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From: WordTips [mailto:awyatt@dcomp.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2003 12:20 PM
To: samaruna@omantel.net.om
Subject: WordTips for 5 April 2003
WordTips for 5 April 2003 Copyright 2003 by DCI
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In This Issue...
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Publisher's Notes
Tips
* Easily Backing Up AutoText Entries
* Alternative Ways of Creating Random Text
* Unchanging Toolbars
* Reveal Codes in Word
Help Wanted
* Counting Characters in Text Boxes
* Removing Unused Styles
Publisher and Copyright Information
Important Links
Subscription Information
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PUBLISHER'S NOTES * PUBLISHER'S NOTES * PUBLISHER'S NOTES
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On the road again...
This weekend I am on the road, visiting family and friends (and taking care
of a little business) in Salt Lake City. We drove up from our home, in Mesa,
Arizona, on Thursday. The twelve-hour trip makes for a long day, but the
traffic is never bad and the scenery is beautiful.
If you have e-mailed me in the past couple of days, I have not been near my
e-mail. I should be back in my office late Monday, and I will hopefully
catch up on Tuesday.
-Allen
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Easily Backing Up AutoText Entries
------------------------------
The AutoText feature in Word is quite helpful, as it provides a quick way to
enter common information into your document with just a few keystrokes.
Exactly how you use AutoText has been described in other issues of WordTips.
After you have been using it a while, and after you have created a range of
AutoText entries, you may wonder how to back up all those entries.
Backing up your AutoText entries is very easy, if you remember where those
entries are stored. By default, all AutoText entries are stored in the
Normal.dot template. You can, if you take special care when defining
AutoText entries, store them in different templates, but most people
don't--they are simply in the Normal.dot template, where they can be used
with all of your documents.
Once you understand that AutoText entries are in Normal.dot, then you can
simply back up that file and you back up your AutoText entries. In the
alternative, if you do have AutoText entries stored in other template files,
all you need to do is back up those files, and you will also be covered on
that front.
If you determine the folder in which the Normal.dot file is stored, you can
quickly create your own "template backup tool." Sit down with a pencil and
paper, and use the Windows Search tool (Start | Search | For Files or
Folders) to locate Normal.dot, or any other template in which you stored
AutoText entries. Once you locate them, write down the complete path names.
For instance, on my system, I wrote down the
following:
C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\normal.dot
Your Normal.dot file will probably be in a different place; make sure you
write down the path accurately.
Once you have the path for your template file, follow these steps:
1. Open Notepad. (Start | Programs | Accessories | Notepad.)
2. In Notepad, type the following command, replacing the word
"source" with the full path to your template file (the one you
wrote down) and replacing the word "destination" with the full
path to where you want your backup to be located. If there are
spaces within either your source or destination path (as there
is in the example above), make sure you surround them with quote
marks.
copy source destination
3. Press Enter and type a similar line for each template you want
to back up.
4. Save the Notepad file, giving it a name that ends with .bat,
such as "SaveTemplate.bat".
5. Exit Notepad.
6. Right-click on your desktop. Windows displays a Context menu
from which you should choose New, and then Shortcut. (What you
see next depends on the version of Windows you are using.)
7. Click the Browse button to locate the file you saved in step 4.
This is the program (technically, a "batch file") that you want
the shortcut to execute for you.
8. Finish creating your shortcut. When done, it should appear on
your desktop.
9. Right-click the new shortcut and choose Properties from the
Context menu. Windows displays a Properties dialog box for the
shortcut. The exact appearance of this dialog box--and the tabs
it contains--depends on your version of Windows.
10. Check the various tabs in the dialog box until you locate the
Run drop-down list. Change this drop-down list to choose the
Minimized option.
11. Check the various tabs in the dialog box until you locate the
Close On Exit check box. (This check box may not be available on
some versions of Windows.) This check box should be selected.
