INSTRUCTIONS AND README FILE FOR UTILITY MACROS

Version 4.8


Contents (click to jump to section)


Description

            1. Envelope Addressing and Printing

            2. Importing and Exporting Address Information

            3. Using InfoCentral as an Address Book Replacement

            4. Using InfoCentral as a Merge Data File Source

            5. Make Multiple Connections All at Once in InfoCentral

Really, Really Quick Start Instructions

QuickStart Instructions

            1. Basic Set Up

            2. Menu and Toolbar Set Up

More Instructions

            1. Printing Self-Addressed Envelopes and Labels.

            2. Using Other Templates Automatically.

            3. Other Options

Frequently Asked Questions

Revision History

Simple Disclaimer (After All, I Am a Lawyer)

Contact Information


Description

 

1.         Envelope Addressing and Printing


            The macro ENVELOPE.WCM included in this archive replaces the internal Envelope function for WordPerfect. Instead of specifying the return address, you create your own envelope template which has a formatted return address in it. Unlike the internal feature, the return address on a template can vary fonts, add graphics, lines, or whatever you want. It also finds addresses better than WordPerfect's internal feature, can print addresses in ALL CAPS, can print multiple copies of an envelope, and has associated macros that allow one-click printing of envelopes or mailing labels.


            When the macro is run, it first checks to see if there is text selected. If so, it uses that for the recipient address. (This is especially useful when creating envelopes for “cc:” recipients.) If not, it searches for an address. It looks for the last block of text on the first page consisting of three to six lines in a row, all separated by hard returns, ending with two hard returns, an end of column, or an end of table cell. If the search finds a soft return (indicating it’s run into the body of the letter) or gets to the end of the first page it terminates, whether or not it has found an address yet. This keeps it from using the “cc:” address and from taking forever on long letters. The search function is more accurate than WordPerfect’s internal function because it can find addresses in tables or columns, can work with selected table cells, and does not need two hard returns after the address to locate it.


            Or you can even click on the “Address Book” button and insert an address from the Address

Book, just like in the internal envelope function.


            Version 3 of this macro adds the capabilities to import from and export to InfoCentral 7 and any WordPerfect Address Book. [NOTE: at the present time, this function (which works fine in WordPerfect 8) is broken in later versions of WordPerfect. I have programmed a workaround into the macro, but it is not the most elegant solution and I am hoping Corel will fix the bug in the macro language.] What this means is that you can save addresses from your letters to your address book automatically, like you could in WordPerfect for Windows 6.1. Unlike the 6.1 feature, though, any address you save is not just available to the envelope feature, but can be used system wide. And unlike any other process to import information into electronic format, it figures out where the information should go all by itself, no user intervention required. Try it out!


            After identifying the address, the macro pops up a dialog box which allows you to select the template you want to use. You can actually select more options than the internal feature (like any font attribute or even all capitals, if you want), but things like margins and positioning of the return and recipient addresses should be set in your template. If you change the template, you’ll notice that the whole path and filename appear in the edit box until you press “Save.” That is because the whole file name includes the whole path, and the dialog box is instructed only to show the name of the template to keep it simple.


TIP: If you put your letterhead in a header, text box, or text boxes, the macro’s

search function will skip it entirely and it will run faster.


            You can just Print the envelope, which prints then returns you to your document, Append to Document to attach to the letter, or Print and Append, which does both.

 

2.         Importing and Exporting Address Information


            If you click on the "More..." button in the Envelope main dialog, you can see the telephone numbers, e-mail address, and notes associated with that person. (Obviously, if the information was picked up from a letter instead of imported from an address book, these fields will initially be blank). But you can fill in this information if you like. This way, the macro can be used to grab an address from text, or move information between Address Books and/or InfoCentral 7. One way you might use this is where you have a text file full of standard formatted addresses. Block each address in turn, run the Envelope macro, and click to export to the Address Book or InfoCentral.

 

3.         Using InfoCentral as an Address Book Replacement


            The included “Address Book” macro (AddressBook.wcm) allows you to use InfoCentral like the WordPerfect Address Book. Assign it in place of the Tools/Address Book entry on your menu, or add a button for it to your toolbar, and it will pop up InfoCentral automatically and prompt to select an address. The address you select will be inserted automatically in your document, just like the Address Book does. Only with InfoCentral, you can select any of several addresses natively.

