Default NumLock State

I’m a NumLock OFF girl, myself. See, when I started using computers, keyboards didn’t have dedicated arrows, you had to navigate using the arrows on the number pad. Now, a couple of years later the habit is well ingrained. My husband and I spent years changing the NumLock back and forth on our home computers.

I was very happy when I found out the Windows XP default NumLock state was OFF!

I win!

Then, a client asked me how to set the default state to ON. Since I never wanted to do that, I asked my favorite IT guy how to do it. He started talking about the bios and the registry and then my eyes glazed over and I started to hear the ocean – or a Prius, I’m not really sure.

There had to be a simpler way. And there is. The NumLock state can be set differently for each user profile in Windows XP. Here’s how to set the default NumLock state to ON:

1. While logged in, set the NumLock to ON.
2. Click the START button and select “Log Off” (the second option from the bottom).
3. Select “Log Off” again (NOT switch user)
4. You should see a message which reads “Saving your settings” as the computer logs off.
5. After log off is complete, you should see a message which reads: “To begin, click your user name”
6. When you do, you should see a message which reads: “Loading your personal settings”

The NumLock should automatically turn on all by itself!

It should stay set to ON until or unless someone LOGS OFF with a different NumLock state active. Shutting down without logging off shouldn’t change the NumLock setting.

WordPerfect SWITCH and CASEOF

In generating a WordPerfect merge document, one of my clients wanted to type an acronym for a plaintiff ONE time and have the merge process insert many different things in the document, based on that one, shortened client reference.

Let’s look at how to do that. The code looks like this:

(click to zoom any image)

Step 1. In the process of setting up the WP merge, a data field was created for the plaintiff, named “Plaintiff Short.”

This particular merge form was only used for three clients, so the example is limited to three. Keep in mind, you can have more or less.

Here’s the code as it appeared in the WP merge form document:

CODES(
SWITCH(FIELD(Plaintiff Short))
CASEOF(BIGBANK1)
INSERT(The Big Bank of Central Southeast, a Florida corporation)
CASEOF(BIGBANK2)
INSERT(Small Town Bank, a Florida corporation)
CASEOF(CREDITUNION)
INSERT(The Friendly Local Credit Union, a State Chartered Credit Union)
DEFAULT
KEYBOARD(Please the Name of the Bank and Click “Continue”)
ENDSWITCH
)

Note: You can’t just type this code. Here’s how to insert the code into your form document.

Step 2. Open the merge form. In the Merge subtoolbar, click the “Insert Merge Code” button and select “More . . . ” The following dialog box appears:

The first code I insert is “CODES(merge codes)” which ignores hard returns and spaces between its parenthesis. With my cursor between the parenthesis of the CODES() merge code, I press enter to insert a hard return and place my cursor on the following line, so it looks like this (the cursor is shown in red):

CODES(
|)

Step 3. Leaving the “Insert Merge Codes” dialog box open and find the “SWITCH(exp)” merge code in the list click Insert. Another dialog box, entitled “Insert Merge Code” is displayed. I don’t enter anything and click “OK”

The code should now look like this (:

CODES(SWITCH(|))

Leave the Merge Code dialog box displayed if it doesn’t bother you, close it if it does. (I closed it so as not to confuse anyone.) Next click the “Insert Field” button on the Merge subtoolbar and select the field you need. In this case, I selected the “Plaintiff Short” field and clicked insert.

Step 4. Close the “Insert Field” dialog box. If you closed the “Insert Merge Code” dialog box, open it again by Placing the cursor on the next (empty) line, click the “Insert Merge Code” button and select “More . . . “

Step 5. Insert the “CASEOF” code. With the cursor between the parenthesis of the CASEOF code, type the text which might be entered into the “Plaintiff Short” data field during a merge:

In this case, the text “BIGBANK1″ is entered.

Step 6. Repeat step 5 as many times as needed, changing the text to be entered in each possible scenario. (In my example code above, I added an option for text entry to allow for the possibility of a new client.)

Step 7. Finish by inserting the “ENDSWITCH” merge code. The end parenthesis for the CODE command still appears and it completes the code snippet!

