's WordPerfect emulation. Select Tools-Options, click the General tab, then deselect the Help for WordPerfect Users and Navigation Keys for WordPerfect Users check boxes. Click OK to finish the job.
Q I have prepared a large (400-page, some 3.2Mb) document in WordPerfect 6.1 that I need to export to Microsoft Word 6.0.
Though it can be exported, including to RTF, neither MS-Word nor the original WordPerfect program can open (or read) the exported files. It may be relevant to note that the files were originally created in WP DOS 5.1 and over four years upgraded to WP 6.1 Windows.
Novell was co-operative but concluded the file is corrupted, though it shows only one sign of being so when it is exported to WP5.1 - WP responds to say that unrecognised entities were encountered aborting the export activity.
The file represents many years of work and I must export the file to MS-Word and, in any event, the prospect of a corrupted file, representing so much work, is very worrying.
Could you please look at the problem. I have enclosed the file in PKZIPed format.
- Ron van Santen, Carine, WA
A I have studied your export file with a binary editor (Norton Disk Editor) and I'm sorry to say it's not just a little corrupted; it's corrupted big-time with less than 5 per cent of the text content intact. I can see a couple of ways to deal with this, though, if you still have the original WP 6.1 file. The most likely method is to try exporting it as plain ASCII text. Yes, you'll lose the formatting details, but this is the least demanding conversion and the most likely to get rid of "unrecognised entities".
Another thing you might try if you're minded to experiment is to cut and paste from WP to WinWord; the result could be strange, but you might also be able to carry the formatting across - it all depends on how well the clipboard conversion routines of the two word processors work. If your system has enough memory, you could first open WP 6.1 with the document, go Edit-Select All and copy; then close WP, open WinWord with a new file and do Edit-Paste.
Q I use WordArt 2.0 to create logos and other text objects in my WinWord 6.0 documents. I recently bought a colour printer, and I'd like to colourise some of those objects in existing documents. But when I double-click on an object, I don't see any options for adding colour. How do I do this?
- Andrew Solodin, Madison, Wisconsin
A It's actually quite easy to change the colours of your WordArt objects, but double-clicking on them isn't the way to do it. Instead, right-click on the object, then select Open WordArt in the pop-up menu.
In the Font frame of WordArt's main window, you'll find a drop-down list of colours for your text. Pick the one you like, then click OK to make the change and return to your document. And take a close look at that WordArt window for different fills and other special effects you can use to spruce up your logos and other WordArt objects.
Q I just changed jobs - and word processors. The staff in my new office use Ami Pro 3.1, which does just about everything that my old favourite, Word for Windows, does except for one thing. In WinWord, I could format text as hidden so that it appeared on screen but didn't print. This was very handy for making brief notes to myself. Is there some way I can do the same thing in Ami Pro?
- Karen Smith, Bakersfield, California
A Not directly. But there's a work-around you can use to create nonprinting text. The trick involves fooling Ami Pro into thinking you're going to print on a preprinted form. Here's what to do:
First, select the block of text you want to hide. Then select Edit-Mark Text-Protected Text. The appearance of the text won't change on screen, so I suggest you press <Ctrl>+U to underline it while it's still highlighted, to make it easy to spot.
To print the file without the hidden text, select File-Print as usual, but click the Print dialogue box Options button and mark the On preprinted form check box. Ami Pro will then print the page without the text that you marked earlier. Unfortunately, you have to select this option each time that you open the file, since Ami Pro doesn't store the setting as a default.
Q I use WordPerfect 6.0a for Windows and often create documents that use several different fonts. Whenever I copy a block of text from one spot to another in the same document, WordPerfect preserves the text block's original font, even when the surrounding text in the new location is set in a different font.
However, I want the text block to take on the font of the new location. Is there a way to do this?
- Kathy Jorgensen, Miami, Florida
A Sure thing. Start as you usually do, by marking the block of text you want to copy. Select Edit-Copy or press <Ctrl>+C to copy the text to Windows's Clipboard. (If you want to move the block of text to the new location, use Edit-Cut or press <Ctrl>+X.) Now move the cursor to the location where you want to paste the text. Select Edit-Paste Special, choose Unformatted Text from the Data Type list in the Paste Special dialogue box, then click Paste or press <Ctrl>+V. That's it.
Q I use Word 6.0 for Windows and am generally happy with it. However, I don't like WinWord's default font, and it's a pain to change it every time I create a document. How do I change this font permanently?
- Danny Clark, Carson City, Nevada
A People ask me this question all the time, for WordPerfect and Ami Pro as well as WinWord. Here's how to change the default font for new documents in all three programs.
WinWord 6.0: To change the default font, you'll need to alter the program's NORMAL.DOT template (the one WinWord loads at start-up). Fortunately, WinWord makes this easy to do. Open a document that uses this template and select Format-Font. Choose the name and size of the typeface you want to use from the Font dialogue box's Font and Size lists. Click Default, then click Yes to confirm the change. This new default font applies only when you use the NORMAL.DOT template.
WordPerfect 6.x: The procedure is somewhat trickier here because the program stores font settings with information about each printer you use. Start by selecting File-Select Printer. Make sure the printer you use is highlighted in the Select Printer dialogue box, then select Initial Font. Choose the typeface name and size in the Font Face and Font Size lists, then click OK, followed by Close. Your choice will be the new default for all new documents using that printer. Of course, if you decide to use a different printer, you may have to repeat this process.
Ami Pro 3.x: Like WinWord, this program stores default font settings in its style sheet templates. To alter the default font, start the program and select Style-Modify Style. The default text style, Body Text, should appear in the Style list in the Modify Style dialogue box. Leave this setting as it is, then select a new font name and size in the Face and Size lists and click OK.
Now select Style-Save as a Style Sheet. Don't alter the settings in the resulting dialogue box, make sure the With Contents box is unmarked, and click OK. Finally, answer Yes when Ami Pro asks if you want to overwrite the existing default style sheet.
Remember, while these techniques change the default font for new documents in all three word processors, they won't necessarily alter fonts in documents you've already created. For older files, you may have to open each one and change the fonts manually.
Q What's the best way to select all the text in an Ami Pro 3.1 document for pasting into another application?
- Newton Barnes, Cleveland
A That's easy. Press <Ctrl>+<Home> to move the cursor to the top of the file, then press <Shift>+<Ctrl>+<End> to select all the text inside it. This technique selects only text; you'll have to cut and paste graphics separately.
Incidentally, WinWord 6.0 and WordPerfect 6.x for Windows have built-in commands for selecting an entire document. In WinWord, select Edit-Select All or, better yet, use the keyboard shortcut <Ctrl>+<NumPad 5>. In WordPerfect, select Edit-Select-All.
George Campbell