Inserting symbols (WordPerfect, all recent versions)

It’s easy to insert symbols with WordPerfect, although setting up keyboard shortcuts is slightly more involved than in Word. Here’s the scoop:

Using Symbols

Clicking the Insert menu, Symbol (or pressing Ctrl W) opens the Symbols dialog. Note first that you can select from several different symbol sets by using the drop-down at the upper left-hand corner of the dialog. It’s worth experimenting with the various symbol sets if you have some time.

When you are ready to insert a symbol, highlight the one you want to use and either click Insert and Close or press Enter.

Alternatively, you can use the numeric keypad to insert commonly used symbols such as the section sign (§) or the paragraph symbol (¶). To insert a section sign, press the Num Lock button to turn Number Lock on, then depress the Alt key. With the Alt key depressed, press the number 2 on the numeric keypad, then the number 1, then release the Alt key. To insert a paragraph symbol, make sure Number Lock is on, then depress the Alt key and press the number 2 on the numeric keypad, then the number 0 (zero), then release the Alt key.

Assigning a Keyboard Shortcut

To assign a keyboard shortcut to a symbol such as the section sign or paragraph symbol, click the Tools menu, Settings, Customize, click the Keyboards tab, and, with your keyboard selected, click the Edit button. Next, click the Keystrokes tab on the right-hand side of the dialog.

Then, either (1) use the method described above to insert a section sign or paragraph symbol or (2) press Ctrl W to open the Symbols dialog, locate the symbol you want, and click the Insert and Close button. The symbol should appear in the Keystrokes tab. Scroll down on the left-hand side to find a key combination you like – such as Alt S for the section sign or Alt P for the paragraph symbol – and click to highlight that combination, then click the Assign Keystrokes to Key button and OK out of the dialog.

Quickly Inserting the Copyright Symbol

Press Ctrl W (to open the Symbols dialog), then type the letter C immediately followed by the letter O and press Enter.

Most Recently Used (MRU) Symbols

WP also provides a Most Recently Used (MRU) symbols button, which appears on the formatting toolbar.

When you click the button, a drop-down appears with the 16 symbols you have used most recently. To see more symbols, click the More button, which will open the Symbols dialog.

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