 

4.         Using InfoCentral as a Merge Data File source


            The included macros EXPOLIST.MXE and EXPOLIST.WCM are for InfoCentral 7. If you play the macro ExpoList from InfoCentral, it will first figure out how many different types of information are on your current tab, then display a dialog box allowing you to choose one. Once you choose a category, it will export the information, including field names, straight into WordPerfect as a Merge Data file. This can then be used to combine with your merge form files to produce finished documents. For example, I used to keep a separate WordPerfect merge data file with my holiday card addresses. I would have to update it manually every year. This year, I simply used Find By Example in InfoCentral to find everyone on my list, ran ExpoList, and had a merge data file all set to merge with address labels. I no longer need to keep a separate data file.

 

5.         Make Multiple Connections All at Once in InfoCentral


            Another included InfoCentral utility is MULTICON.MXE. If you play the macro MultiCon from InfoCentral, it will (like ExpoList) first figure out how many different types of information are on your current tab, then display a dialog box allowing you to choose one. The first object you choose will define the category of objects on the current list to connect. The second object you choose will define the object to connect all the objects in the category to. For instance, suppose you have decided to create a category called "Area" which has an object in it called "Texas". You have many entries for different companies, and want to be able to connect all the Texas companies to the object "Texas". First, get all the companies you want displayed on an InfoCentral tab. Second, display the object you want to connect them all to ("Texas"). Then run MultiCon. Click on the first "UNDEFINED" entry in the list, and double-click on one of the companies to select it. The entry will change to show that you will be connecting all the "Organization" category on that tab to the second object. Next, click on the second "UNDEFINED," then double-click on "Texas" to select it. The list box will change to show the connections which will be made. Click on "Continue," and you will be prompted to enter the name of the connection to use. If it is an existing connection, make sure to type the correct connection name in exactly. Type in the connection name, click on "OK," and wait while the connections are made.


Really, Really Quick Start Instructions


            Run the "Envelope" macro; it's not all that tough to figure out.


Quick Start Instructions

 

1.         Basic Set Up.


            Setup copies files to various directories. If it finds an existing file with the same name, that file should be renamed by adding a "BAK" extension. For example, if you already have a file called "Envelope.wcm" in your Macros directory, after Setup runs you should have "Envelope.wcm.bak" (that file) and "Envelope.wcm" (the new one). If you already had an "Envelope.wcm.bak" file in that directory, it was deleted and "Envelope.wcm" renamed to "Envelope.wcm.bak."


            After the Setup macro runs, you should have the following files in your Macros directory:

File

Description

AddressBook.wcm

Macro to use InfoCentral like the WP Address Book.

Envelope.wcm

WordPerfect Envelope macro.

EnvPrint.wcm

One-click envelope printing macro.

LabPrint.wcm

One-click mailing label printing macro.

Envelope.bmp

Bitmap file for an Envelope toolbar button.

EnvPrint.bmp

Bitmap file for an EnvPrint toolbar button.

LabPrint.bmp

Bitmap file for a LabPrint toolbar button.

Envelope.wpd

This file.


            If you have InfoCentral installed, the following files should appear in your InfoCentral Local directory:

File

Description

Import3.mxe

InfoCentral 7 information import macro.

Export3.mxe

InfoCentral 7 information export macro.

ExpoList.mxe

InfoCentral 7 macro to export the contents of a tab.

ExpoList.wcm

WordPerfect macro to import the contents of a tab.

Wpicmnw.mnw

New menu for InfoCentral, adding macro capabilities.


            (If you do not have InfoCentral, the above four files should be in your Macros directory, in case you might want to try it out in the future.) You should also have the following two files in your Templates directory:

File

Description

Letterhead Envelope.wpt

Envelope template with fictitious address as letterhead return address.

Letterhead Label.wpt

Single mailing label template with fictitious address as letterhead return address.


            These have been assigned as your initial two templates by default. All "Basic Set Up" requires is that you run the macro by using the menu item Tools/Macro/Run, selecting "Envelope.wcm," and follow the instructions. To modify the included templates for your own return address, click on the "Edit" button next to them in the main dialog and follow those instructions. If you already have your own letterhead envelope template, use that instead, or create a new one from scratch. The second template does not have to be a label; it can be a different envelope (e.g., one with your personal address, or just a different address). Be sure to click the "Save" button to save your settings. That's it; the macro should work fine for you from now on.


            If you ran the Setup macro (or it ran automatically), you should now have three little cassette tape icons on the right side of your toolbar. These represent the Envelope macro, the EnvPrint (one-click envelope printing) macro, and the LabPrint (one-click label printing) macro. You can click on these buttons for quicker access. The Setup macro is the only thing left behind in your Temporary directory; you might want to delete the file later.