12. Close the Properties dialog box.
Now you have a batch file that will issue the command necessary to copy your
Normal.dot template (or any other templates you specified in step 3) every
time you double-click on the shortcut. You should make sure that you only
run the backup when Word is not running. This is because any changes you
make to your AutoText entries are not saved until you exit Word, so if you
back up while Word is running, you won't save any AutoText changes made
during the current Word session.
This approach to back up files (using a batch file) is handy for backing up
other files, as well. All you need to do is adjust the source and
destination in the copy command, and you can develop a batch file that does
exactly what you want it to do. Toward that end, you may want to learn which
other files you may want to back up in Word. The following resource,
maintained at the Word MVP site, will help you in this regard:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/FilesToBackup.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/WhatTemplatesStore.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/ExportAutocorrect.htm
(Thanks to Suzanne S. Barnhill, Phil Rabichow, and Paul Garratt for
contributing to this tip.)
Help support WordTips and obtain a valuable resource by
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------------------------------
Alternative Ways of Creating Random Text
------------------------------
Other issues of WordTips have discussed the undocumented RAND function in
Word, and how it can be used to generate random text. (At the start of a new
paragraph, type =rand() and press Enter. There are other ways to use the
command, but those are documented elsewhere in WordTIps.) If you get bored
seeing "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,"
you may be wondering if there are alternative ways of generating random
text.
The short answer is no, there isn't, if you are looking for a method as
simple as the RAND function. The most common alternative is to use what is
often referred to as "lorem ipsum" text. This is meaningless, Latin-looking
text that is used by those in the printing and publishing business to
simulate real text. The following is an
example:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nullam
pulvinar wisi ac elit. Sed congue pretium nibh. Curabitur felis
nulla, tincidunt sed, lacinia ac, varius ut, tellus. Nullam ac
neque ac magna gravida porta. Fusce condimentum odio ut dolor.
Morbi ante ipsum, ultrices vel, hendrerit eu, porta eget, felis.
Donec ac ligula non tellus semper pretium. Morbi purus orci,
hendrerit vitae, condimentum sit amet, suscipit vel, nisl. Nunc
nulla erat, cursus id, dapibus sit amet, ornare sit amet, mauris.
Nam eget diam et nisl pharetra tincidunt. Suspendisse vel velit
vitae diam vestibulum tincidunt. Aenean rhoncus pellentesque
purus. Nullam volutpat felis vitae quam. Donec rutrum.
While this may look very scholarly, it is actually meaningless text. A quick
search of the Internet will locate several places where you can generate
lorem ipsum text, but the site at http://www.lipsum.com is the best I have
seen so far.
If you want more background information on both the RAND function and lorem
ipsum text, refer to the following article at the Word MVP site:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Formatting/DummyText.htm
(Thanks to Suzanne S. Barnhill, Kim Brown, and Michael I. Zedek for
contributing to this tip.)
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Unchanging Toolbars
------------------------------
If you use Word in a training environment, or on a group of computers used
by many different people, you may need a way to make sure that the toolbars
always return to their default condition. For instance, if one user
rearranges the toolbars, you might want them returned to their default
condition before the next user starts the program.
There are a couple of ways to handle this situation. Perhaps the easiest
approach is to simply make the Normal.dot template file read-only. Since
toolbar settings are stored in the template, this will help for many of the
toolbars. However, if you use a different template, it is possible that the
toolbars will be changed when using those templates. Also, this won't work
if you want to allow other changes to the template.
Another solution is to create a macro that will reset your toolbars to their
default state. This is a fairly simple macro to create. (If you are training
people on how to program in Word, you may even want to make the macro the
subject of a class assignment.) The following macro can be stored in your
template, and since it is run every time a document is opened, it will reset
your toolbars to their default
condition:
Sub AutoOpen
For Each cb In CommandBars
cb.Reset
Next
End Sub
If you need greater control over the toolbars, including resetting where
they are placed, you can use a macro something like this:
Private Sub Document_New()
CommandBars("Formatting").Protection = msoBarNoCustomize + _
msoBarNoChangeVisible + msoBarNoMove
End Sub
This macro should be placed in the ThisDocument module of Normal.dot.
