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Note
WordPerfect menu choices (below) refer
to the <WordPerfect> menu (right-click
on the top menu bar for a choice of menus). If you use a <Microsoft
Word> menu, the choices might be absent from your menu (but
not from the program), or they might be found under another menu
selection. See here for
more.
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Purpose and advantages
WordPerfect has a built-in menu selection,
Edit, Convert Case, to convert the current word or a selection
of text to lower case, UPPERCASE, or Initial Capitals.
However, the first choice (lower case) has
one limiation: It still leaves the first word of sentences capitalized
in a selection of text. This appears to be by design.
The Convert Case macro adds a fourth choice:
It can convert all letters in a word or selected block of text
to lower case, even those letters that begin sentences.
Moreover, all conversion choices can be accessed
in fewer keystrokes or mouse clicks than using the WordPerfect
menu.
When played, it will pop up a small push-button
menu [screen shot] to let
you convert the word under the cursor, or the word(s) that you
have selected, into -
- UPPER case [all CAPS]
- Initial Capitals for the Main Words
- Lower case [except words that begin sentences]
- Lower case [all letters in
the selected text]
[Note the new
function.]
Any existing formatting in the selected text
is not affected.
Make it easy to use
Since the macro's menu uses push buttons that
can also be selected with keyboard shortcut keys, the macro
and its choices can be used entirely from the keyboard (i.e.,
a "2-key" macro) by
assigning the macro to an available and easy-to-remember keyboard
combination (i.e., a "shortcut") such as <Alt+C>.
Then, for example, when you press <Alt+C>
and immediately follow it with the <U>, <I>, <L>,
or <A> key, the macro will dismiss the menu and perform
the chosen function on the current word or the selected text.
To assign the macro to a shortcut key combination,
see http://wptoolbox.com/tips/Assign.html.
You can, of course, use a mouse to make your
conversion choice by clicking the appropriate button on the macro's
menu. If you use a mouse, you may prefer to create a button on
a toolbar that brings up the macro; see http://wptoolbox.com/tips/CreateTB.html.
If you prefer using menus, it might even be
useful to replace the built-in WordPerfect Edit, Convert Case
menu selection with a new selection that plays the macro; see
http://wptoolbox.com/tips/NewMenu.html
for help with doing this.
Notes
- This macro leaves the converted text selected
so that you can make other changes to that text. Simply press the arrow key (or click elsewhere) and
you can move past the selected text and de-select it at the same
time. If you prefer to have the macro de-select the text automatically,
see the redlined instruction in the macro code.
- [Macros can be edited like any other WordPerfect
document; simply either click Save & Compile from the macro
toolbar that should be visible or just save the file with File,
Save.]
- The fourth menu choice, Lower case [all
letters in the selected text], might take a few seconds on
very large blocks of text. The screen will go blank while it
does the conversion.
- You should always review changes to be
sure they are what you expect. You
can usually undo changes with Edit, Undo or <Ctrl+Z>.
Tip - Initial Capitalization in Titles and Headines
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According to the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)
FAQ
site (Capitalization,Titles), the rules about titles or "headline-style
capitalization" are somewhat flexible. As they stated in
an old FAQ:
In regular title capitalization, also known
as headline style, the first and last words and all nouns, pronouns,
adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions (if,
because, as, that, etc.) are capitalized. Articles (a, an, the),
coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor [so, yet]),
and prepositions, regardless of length, are lowercased unless
they are the first or last word of the title or subtitle. . . .
They conclude that "considerations of
meaning and aesthetics can probably be
let in". In other words, the rules are sometimes broken,
depending on what seems appropriate at the moment. Still, rules
should be understood before you berak them.
How does this relate to WordPerfect? WordPerfect
stores exceptions to the rules for initial capitalization
(i.e., when you use Edit, Convert Case, Initial Capitals) in
a normal WP file, WTNNXX.ICR (where NN is your WordPerfect version
number and XX is your language version). Words in this file will
be not be capitalized when the Initial Capitals feature
is used.
The WTNNXX.ICR file can be edited as any other
WP file, to add or delete words (punctuation is ignored). However,
it does not contain a comprehensive list of prepositions (see
the CMS quote above). In any case, many such words can also be
nouns, adverbs, or adjectives. So, bear in mind that if you use
WP's Initial Capitals feature with titles or headlines, you may
want to inspect the conversion to ensure it meets standard rules
such as those embodied in the CMS, or that it meets aesthetic
needs [e.g., John Updike’s Rabbit is Rich (lower
case "i") makes more sense than Rabbit Is Rich
(upper case "I"), even though the rule says the word
"is" should be capitalized, and WP will dutifully capitalize
it].
On top of this, for some reason there is a
large difference in the exception lists for the US/CE language
versions of the .ICR file (which contain 70 words) and the UK/OZ
versions (13 words). For example, the letter "a" is
not in the UK/OZ exception files, and the conjunction "nor"
is missing in all four English language lists, which means it
will always be capitalized.
WordPerfect is a computer program, after all.
Don't expect it to take the place of your own judgment. |
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Barry MacDonnell's
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