Step 8. One simple way to use the result of that snippet is to insert the “Plaintiff Short” field into the document everywhere the Plaintiff’s acronym should appear, but there are lots of other possibilities!

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Want to learn more? Visit www.pragmaticcom.com and schedule a training session!

viewing invisible grid lines

Can’t see the grid lines for labels or margins in WordPerfect? It could be a problem with Windows and flatscreen monitors. (Corel’s support database – Answer ID 207679) Try this:

For Windows XP:
1. Right click on the Desktop, select Properties.
2. Select the Appearance tab.
3. Click the Advanced button.
4. Select 3D Objects in the Item dropdown.
5. Under Color 1, choose a darker shade of gray.
6. Click OK, then click Apply on the Appearance tab.
7. Click OK, and open WordPerfect.

For Windows Vista:
1. Right click on the Desktop, select Personalize
2. Click on Window Color Appearance
3. Click on Open Classic Appearance
4. Click the Advance button
5. Select 3D Objects in the Item dropdown
6. Under Color 1, choose a darker shade of gray.
7. Click OK, then click Apply on the Appearance tab.
8. Click OK, launch WordPerfect.

The grid lines should be more visible. (The darker the shade of gray you select the more visible the grid lines will be.)

html links

Ever want to post a link to a web page but don’t want it to look like a bunch of code?
Maybe you don’t understand the code in the first place. (I won’t tell.)

Let’s say you want to post the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFLs9RI8mSA

Not attractive. And, depending on where you paste it, sometimes it won’t even function as a link.

What if you could create a link that looks like this:

Small is Tall

And, more importantly, when someone clicked, it actually worked as a link?

Let’s keep it extremely simple. Type or copy the text below:

Label Text

Then replace page.html with the URL of the destination web page.

Also replace Label Text with whatever text you want the reader to see instead of the actual link.

In this example, the link would look like this:

Small is Tall

That’s it!

(Keep in mind, some websites, forums and blogs restrict the use of html code. For instance, wordpress.com allows this html link code in comments, but blogger only allows simple html code, like bold and italics.)

@randbetween(1,100)

Rolling dice, flipping coins, drawing cards or straws, drawing slips of paper out of a hat. All methods to generate random results. Here’s one more:

@randbetween(x,y)

To Create a Random Number: In a blank cell of any spreadsheet program, type @randbetween(x,y) where x equals the smallest number you want to use and y equals the largest. In other words, typing the function @randbetween(1,100) will generate a number between 1 and 100.

Recalculate the Number: Press the “F9″ key to generate a new number.

Change a Random Number to a Value: Note that any time you make a change to any cell in your spreadsheet, the program recalculates all the formulas on the sheet. That means the random number will recalculate every time a change is made to the spreadsheet. If you want to make your random value permanent, move to the cell with your @RANDBETWEEN function and press F2 (EDIT), then F9 (CALC).

Compatibility: This formula will work in Excel, Quattro Pro and Lotus 123. Have a different spreadsheet program? Give it a shot.

Microsoft Purists: Some of you may be thinking that Excel formulas begin with an equal sign, so the formula should be: “=randbetween(1,100)” True enough. Go ahead. But I’ve been using spreadsheet software for a long time (Lotus 123). We old timers know that spreadsheet formulas are “supposed” to begin with “@” and we also know that formulas beginning with an equal sign won’t work in Quattro Pro and Lotus. Because Microsoft is special.

i can see clearly now

When you read text on your computer monitor, do the fonts seem . . . grainy? Do the edges of the letters appear ragged? Especially italicized text?

Try this:
Click the “Start” button (on the task bar at the bottom left of your screen).
Hover over “Settings” and click “Control Panel”
Double Click “Display”
Click the “Appearance” Tab (the fourth tabbed page)
Click “Effects . . . ” (at the bottom right of the menu)

Under the second check mark, labeled: “Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts:” Click the drop down arrow and select “ClearType” instead of “Standard”

Click “OK” (NOT cancel or the red “X” in the top right corner)
Click “Apply” (at the bottom right of the menu)

beautiful!

VISTA USERS: Clear Type is enabled by default on Windows Vista.