            Now, if you want all the bells and whistles, read on...

 

2.         Menu and Toolbar Set Up


            (If you’ve already got the icons on your toolbar, skip the following paragraph.)


            If, like most people, you print envelopes frequently and want to do it more conveniently, you should add the macro to your menu and your toolbar. To add it to your menu, right-click on your WordPerfect menu and choose "Settings." From the "Customize Settings" dialog box that pops up, click on your current menu to select it and click on the Edit button. Click on the "Macros" tab and then the "Add Macro" button. Select the "Envelope.wcm" macro and answer "Yes" to "Save macro with full path?". Now, while you are in Edit mode, drag the entry "Envelope Macro" that has appeared on your menu over to the Format menu, and drop it near the old "Envelope" entry. Click on "OK," then "Close." Next, right-click on your toolbar and choose Edit. Use the same procedure to add the Envelope macro to your toolbar. Do the same thing to add the EnvPrint macro to your toolbar, and optionally for the LabPrint macro or the AddressBook macro.


            Once you’ve got the macros on your toolbar, you’ll probably want to customize the pictures on them, since they all look alike. To do this, right-click on your toolbar and choose Edit. Double-click on the toolbar icon for the Envelope macro for the Customize Button dialog box and click on the Edit button to edit the image. The three files ending in BMP in your Macros directory are graphics for these buttons. What you have to do is use the Paintbrush program that comes with Windows to open these graphics files to get them on the toolbar, like so: open up the Paint program, and use File Open to navigate to your Macros directory and open the “Envelope.bmp” graphic. Use these keystrokes: Ctrl+L (Select All), and Ctrl+C (Copy) to copy the image. Switch back to WordPerfect and use the Paste button to past the image onto your toolbar icon. Do the same thing to edit the EnvPrint button (use the EnvPrint.bmp graphic), the AddressBook macro icon (use the AddressBook.bmp graphic), and optionally the LabPrint macro icon (use the LabPrint.bmp graphic). Once you have the toolbar looking the way you want it, you can delete the graphic files from your Macros directory.


            From now on, all you have to do is click on the Envelope icon for envelopes or for information transfer, the EnvPrint icon for one-click printing, and the LabPrint icone for one-click label printing.


More Instructions

 

1.         Printing Self-Addressed Envelopes and Labels.


            You might notice that if you run the EnvPrint or LabPrint macros while you’re in a blank document, you wind up with my address instead of a blank one! As Microsoft would say, “that’s not a bug, that’s a feature.” Although I would love to have people all over the world sending me gobs of money for my work here, what this is really intended for is an easy and quick way for you to print self-addressed envelopes. To do this, you’ll have to edit these macros. Use Tools/Macro/Edit, and open up “EnvPrint.wcm” for editing. Note that Line 16 looks like this:


vName := “Michael A. Koenecke”


If your name were “John Doe,” you would change that line to:


vName := “John Doe”


So change the name and address to yours, close and save the macro. Do the same thing for the LabPrint macro. Now any time you want a self-addressed envelope, all you have to do is click on the EnvPrint button from a blank, unmodified document. For a self-addressed mailing label, use the LabPrint button in the same circumstances.

 

2.         Using Other Templates Automatically.


            You can also edit the EnvPrint or LabPrint macros to use entirely different templates than those which are saved by the Envelope macro. Just edit the macro and set the variable "vTemplate" to the complete path and filename for the template desired. Save that one with a different, unique name.

 

3.         Other Options.


            You can also change the variable vOption in the EnvPrint and LabPrint templates to something else: it can be "PrintClose" (simply prints an envelope), "PrintAppend" (prints an envelope and leaves it appended to the current document), or "Append" (appends an envelope without printing). If you like to save envelopes with letters and enjoy bypassing the Envelope dialog, change the EnvPrint and/or LabPrint macros accordingly.


Frequently Asked Questions, Some of Which I Ask Myself


How come you stopped charging money for this stuff?


Even though it still goes that “You would not believe how much time and work it took to figure this out...” there does not appear to be sufficient demand for people to pay for this. I had fewer than 10 registrants. So perhaps I’d best stick to practicing law for my bread and cheese.


Where do you get mailing labels to print letterhead on?


The Letterhead Label template fits blank mailing labels, one to a sheet, available from Blumberg–Excelsior Legal (http://www.blumberg.com)).


Why does the letterhead included look so crummy?


The letterhead would look better with the fonts I use, but I switched it to fonts everyone has for the samples. You can use any fancy fonts or graphics you want.


