I have used WordPerfect for over a decade to create booklets, etc. of 20-40 pages. For a variety of reasons I want to move away from using the program (WP files are unstable from one computer to another, become somewhat scrambled when converted to PDF files, upgrades are expensive, etc.).
I have a great number of WordPerfect files in various stages of completion. I know that Atlantis can't read them, but AbiWord can open them and convert them to RTFs that Atlantis can read.
However, I've encountered three problems with the converted files that I'm not sure how to fix:
The style and font size of the endnote numbers changed. Do I have to reformat each number manually, or is there a way to change them all at once?
The page numbers were supposed to start at page 6, but never show up. In WordPerfect there is a delay code that you insert that lets you start the page numbers where you want to. If I read the online manual correctly, I'm supposed to start a new section where I want the page numbers to start, but when I tried to do so I ended up inserting a blank page in the middle of the document and never got any page numbers. What am I doing wrong?
In the Table of Contents page, there were a series of dots between the heading and the page number (I believe WordPerfect called them dot leaders). Should I just put in periods manually, or is there a similar command in Atlantis?
And, I guess the most important question is whether I am crazy to try to convert the WordPerfect files? Are there hidden pitfalls that I should be aware of?
Thank you for your help!
Trying to leave WordPerfect for Atlantis
Re: Trying to leave WordPerfect for Atlantis
Hi Sarah,
From what I read in the MS Word newsgroups, the conversion of WordPerfect files to Word documents within Word is not always picture perfect. Minor discrepancies are always possible. After all, these software were not really meant to work together.
But there should not be so many pitfalls to the conversion, provided the conversion tool is OK.
This said, AbiWord might not be the best tool to convert files.
If there aren’t any privacy concerns, you could go to either of the following 2 Web sites, and try converting at least one of your documents. Who knows, you might get better results than in AbiWord. They host free online file conversion services:
http://www.zamzar.com
http://media-convert.com/convert
Now about fixing problems in Atlantis:
A. “style and font size of the endnote numbers”
1. Right-click any of the endnote numbers.
2. Click “Endnote > Note Options…”
3. Use the “Footnote & Endnote” dialog to adjust the various endnote properties.
B. “start a new section where I want the page numbers to start”
1. First, insert any appropriate section break (continuous, next page, etc).
2. Press F6 to display the Control Board if it isn’t already displaying.
3. Click the third button on the Control Board top toolbar to display the “Sections” panel.
4. In the “Sections” panel, select the section where you want the numbering to start.
5. Click the “+” sign to the left of the “Page Numbering” caption.
6. Click to follow the “Change…” link.
7. In the “Page Numbering Format” dialog, click the “Start at” radio button. Specify any appropriate number.
8. OK out of the dialog.
C. “series of dots between the heading and the page number in the TOC”
1. Right-click the Table of Contents.
2. Click “Table Of Contents > Modify Properties”.
3. In the “Table Of Contents” dialog, choose the appropriate “Tab leader” type.
4. OK out of the dialog.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Robert
From what I read in the MS Word newsgroups, the conversion of WordPerfect files to Word documents within Word is not always picture perfect. Minor discrepancies are always possible. After all, these software were not really meant to work together.
But there should not be so many pitfalls to the conversion, provided the conversion tool is OK.
This said, AbiWord might not be the best tool to convert files.
If there aren’t any privacy concerns, you could go to either of the following 2 Web sites, and try converting at least one of your documents. Who knows, you might get better results than in AbiWord. They host free online file conversion services:
http://www.zamzar.com
http://media-convert.com/convert
Now about fixing problems in Atlantis:
A. “style and font size of the endnote numbers”
1. Right-click any of the endnote numbers.
2. Click “Endnote > Note Options…”
3. Use the “Footnote & Endnote” dialog to adjust the various endnote properties.
B. “start a new section where I want the page numbers to start”
1. First, insert any appropriate section break (continuous, next page, etc).
2. Press F6 to display the Control Board if it isn’t already displaying.
3. Click the third button on the Control Board top toolbar to display the “Sections” panel.
4. In the “Sections” panel, select the section where you want the numbering to start.
5. Click the “+” sign to the left of the “Page Numbering” caption.
6. Click to follow the “Change…” link.
7. In the “Page Numbering Format” dialog, click the “Start at” radio button. Specify any appropriate number.
8. OK out of the dialog.
C. “series of dots between the heading and the page number in the TOC”
1. Right-click the Table of Contents.
2. Click “Table Of Contents > Modify Properties”.
3. In the “Table Of Contents” dialog, choose the appropriate “Tab leader” type.
4. OK out of the dialog.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Robert
Mixed results
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply!