To Find the Option:
Right Click Anywhere on Your Desktop (away from any icons)
Click “Personalize” on the menu when it appears.
Click “Windows Color and Appearance”
Click “open classic appearance properties for more color”
Click the “Effects” button

Under “use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts” Click the Arrow to the Right of the Box and Select Either “standard” or “cleartype”

Click OK, then OK again and then Close the personalization window

I can’t save autotext!

Do you create autotext entries or buttons in Microsoft Word 2002, 2003 or XP but can’t seem to find them later?

If you also have Adobe Acrobat Professional or Standard loaded on your computer, you’re not imagining things or doing anything wrong! There’s a conflict between Word and Acrobat 7.0 which prevents autotext, macros, preferences and custom setting (like buttons) from saving in MS Word. For those of you who care or understand – Word ’s “normal.dot” can’t save changes.

The good news is that Adobe knows about this problem and has issued an update! For detailed info and the download link, CLICK HERE to visit the “Tech Note” in the Adobe Knowledgebase.

WordPerfect Auto Numbering Made Even Easier!

Let’s break this up into three parts, shall we?

1. How to use a custom outline/auto paragraph numbering macro I may have written for you.
2. Tips for working with the WordPerfect auto numbering/outline feature.
3. Issues with using auto numbering when allowing MS Word users to edit your document.
__________

Part 1: Using Pragmatic Macros

To format any document with a custom auto numbering style using a WordPerfect macro written by me:

1. Place the cursor where you want the numbering to begin or at the top of the document. (I always put it at the top of the document so it’s easy to find later.)

2. Play the macro. Depending on your preferences, I’ve either given you a shortcut key (ALT+O) or placed a button on your toolbar which shows a I.A.1. descending top left to bottom right of the button. So either type your shortcut key or click your button. The screen will flash a few times and insert the first number at the location of the cursor. If you don’t need a number in that exact spot (like at the top of the doc), turn it off with “CTRL+H”

3. Once the macro has been played in a document and the document has been saved, the macro never needs to be run in that document again. (Unless you accidentally delete it – another reason I place it at the top of the document instead of placing it at the first numbered paragraph).
__________

Part 2: TIPS for Working with Auto Paragraph Numbering:

1. Toggle auto numbering on and off with the keystroke shortcut “CTRL+H”

2. To move forward one paragraph level, press “TAB” and to move back one paragraph level, press “SHIFT+TAB”

3. When inserting a new paragraph in a document containing auto numbering, place the cursor at the END of the PREVIOUS numbered paragraph and press ENTER. Use TAB or SHIFT+TAB to change the new paragraph to the desired level.

4. To insert a real TAB into a document when in auto paragraph mode, use “CTRL+TAB” instead of TAB.
__________

Part 3: Issues with MS Word

You may be better off using manual numbering when you know MS Word users will edit the document. A simple explanation: While auto paragraph numbering in WordPerfect is document specific (the numbering style is saved in the document), auto paragraph numbering in MS Word is desktop specific (the numbering style is saved in MS Word from desk to desk).

A not so simple (but still not too technical) explanation: Regardless of a whether a document was created/edited in MS Word or WordPerfect, auto numbering appears to the MS Word user in the preferred style saved in that particular installation of MS Word. In other words, it changes all by itself. In my experience, there are two situations when this doesn’t happen:

First, when only one person edits a document using MS Word, this isn’t a problem because the document adopts the single preferred style of that same person every time it’s edited.

Second, when MS Word custom templates and styles are created and used, this problem can be overcome, but many, many, many firms don’t use custom templates and/or styles. Even when templates are used, I’ve never seen a firm share their template with another firm. In addition, most people wouldn’t know how to attach a template even if it was given to them by another firm. So the changes continue.

Yet another reason to use WordPerfect for lengthy, complex documents.

Sweeet New Corel Product for Collaboration!

Corel WordPerfect Lightning!

I’m still exploring this new software to discover everything it can do, but one of the sweetest things is this:

It opens any PDF, Word or WordPerfect document for viewing, printing and . . . copying into a note – which can be easily edited and then automatically inserted into an email.