This particular example only protects the Formatting toolbar, but you could
quickly adapt it to the other toolbars you want protected.
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------------------------------
Reveal Codes in Word
------------------------------
I get many people who write and express frustration because they miss the
"reveal codes" feature they were used to in WordPerfect. They do not
understand why there is no comparable function in Word. The reason is
because there is a core difference between how documents are formatted in
Word and WordPerfect, and each takes a totally different approach to text in
general. I won't try to convince anyone that one approach is better than the
other; both have their pros and cons.
Suffice it to say that they are just different than each other.
WordPerfect essentially treats text and formatting the same. When you format
some of your text, a "start code" is inserted at the beginning of the
selection, and an "end code" is inserted at the end. These are actual codes,
inserted in the actual text. These are the code markers that are visible
when you display the reveal codes window. You can select and delete these
codes, just as you would any other character.
In fact, you can insert a "start code" in your text, and if you don't insert
an "end code," (or if you delete the "end code" without deleting the "start
code") the rest of the document is formatted according to the lone "start
code."
You can't do that in Word. This is because Word treats text and formatting
completely independent of each other. The file format used in Word stores
formatting information in a different portion of the file than the text to
which that formatting is applied. Thus, the formatting is not within the
"text stream," as it is in WordPerfect.
Instead, Word tracks the paragraph and character formatting applied to every
character in the document, without the need to worry about "start codes" or
"end codes."
In Word, basically "what you see is what you get." If something is formatted
as bold text, it appears as bold text. It is essentially impossible to have
stray or unused formatting codes in your text, as you can in WordPerfect.
The reason is because there are no such codes.
The closest you can get to the reveal codes is to display the complete
formatting information that Word is applying to a character or paragraph.
You can do this by following these steps:
1. Press Shift+F1. (You can also choose What's This? from the Help
menu.) This causes the mouse pointer to change to an arrow with
a question mark beside it.
2. Point to the character or paragraph in question and click the
mouse button.
When you do this, Word 97 and Word 2000 display a "balloon" that looks like
the dialog balloons used in some cartoons. The balloon contains detailed
information about the formatting of the character you pointed to, as well as
the paragraph in which the character appears.
If you are using Word 2002, then the Reveal Formatting task pane is
displayed at the right side of the screen. This task pane shows all the same
information that is in the balloons used in earlier versions of Word, but
provides the added feature of allowing you to modify formatting, as desired.
If you are using Word 97 or Word 2000, you have two options at this point.
You can either click on a different character to see more formatting
information, or you can press Esc to make the balloons go away. If you are
using Word 2002, the Reveal Formatting task pane remains on the screen until
you either display a different task pane or dismiss the task pane all
together.
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HELP WANTED * HELP WANTED * HELP WANTED * HELP WANTED
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This section is for those having problems making Word behave. Having a
problem you want to see addressed? Send it to WTHelp@VitalNews.com.
Do you have an answer to the problems below? Send your answer to
WTAnswers@VitalNews.com (all responses become the sole property of DCI and
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------------------------------
Counting Characters in Text Boxes
------------------------------
I have a Word document that is comprised text (actual text, not images of
text) placed in text boxes. When I ran a character count on the three-page
document, the result was "0"! How can I run a character count and make sure
that it includes ALL the text in a Word document?
The only solution I came up with was to manually cut and paste the content
of each text box into a new file and take it from there, but that solution
is not satisfactory. (Tanya Harvey Ciampi)
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Removing Unused Styles
------------------------------
Is there any "automated" way to delete unused Styles from a document?
(Bruce Koehler)
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WordTips (ISSN 1522-3744) is published weekly by Discovery Computing Inc.
(DCI), PO Box 2145, Mesa, AZ 85214. WordTips is a trademark of DCI.
Copyright 2003 by DCI, All Rights Reserved. All broadcast, publication, or
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