Your suggestion for fixing the endnote numbers worked beautifully in the text! However, the numbers in the endnote section in the back still vary in style. Do I need to change them individually?
I still haven't figured out how to section properly. If I do a next page, even page, or odd page break, I end up with one or more blank pages stuck in the document. If I do a continuous break, it seems to say I can't add page numbers -- no matter what I tell it, they don't appear. What am I doing wrong?
As to the Table of Contents page, the document does not seem to recognize the page as a table of contents page but treats it as a normal page (which doesn't bother me -- I'm used to setting up the Table of Contents by hand anyway). Is it possible to use the dot leaders on a normal page?
Your suggestion for fixing the endnote numbers worked beautifully in the text! However, the numbers in the endnote section in the back still vary in style. Do I need to change them individually?
I still haven't figured out how to section properly. If I do a next page, even page, or odd page break, I end up with one or more blank pages stuck in the document. If I do a continuous break, it seems to say I can't add page numbers -- no matter what I tell it, they don't appear. What am I doing wrong?
As to the Table of Contents page, the document does not seem to recognize the page as a table of contents page but treats it as a normal page (which doesn't bother me -- I'm used to setting up the Table of Contents by hand anyway). Is it possible to use the dot leaders on a normal page?
Re: Trying to leave WordPerfect for Atlantis
Hi Sarah,
You could try the following regarding endnotes:
1. Display the Control Board Styles panel.
2. Click to select the “Endnote Text” style in the panel.
3. On the Styles panel bottom toolbar, press the rightmost button. This will select all endnotes (or art least all endnotes formatted with that style).
4. In the document window, right-click the selection of endnotes. Choose “Endnotes > Note Options…”
5. In the “Note Options” dialog, adjust all relevant properties, including where to “Apply changes to”.
6. Press the “Apply” button to validate your settings.
If this doesn't work, try this:
1. Display the Control Board Styles panel.
2. Click to select the “Endnote Text” style in the panel.
3. On the Styles panel bottom toolbar, press the second button from the left (“Modify Style”).
4. Use the “Edit Style” dialog to adjust all relevant properties to your liking.
5. OK out of the dialog.
About page numbering in sections. It is difficult to tell without seeing the actual document(s). But you could try this:
1. Insert a section break.
2. Display the Control Board “Sections” panel.
4. In the “Sections” panel, select the section where you want the numbering to start (it will be the section following the break).
5. Click the “+” sign to the left of the “Page Numbering” caption.
6. Click to follow the “Change…” link.
7. In the “Page Numbering Format” dialog, click the “Start at” radio button. Specify any appropriate number.
8. OK out of the dialog.
This should work. Note that the page numbers are normally displayed either in the headers or the footers. You might not see them simply because they are grayed out when the headers or footers are not displayed. To display headers and footers, click “View | Header And Footer”.
Failing this, you could send one of your problem documents to support@AtlantisWordProcessor.com and explain where you want the page numbering to restart.
Now Atlantis could not possibly identify your Tables of Contents as such if they were created manually. You could try adding dot leaders manually in the following way (I am assuming that your TOC lines were formatted with tab characters between the headings and the page numbers):
1. Select the TOC lines with page numbers.
2. Click “Format | Tabs…”
3. Select a leader type.
4. OK out of the dialog.
You should now have leader characters between the headings and the page numbers.
Failing this, it might be more practical to (re)build the whole TOC from scratch:
1. Click where you want the TOC to be created.
2. Click “Insert | Table of Contents…”
3. In the “Table of Contents” dialog, set all properties to taste, including of course the Tab Leader type.
4. OK out of the dialog.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Robert
You could try the following regarding endnotes:
1. Display the Control Board Styles panel.
2. Click to select the “Endnote Text” style in the panel.
3. On the Styles panel bottom toolbar, press the rightmost button. This will select all endnotes (or art least all endnotes formatted with that style).