Why is there an option to print more than one copy of an envelope? I could just Append and print.


A couple of people asked about it, and it wasn’t hard to add. I don’t need that function myself.


Why doesn’t the macro save my settings automatically?


Because every time you wanted to use a different template or different settings just once, you would have to change the settings back to your default manually. I think it is more flexible this way.


Why can’t I change my margins and spacing in the dialog box?


Because those are things which are changed in the template itself. Use the Edit button to change the template.


Why isn’t there an option to print an envelope without a return address?


There actually is; just set up an envelope template with no return address, and use that. Or you can use the internal WordPerfect Envelope function.


Why doesn’t it automatically select the template I have chosen in the filename box?


Hah! It does now.


Why doesn’t any custom title or button text appear in the WordPerfect Address Book?


Beats me; that command only works in the WordPerfect 8 Address Book.


Revision History:


Version 2.0, August 3, 1999: Rewritten to allow any font attributes WordPerfect is capable of, and uses only the font dialog box to set the attributes. Makes for a cleaner dialog. And if it is called with a second argument (the first one tells it to skip the dialog), it uses the second argument for the address. That is, another macro could use ENVELOPE.WCM to print an envelope for a specified address automatically. EnvPrint and LabPrint macros added.


Version 2.01, August 10, 1999: Bitmaps for toolbar added.


Version 2.02, August 11, 1999: Error process streamlined and dialogs reordered; tells user if it cannot find the specified template.


Version 2.03, August 13, 1999: Dialog now shows only the name of the selected template, without the path. Code for testing whether template exists and resulting error message reworked.


Version 2.04, August 16, 1999: bug fix relating to the vTSelect array.


Version 2.1, August 19, 1999: Rewritten search function which can find addresses in tables or columns. Streamlined code somewhat. Returns to your cursor location after executing.


Version 2.11, August 23, 1999: Corrected error when place marker deleted in blank document.


Version 2.12, October 14, 1999: Fixed minor problem with initial directory selected in main dialog.


Version 2.13, October 15, 1999: Rewrote “does template exist” checks so that only one template needs to exist; added automatic selection if one template chosen.


Version 2.2, November 3, 1999: Added option for printing multiple copies. Added Setup macro to make the whole thing automatic.


Version 2.21, November 16, 1999: Streamlined variable initialization for better speed. Added check to restore “Unmodified” character of document where envelope not appended. Added sounds.


Version 3.00, January 1, 2000: Importing from InfoCentral 7, and Exporting to Address Book or InfoCentral 7 added. Import/Export macro utility and InfoCentral 7 information to merge data file utility added. Licensing check function added . Hyperlinks added to ReadMe file.


Version 3.01, January 5, 2000: ImpoExpo.wcm's capabilities folded in to Envelope macro, and ImpoExpo.wcm dropped. Some speed optimization added. ExpoList.mxe fixed to bypass non-data fields (group titles).


Version 3.02, January 6, 2000: Export3.mxe rewritten; user no longer has to manually "copy" address.


Version 3.03, January 7, 2000: Workaround added to allow exporting of information to WordPerfect 9 Address Book.


Version 3.04, January 10, 2000: Bug in routine when called from LabPrint or EnvPrint fixed.


Version 3.05, January 21, 2000: Code changed to call InfoCentral better.


Version 3.06, March 29, 2000: Address search function tweaked to work better.


Version 3.07, April 20, 2000: Template name definition routine improved; odd bugs in Edit Template exterminated.


Version 3.08, June 26, 2001. Sounds and registration removed.


Version 4. Sounds option restored, with option checkbox.


Version 4.8, April 4, 2014. The labels dialog box was crashing in Windows 7 64 bit; fixed.



Simple Disclaimer


            It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that the enclosed utilities are not warranted for merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. I do not know how they could do any damage to your files, but there is no way to test every possible configuration, and if something goes haywire, I will only be liable for the amount paid to me for these utilities. I will do my best to fix any problems which might arise, but I am not a professional programmer and might not be able to solve all of them. If this is not acceptable, do not pay me—if you want to use the utilities anyway, they are fully functional; you just have to click past a "nag" screen.



Contact Information:


Address & E-Mail:


Michael A. Koenecke

P.O. Box 830190

Richardson, Texas 75243-0190

mike@koenecke.us


Please e-mail me with any questions or comments. I will do my best to respond promptly.


The latest version of ENVELOPE.ZIP or ENVELOPE.EXE, plus other stuff of mine, can be found on http://koenecke.us/macros.