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Automatically insert the current date as
unchanging text in a letterhead or other template
Note:
If you are editing an existing document that has lots
of date codes that cause those dates to change each time
you open the document, and want to replace all of them with the
current date (as text strings, not codes), see the DATEREPL macro in the Library.
It was designed to be played from a toolbar button or keystroke
combination whenever you need to replace changeable dates with
static dates in an existing document. |
A user on one of the Corel newsgroups asked:
"I'm trying to create a letter macro
that automatically inserts the current date. Since I work in
a law office the date on the letter needs to remain constant
- it must be printed as text not a date code that changes from
day to day. Anyone have any ideas around this?"
One method:
This requires a little different procedure
from what would be required to insert the date as a code.
(See the alternative method below, which uses
replaceable date codes.) Nonetheless, it is simple and straightforward,
and should be easy for even a novice user.
Since you need the current date (which, by
the way, is taken from your system's clock, so you want to be
sure the clock is set properly!) you can use a simple macro embedded
in the template itself to automatically insert it as unchanging
("static") text in every new document you open based
on that template.
Since these dates will be inserted as text
characters -- just as you would manually type them in --
this is done just once by the macro, when you load a new document
from the template with File> New from Project (or File>
New in WP8 and earlier).
Here's how to do it:
- Open your letter or other template (i.e.,
either edit it or create a new one using the Options button in
the File>New from Project dialog window).
- The first -- and very easy -- step is to
record a template macro. Click on Tools>Template Macro>Record.
A dialog will pop up at this point. Enter a name for your new
macro (e.g., "Insert date as text") in the top field,
and click the Record button. (Note that a Macro Toolbar is now
displayed on screen. You'll use this later to stop the macro
recording.) At this point, your keystrokes and menu selections
are now being recorded.
- Place the cursor where the date should go,
if it is not already there.
- Tip:
You can hit the <Enter> key, <Spacebar>, etc., or
use the Format>Typesetting>Advance feature to specify an
exact location. (Remember, your actions are being recorded, so
it might be a good idea to list these extra customization steps
and settings in advance so that you'll produce a "cleaner"
template macro.)
- Using the main WP menu, click Insert>Date/Time.
Select the date format you need -- but be sure that "Keep
inserted date current" is NOT checked -- then click Insert.
The date (as text) should now be displayed on screen at the cursor
location. Repeat to insert other dates, such as inside a header
or a footer.
- Tip:
At this point you might want to use the <Enter> key to
move down a few lines below the date to where the recipient's
address will eventually be typed.
- Click the leftmost button -- the one with
a small black square on it -- on the Macro Toolbar to stop the
macro recording. Now, before you save your work you need to do
several things.
- 1. You need to remove the new text
date, hard returns [HRt], and any [Adv] codes you just entered
from the main screen (use the Reveal Codes window to help locate
them; or use Edit>Undo to remove these items from the template).
Reason: You want to save your newly edited template without
this new stuff, and have the macro do the work of inserting the
text date, hard returns, etc., later, whenever you open a new
document based on this template. If you don't remove the items
you just entered in the template, you'll get two dates, etc.,
in new documents. So, remove just those things from the letter
template document that were entered during the macro recording
process above. (Note that this does not remove the macro you
just recorded, only the results of your actions during the creation
of the macro. The macro code will be saved in the template file
itself, which is what you want to do.)
- 2. You need to "associate" this
template macro with something called the "Post New trigger,"
so that it will play as soon as you open a new document (hence,
Post New) based on the template. Here's how:
- While the template is being edited, click
the Associate button on the template toolbar. In the dialog that
pops up, click the Triggers radio button. Then select (click)
"Post New" in the left pane, and choose the new template
macro's name from the Macros drop list. Click OK to close the
Associate dialog.
- Important: If you see something called "<dofiller>"
already associated with the Post New trigger, stop
now and read Footnote 1. Otherwise, continue.
- 3. If this was a pre-existing template, it
might have been set up with one or more dates inserted as codes
so that they always display (and print) the current date. You
probably will want to remove these [Date] codes unless you really
want them to always show the current date when you open the document
in the future. Open Reveal Codes and examine the template; remove
any unwanted [Date] codes with the <Delete> key or by dragging
the codes from the Reveal Codes window. (Be sure to check for
such codes in any header or footer by simply clicking your mouse
inside these structures.)
