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Tips and Tricks

 

Echoing Text and Numbers in Floating Cells
 Concatenating Text Strings
Convert a Table with Header Rows into a Merge Table
 Sorting dd/mm/yy Dates in a Table
Shading Alternate Rows
Converting Math Columns from Earlier Versions
 Speed up Data Entry with Locked Cells

Echoing Text and Numbers in Floating Cells

Thanks to Eric Souza for the answer to a question that was posted on a WordPerfect Universe bulletin board. The question was "can floating cells could be used to echo information throughout a report"? The information is entered once, then it is echoed throughout the document, so it's an ideal solution for loan documents, medical files, statements...any other type of document where the same information is inserted over and over again.

1. Create a floating cell, leave its numeric format as General, then give it a mnemonic name such as ORIGINAL.
2. Create a second floating cell, leave its numeric format as General, then give it a mnemonic name such as DUPLICATE.
3. Enter the formula +ORIGINAL into the second cell, then press Enter (or click on Calculate). A zero will appear in the second cell.
4. Change the numeric format of both cells to Text.
5. Delete the zero in the second floating cell. When asked whether the formula should be replaced, answer "No".
6. Enter the information in the ORIGINAL floating cell.
7. Click on Calculate to update the DUPLICATE floating cell.

Concatenating Text Strings

Concatenation is a convenient way to combine text from multiple cells. For example,  say you have a list of first names in column A and a list of last names in column B, and you need to combine them in column C for a report you're generating. Use a simple  concatenation formula to combine the two in a text formula instead of keying both sets of names twice. Simply put, you need to take the contents of cell A1, insert a space,  and then append the contents of cell B1. Here's the formula to use in cell C1: 

+A1&" "&B1

The ampersand (&) is the concatenation operator that allows you to use text in formulas. In this formula, quotation marks surround the space we need to separate the two names, but you can also use text characters as well. For example, the formula:   +"Dear "&A1 prefixes a salutation to the name in cell A1. This tip was distributed by Tipworld (email: tips@tipworld.com).

 Convert a Table with Header Rows into a Merge Data Table

Article 201039 on Corel's Knowledge Base explains how to convert a table that's been  set up with header rows into a merge data file.

Sorting dd/mm/yy Dates in a Table

Article 201750 on Corel's KB explains how to sort the dates by serial date values.

Shading Alternate Rows

Long tables are easier to read if you apply a light shading to alternate rows. Click inside the table, then click Table on the Property Bar and choose Borders/Fill from the resulting menu. Click the Table tab and, under Alternating Fill, set your shading options  by choosing a Type (rows or columns), a pattern fill, a background color, and the number of rows the shading should span. From TipWorld. Sign up for daily WP tips!

 Converting Math Columns from Earlier Versions

In early versions of WordPerfect, you could set up subtotals, totals and grand totals in columns (not tables). These elementary math formulas don't convert into recent releases (WPWin 7/8/9/10/11). The conversion leaves the formulas intact, but there isn't a command to calculate them. As a workaround, you can convert the math columns into  a table, then use the table math features. Select the math columns, then choose Insert, Table, check Tabular Columns, OK. Now, select the Formula Toolbar by right-clicking inside the table and choose it from the pop-up menu. Enter the correct formulas into the cells.

Speed Up Data Entry with Locked Cells

Pressing Tab to move from cell to cell is fast, but if you're working with a table that has  a lot of columns, you may find yourself hitting Tab multiple times to move past cells that don't ever change. Locking these cells serves two purposes. One, you (or anyone else) can't accidentally modify the data. Two, when you move around with the Tab or Shift+Tab keys, you skip over locked cells.

 To lock cells in a table, select the cell (or cells alongside each other), then click the Table button on the property bar. Choose Format, click the Cell tab, then choose Lock Cell to Prevent Changes.