WordPerfect Essay, Research Paper

Using Tables in WordPerfect

As most of you know, WordPerfect 6.0A for Windows allows you to do simple word processing pretty easily. My intention in this session is to look at tables fairly comprehensively so that you can see how to use this feature a little more fully. In addition, we’ll use data from other applications , including text data and a Harvard Presentation graphics chart in WordPerfect.

Seeing how tables are used within WordPerfect templates

As you may already be aware, WordPerfect comes with a number of premade templates. We’re going to look at one that uses a table within it, the calendar, so you can see how the feature can be used.

Click on file

Click on template

Slide the up arrow up to cal_side

Click on the words: Note description

Click on the opposite facing up/down arrows for month and select July for month

Click on the opposite facing up/down arrows for year and select 1995 for year

The calendar will then auto fill in the appropriate days and dates and then poof! disappear. Click on Window (at the top table, window, help) This will bring up a list of documents. Note: You can have a number of documents open concurrently. This is practically limited by the amount of memory and speed of your machine as it relates to the complexity of documents. On my fairly sophisticated machine I’ve found six text mostly documents are about as much as I can handle the performance of.

Click on the last numbered document (most likely document 2)

This is a fairly complex table. If you need to make changes in it, you can do so with the table menu.

To make a fairly simple change in the calendar,

Click on any of the squares

Click on table

Click on Lines/Fill

Click on the table radio button

Click on Fill Radio Button

Click on drop down box

Click on the words 10% fill

Click OK

You’ll see the changes reflected.

Bringing your own data into a table

Most of the time you’ll have your own data that you want to bring in, either in the format of a spreadsheet or a ASCII file. A table handles this kind of data especially well.

To bring in a text file (ASCII delimited in this case) and translate it to a table

Click on File

Click on Open

Open File… Automatically it will detect it’s an ASCII text file

Select entire area of file

Click on table create

Choose tabular format

Choose OK

This will convert your text to a table with strange formatting. There are two ways to change this formatting. If you just want something that looks normal, you can click and drag the column lines easily. We’ll do this with the day column

Bring your mouse to the line between the two columns… You’ll see a crosshatch arrow

Click and drag out

Your column will be resized automatically. Note, though, there is a limited width to the page, so you can not size columns larger than they can print.

More frequently, you’ll want an exact column width. In this case, we’ll do this with the number columns. To do this:

Select the columns you want to set the width for by clicking and dragging over them

Click on Table

Click on Format

Select the column radio button

Check the check box for fixed width (lower right hand corner)

Select in the lower left hand corner the button for column width

Select .600 in the box

Your columns will be the exact same size now. They will not be aligned completely correctly though. If you want a simple right or left justification:

Select the cells (the numbered cells) you want to justify within the table

Click on the justification icon 8 over from the left

Choose Right justification

This will align your cells automatically to the right.

More frequently with decimal numbers you’ll want a decimal align, that is for the numbers to line up along the decimal point.

Select the text you want decimal aligned

Click on the justification icon

Choose decimal align

You can do any formatting within a table that you can do with normal text. We’ll bold, italicize and underline some of our fine text.

Double click on the word Monday. This will select it.

Click on the icon on the tool bar for bold (a large bolded capital B)

Double click on the word Tuesday. This will select it.

Click on the italics icon (an italicized capital I)

Double click on the word Wednesday

Click on the icon for underline (an underlines capital u)

You can also change font pitch and point, but with a precisely formatted table, occasional strange things happen with this. You may find that it’s easiest to select your font size and type before you begin your formatting.

Changing the line format is remarkably easy within a table. You can change a format for the entire table or a single cell.

To change a single cells line formatting

Click in the cell that has the word Monday in it.

Click on Table

Click on Lines/Fill

Click on the icon for left line style

Click on the drop down box

Pick triple thick as your choice

Click OK

If you ever do something you regret, remember the UNDO command is always at your behest. Click the undo icon on the toolbar (looks like a U-turn sign) to get rid of this formatting

To shade (fill) a group of cells:

Select the entire column that has the days of the week in it

Click on Table

Click on Lines/Fill

In the lower right hand corner click on the icon for fill option

Click on the second one in the samples (should be 10%)

While in here you can change your line formatting for this entire selected area.

Click on the icon for the outside line

choose the double line

Click OK

If you want to make these line changes for the entire table, when in the line format dialog box, simply choose table instead of current cell or selection.

Using graphics and charts from other applications

One of the true wonders of Windows is the ability to use graphics from different applications without knowing the format of the file. For folks familiar with the Macintosh, it works pretty much the same way. You can copy a graphic image from any application to the clipboard and then paste it into another Windows applications. This is particularly useful if you’ve done something like a chart in Harvard and want to paste it into your WordPerfect document. To do this:

Open Harvard Presentation graphics (You don’t need to go out of WP, simply alt-tab back to the program manager)

Open the presentation on the c: drive called test

Click on the chart in the first slide (you should get handles around it)

Choose Edit

Choose copy

Hit Alt-Tab, till you find WordPerfect

Click somewhere OUTSIDE of your table

Click on Edit

Click on Paste

Your chart will appear as a graphic in WordPerfect. This means you can click on it and get handles. You can size using the handles or you can move the graphic just as you would any WordPerfect graphic. You can also size very precisely. To do this:

Click on the graphic

Click on graphic in the menu bar (tools, graphic, table)

Click on Edit box

A different menu bar will come up at the top of the screen

Click on Size

Choose 5.01 for width

Choose 3.34 for height

Click OK

The menu bar that appears also allows you to set borders, captions etc. If it annoys you being up after you’ve used it, you can click on close and it will disappear.