- Finally, save your modified template with
File>Save, and exit from the template with File>Close,
or click the rightmost button on the template bar.
- Test your changes. Open a new document based
on this template; the date (as text, not as a [Date] code) should
be automatically entered. If you added hard returns or an Advance
code, the cursor should move down a few lines, waiting for the
recipient's name and address to be typed.
An alternative method:
- The advantage this method has over the method
above is that it might make the template modification process
easier for you, especially in a complex template. It uses an
existing macro that will automatically change any existing date
codes to text dates when you open a new document based on that
template. This saves you the minor effort of recording a new
template macro, removing changes to the template, etc., as described
above. It also makes it slightly easier to insert dates where
you need them, since you do this in advance by inserting date
codes. A disadvantage is that it doesn't easily let you add extra
elements (hard returns, etc.) to the template, since it uses
an existing macro (DATEREPL)
from this site, not your own macro.
- Create the new template (or edit the old
one) and use [Date] codes wherever you need them. (This is the
way many WP Projects work when they need to display a date.)
That is, when you insert dates in the body text, headers, etc.,
with Insert>Date/Time, be sure to check the box "Keep
the inserted date current," which inserts the date as a
code rather than as a string of characters. To save typing time
in creating the new template, you could insert an entire existing
document into the new template with File>Insert.
- Then use the DATEREPL
macro as a template macro, associated with the Post New trigger.
This way, you can have code dates in body text, headers, footers,
etc., and the macro will find all of them all and replace them
with today's date as text. Here's how:
- Copy DATEREPL into the new template (first
be sure DATEREPL.WCM is in your default macro directory). From
the template toolbar click Copy/Remove Object. In the next window,
under "Object type:" select "Macros on disk."
Click the button on the "Source:" field to select the
macro from the directory. Then click the Copy>> button,
then click Close. The macro is now embedded in the template as
a template macro.
- Next, click Associate from the template property
bar, then click the "Triggers" radio button.
- In the "Item to Associate" list,
select "Post New." (By associating the macro with the
Post new trigger, the macro will automatically play immediately
whenever a new dcoument is opened based on that template.)
- Important: If you see something called "<dofiller>"
already associated with the Post New trigger, stop
now and read Footnote 1. Otherwise, continue.
- In the "Macros" drop list, select
the macro (Daterepl), then click OK.
- Save the template. If it is a new template,
give the template a description and a filename in the Save Template
dialog (see the Help button for more information), and select
a Category for the new template (such as Custom WP Templates).
Note that the only part of DATEREPL
that is important for the operation of this template macro is
shown below. You could edit out all other lines in that macro
before copying it into the template:
PosDocVeryTop
MatchSelection
OnNotFound (END@)
While(1)
// Enter [Date] in
the SearchString command with
//
the Codes button on the macro toolbar:
SearchString ("[Date]")
SearchNext (Extended!)
DateText
EndWhile
Label(END@)
Tip:
For a more complete treatment on letterheads
and other automated documents, see LETTERHD
in the Library, which contains sample templates. |
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Footnote 1
The <dofiller> is the oddly named built-in
function (a macro, really) that pops up the Template Information
dialog when you open a document based on a template that uses
this function (not all templates use it). If you see a dialog
with fill-in fields (also called "prompts") when you
open such a document, it's because the template uses <dofiller>
to display the dialog and insert the material in each field in
various locations in the document.
Unfortunately, only one macro can be associated
with any given template trigger.
You should not blindly replace <dofiller> with your own
macro or any other macro, or you most likely will change the
function of the template in a way you do not expect or do not
want.
You can work around this problem, but you
should learn about the triggering function and how to code a
macro to incorporate both the function of <dofiller> and
the function of date-code replacement, such as described on this
page and coded in the DATEREPL
macro. Typically, this simply means adding a single command (TemplateFill)
to the beginning of the macro that does some custom work -- such
as the replacement of date codes -- and then associating that
macro with the Post New trigger. This comes under the topic of
"Automating WordPerfect Templates," which is comprehensively
described here.
[Although the linked document (a PDF file) is lengthy, it can
pay great dividends in productivity -- not to mention reduced
frustration -- in the future, especially if you are tasked with
automating WordPerfect.] |
Barry MacDonnell's