4. In the document window, right-click the selection of endnotes. Choose “Endnotes > Note Options…”
5. In the “Note Options” dialog, adjust all relevant properties, including where to “Apply changes to”.
6. Press the “Apply” button to validate your settings.
If this doesn't work, try this:
1. Display the Control Board Styles panel.
2. Click to select the “Endnote Text” style in the panel.
3. On the Styles panel bottom toolbar, press the second button from the left (“Modify Style”).
4. Use the “Edit Style” dialog to adjust all relevant properties to your liking.
5. OK out of the dialog.
About page numbering in sections. It is difficult to tell without seeing the actual document(s). But you could try this:
1. Insert a section break.
2. Display the Control Board “Sections” panel.
4. In the “Sections” panel, select the section where you want the numbering to start (it will be the section following the break).
5. Click the “+” sign to the left of the “Page Numbering” caption.
6. Click to follow the “Change…” link.
7. In the “Page Numbering Format” dialog, click the “Start at” radio button. Specify any appropriate number.
8. OK out of the dialog.
This should work. Note that the page numbers are normally displayed either in the headers or the footers. You might not see them simply because they are grayed out when the headers or footers are not displayed. To display headers and footers, click “View | Header And Footer”.
Failing this, you could send one of your problem documents to support@AtlantisWordProcessor.com and explain where you want the page numbering to restart.
Now Atlantis could not possibly identify your Tables of Contents as such if they were created manually. You could try adding dot leaders manually in the following way (I am assuming that your TOC lines were formatted with tab characters between the headings and the page numbers):
1. Select the TOC lines with page numbers.
2. Click “Format | Tabs…”
3. Select a leader type.
4. OK out of the dialog.
You should now have leader characters between the headings and the page numbers.
Failing this, it might be more practical to (re)build the whole TOC from scratch:
1. Click where you want the TOC to be created.
2. Click “Insert | Table of Contents…”
3. In the “Table of Contents” dialog, set all properties to taste, including of course the Tab Leader type.
4. OK out of the dialog.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Robert
Converting WordPerfect documents into Microsoft Word documen
Hi Sarah,
On converting WordPerfect documents into Microsoft Word documents, here is from http://www.wordautomation.com/CleanConv ... rsion.html:
"Convert Text & Graphics from WordPerfect into Microsoft Word
CleanConvert WordPerfect Converter is designed to be used on a single WordPerfect document that you open in Microsoft Word. Use CleanConvert on as many WordPerfect documents as you wish, but you must use it on one document at a time.
CleanConvert will remove confusing symbols, codes and section breaks from a WordPerfect document:
Only text, footnotes & graphics will remain in a new, clean Microsoft Word document
No corrupted documents resulting from improperly converted WordPerfect documents.
Headers, footers, page numbers in your Microsoft Word document are not adversely affected.
CleanConvert creates a new and reliable Microsoft Word document, with no unnecessary section breaks. This prevents inadvertent “recycling” of WordPerfect documents that have not been properly converted.
DOWNLOAD FREE TRIAL VERSION OF CLEANCONVERT"
So it seems that page numbering is often "adversely affected" when WordPerfect documents are converted into Microsoft Word documents. The above software claims to avoid this kind of pitfalls.
You'll find other WordPerfect to Microsoft Word converters on these pages:
http://wordperfect-converter.qarchive.org/
http://www.processtext.com/abcwordperfect.html
http://bidgoodsvcs.com/wpdc/index.php?o ... e&Itemid=1
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Robert
On converting WordPerfect documents into Microsoft Word documents, here is from http://www.wordautomation.com/CleanConv ... rsion.html:
"Convert Text & Graphics from WordPerfect into Microsoft Word
CleanConvert WordPerfect Converter is designed to be used on a single WordPerfect document that you open in Microsoft Word. Use CleanConvert on as many WordPerfect documents as you wish, but you must use it on one document at a time.
CleanConvert will remove confusing symbols, codes and section breaks from a WordPerfect document:
Only text, footnotes & graphics will remain in a new, clean Microsoft Word document
No corrupted documents resulting from improperly converted WordPerfect documents.
Headers, footers, page numbers in your Microsoft Word document are not adversely affected.