So . . . You can create a legal document using your current word processor, and email it to your client in PDF. They open it using the (FREE) Lightning viewer, review it, copy any text they want to edit to a Lightning Note and then Lightning can automatically insert the note’s contents into the body of an email! You receive the email and copy/paste the text into the original document – and you guessed it – you maintain control of the editing process!

If clients edit their legal documents in Lightning, they can’t use track changes! You can either edit the original or create a 2nd version for the creation of a redline copy using your word processor’s COMPARE feature (or CompareRite or Deltaview) instead of Track Changes! (Combining Track Changes and Compare doesn’t always turn out so well.) I’m still checking, but I’m thinking NO METADATA! And it’s FREE. And EASY!

I downloaded the (free) beta this morning. Supposedly it will continue to be free, like Adobe Acrobat Reader.

For more robust editing and markup, Adobe Acrobat Reader is still a better choice, but for a clean, simple editing option, this is . . . Sweeeet!

I’ll keep learning and update this post as I go!

Want to try out the FREE beta version? Go ahead, it won’t hurt. Or just learn more about Lightning here:

http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1171405162003

Converting Between WordPerfect and Word.

Want to edit a Word document using WordPerfect?
If you have the latest version of WordPerfect, just open the Word document and WordPerfect will convert it automatically, no matter what version of MS Word was used to save it.

Don’t have the latest version of WordPerfect (WP13 aka WPx3)? Then you need “The Know How.” Keep reading (or scroll down to skip the explanation and get right to it.)

Want to edit a WordPerfect document using MS Word?
Just open the WordPerfect document in any version of MS Word. Since WordPerfect’s document format has remained the same from version 6 through 13, this method should always work when opening any WordPerfect file in any version of MS Word.

Why can’t any version of WordPerfect open any Word file?
Nearly every version of MS Word produces a unique document format, so attempting to open a Word document in a previously released version of WordPerfect produces the message “Unknown File Format.”

(That’s okay, some previously released versions of MS Word had/have trouble opening newly released MS Word file formats – without a patch.)

Each version of WordPerfect produces the same document format – so MS Word has been able to read it since Word 6.0. Did WordPerfect just get it right the first time? Novell and Corel think so.

Let me give you an example: Let’s say WordPerfect 9 (WP9) is currently installed at your firm. WP9 was released a few months before Word 2000 (Word XP). Since Word XP didn’t exist when WP9 was released, WP9’s conversion utility isn’t capable of converting Word XP files.

(Do you need to read that again? I did.)

WP10, on the other hand, can convert Word XP files because Word XP did exist when WP10 was released. The versions continued to leapfrog each other and today we have WP13 (WPx3) released just months before Word 2007. If you’ve been playing along, you get that WPx3 can’t read Word 2007 files.

(That’s okay, Word 2003 [and earlier] can’t read them either – not without the
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack.)

Don’t have the latest WordPerfect? Here’s The Know How:
By following the steps below, a document saved in any version of MS Word can be successfully converted to an earlier version of WordPerfect – most of the time.

1. Open the file in Word.

2. Select File, Save As from the menu.

3. At the bottom of the “Save As” dialog box, at the end of the “Save as type” line, click the drop down arrow, scroll down and select:

“Word 6.0/95″ Do NOT select “Word 97-2002.

(Although grouped together, each version was unique.)

4. Save the document with a new name to preserve the integrity of original.

(NEVER manually change a file extension from .doc to .wpd! The software will do that.)

5. Close the document.

(If warned of a possible loss of formatting, select okay. You still have the original.)

6. Open the 6.0/95 version (with .doc) of the file in WordPerfect, allowing WordPerfect to convert it.

7. Revise the document as needed and when you save it, WordPerfect will remind you that it was converted and prompt you to select a format. Choose WordPerfect.

Need to Provide the WordPerfect File to Someone Using Word?
1. Work on the file as normal in WordPerfect and save it as a WordPerfect file.

(No need to choose a version. WordPerfect’s file format is the same for versions 6-13)

2. Open the WordPerfect file in MS Word, allowing MS Word to convert the document.

Now you’ve got The Know How.