CleanConvert creates a new and reliable Microsoft Word document, with no unnecessary section breaks. This prevents inadvertent “recycling” of WordPerfect documents that have not been properly converted.
DOWNLOAD FREE TRIAL VERSION OF CLEANCONVERT"
So it seems that page numbering is often "adversely affected" when WordPerfect documents are converted into Microsoft Word documents. The above software claims to avoid this kind of pitfalls.
You'll find other WordPerfect to Microsoft Word converters on these pages:
http://wordperfect-converter.qarchive.org/
http://www.processtext.com/abcwordperfect.html
http://bidgoodsvcs.com/wpdc/index.php?o ... e&Itemid=1
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Robert
Some progress
I finally got the page numbering to work! (Yeah!)
I have not been able to get the endnote number style to change yet in the endnote section in the back, but am changing them individually.
Is it possible to take off the line at the top of the pages in the endnote section? I cannot see where the document decides to add this, so haven't been able to figure out where it is coming from. (One thing I did like about WordPerfect was that you could turn on a window at the bottom of the document that showed what codes, etc. were inserted -- and you could delete what was fouling up the document. Of course, you could get in a lot of trouble and make a mess doing so, but sometimes it was the only way to get rid of problems!)
I am looking into your suggestions for ways to convert the old WP documents.
I have not been able to get the endnote number style to change yet in the endnote section in the back, but am changing them individually.
Is it possible to take off the line at the top of the pages in the endnote section? I cannot see where the document decides to add this, so haven't been able to figure out where it is coming from. (One thing I did like about WordPerfect was that you could turn on a window at the bottom of the document that showed what codes, etc. were inserted -- and you could delete what was fouling up the document. Of course, you could get in a lot of trouble and make a mess doing so, but sometimes it was the only way to get rid of problems!)
I am looking into your suggestions for ways to convert the old WP documents.
Could you please send a screen capture showing this unwanted line?
Please click here for information on making screen captures and attaching them to your forum posts.
Please click here for information on making screen captures and attaching them to your forum posts.
Thank you so much for adding my request to the wish list!
Two more questions:
Is it possible to start a new section AFTER the endnotes?
An organization I work with has their address list in Address Book 6.0, which was published years and years ago by a company that is long deceased (I believe their specialty was Bible software). Address Book 6.0 is used primarily to produce address labels, but also to keep track of who owes dues. The file type that the old program produces seems to be AB2, although the files can perhaps be converted to a MMF or a TXT.
I noticed that Atlantis has an address book -- is there any chance that Atlantis could make any sense out of the antique files?
Two more questions:
Is it possible to start a new section AFTER the endnotes?
An organization I work with has their address list in Address Book 6.0, which was published years and years ago by a company that is long deceased (I believe their specialty was Bible software). Address Book 6.0 is used primarily to produce address labels, but also to keep track of who owes dues. The file type that the old program produces seems to be AB2, although the files can perhaps be converted to a MMF or a TXT.
I noticed that Atlantis has an address book -- is there any chance that Atlantis could make any sense out of the antique files?
Hi Sarah,
Endnotes are by definition endnotes. You cannot add new sections after them. This is a standard "feature".
If your address books can be converted to text files, Atlantis will be able to use them provided they have the following format:
title name
address
separating line
title name
address
separating line
title name
address
separating line
etc.
Please have a look at this page:
http://atlantiswordprocessor.com/en/hel ... _books.htm
Cheers,
Robert
Endnotes are by definition endnotes. You cannot add new sections after them. This is a standard "feature".
If your address books can be converted to text files, Atlantis will be able to use them provided they have the following format:
title name
address
separating line
title name
address
separating line
title name
address
separating line
etc.
Please have a look at this page:
http://atlantiswordprocessor.com/en/hel ... _books.htm
Cheers,
Robert
You can start a new section after endnotes if you instruct Atlantis to display endnotes at the "end of section" not at the "end of document". Just choose the "Insert | Footnote..." menu command, and choose "Location > Endnotes > End of section". Click "Apply". Then click immediately after the last printable character of Section #1 (ie immediately before the last paragraph end mark of Section #1), and insert the desired section break through the "Insert | Break | Section Break" menu.Sarah wrote:Is it possible to start a new section AFTER the endnotes?
Putting the endnotes at the end of the section and then starting a new section worked. Now, I have three sections: the first one does not have page numbers, the second section does, and the third section I also do not want to have page numbers -- but it does have page numbers.
The third section starts at page 1 (at first it was continuing the page count from section 2, but I played with it until it starts at 1 now). If I try to delete the footer in order to take the page numbers out of the last section, it takes out the page numbers in the previous section as well. If I try to delete the number out of the footer, it also takes the page numbers out of section 2. Sigh . . . . what do I try next?
Thanks so much for all your patience!
The third section starts at page 1 (at first it was continuing the page count from section 2, but I played with it until it starts at 1 now). If I try to delete the footer in order to take the page numbers out of the last section, it takes out the page numbers in the previous section as well. If I try to delete the number out of the footer, it also takes the page numbers out of section 2. Sigh . . . . what do I try next?
Thanks so much for all your patience!
By default, all the document sections share the same set of headers and footers. But you can create "own header" or "own footer" for any section. Just click in the header of Section #3, then uncheck the "Same as previous" 
button of the "Header and footer" toolbar. In this way Section #2 and Section #3 each will have its own header.
button of the "Header and footer" toolbar. In this way Section #2 and Section #3 each will have its own header.
Last edited by admin on Sun Aug 03, 2008 1:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
When I try to get tabs with dot leaders, I still can't get the dot leaders to appear. I select the paragraph, go to tab set up, select option 2 (which appears to be periods), and . . . nothing. I've tried typing the periods in by hand, but since I haven't figured out how to get full justification, I end up with uneven lines.
I know I'm missing something simple here, but I have gone back and re-read the help section on tabs and still can't figure it out.
I am also still having trouble with the numbering -- if I try to alter the page numbering in the third section it takes out the second sections page numbers as well. Every time I click on "create own odd page footer for section 3" the cursor is moved back to section 2's footers and anything I do affects everything. As far as I can tell, though, I have already told it not to use the same header and footer as section 2, because when I try to tell it again not to use it, the program asks me whether I want to remove section 3's header and footer and use the previous sections instead.
Arrgh! I know I have a steep learning curve, but I'm just frustrated at this moment.
I did talk to the print shop that we use and they said that they can take out the lines on the endnote pages. Perhaps the simplest thing would be to ask them to take out the page numbers in section 3 as well?
I know I'm missing something simple here, but I have gone back and re-read the help section on tabs and still can't figure it out.
I am also still having trouble with the numbering -- if I try to alter the page numbering in the third section it takes out the second sections page numbers as well. Every time I click on "create own odd page footer for section 3" the cursor is moved back to section 2's footers and anything I do affects everything. As far as I can tell, though, I have already told it not to use the same header and footer as section 2, because when I try to tell it again not to use it, the program asks me whether I want to remove section 3's header and footer and use the previous sections instead.
Arrgh! I know I have a steep learning curve, but I'm just frustrated at this moment.
I did talk to the print shop that we use and they said that they can take out the lines on the endnote pages. Perhaps the simplest thing would be to ask them to take out the page numbers in section 3 as well?
You could not achieve the desired formatting in your document without understanding how tab characters work. If you are not familiar with tab characters of Atlantis (and MS Word too), please click the following link:
http://www.atlantiswordprocessor.com/en ... l/tabs.htm
Please click the following link to download a simple document with right-aligned tab characters with dot leader:
http://www.AtlantisWordProcessor.com/en ... leader.rtf
Atlantis could not switch to Section #2 when you create "own header or footer" for Section #3. Please double-click the footer of Section #3 in your document, then uncheck the "Same as previous" toolbar button.
If you still cannot unlink the headers/footers of Section #3 from Section #2, please send your document to support@AtlantisWordProcessor.com. We would send you the modified version of your document.
http://www.atlantiswordprocessor.com/en ... l/tabs.htm
Please click the following link to download a simple document with right-aligned tab characters with dot leader:
http://www.AtlantisWordProcessor.com/en ... leader.rtf
Atlantis could not switch to Section #2 when you create "own header or footer" for Section #3. Please double-click the footer of Section #3 in your document, then uncheck the "Same as previous"
toolbar button.If you still cannot unlink the headers/footers of Section #3 from Section #2, please send your document to support@AtlantisWordProcessor.com. We would send you the modified version of your document.