Tiplet: Insert file (Word 2007 and Word 2010)

It’s easy to insert a file — such as a Proof of Service — into an open document in Word 2007 and Word 2010.

First, place your cursor at the point where you want to insert the second file.  Next, click the Insert tab and navigate to the Text group, almost all the way at the right side of the Ribbon. Click to open the drop-down labeled “Object,” and then click “Text from File…”

When the Insert File dialog opens, browse to the file you wish to insert, click to select / highlight it, then click the “Insert” button.  That’s all there is to it!

Creating a Different Footer in the New Portion of the Document

Keep in mind that if you want the footer in the Proof of Service (or whatever file you insert into the existing document) to be different from the preceding footer, you’ll need to put a section break in first, insert the file, then go into the Footer editing screen and unlink the new section from the previous section.  Once you’ve performed those steps, you can create a different footer in the inserted portion.

The steps to follow in that situation are:

First, place the cursor at the point where you want to insert the file.

Click the Page Layout tab, Breaks, Section Break Next Page.  Make a note (mental or otherwise) of which section your cursor is in.

Next, click the Insert tab, Object, Text from File…, browse to the file you want, click to select / highlight it, then click the “Insert” button.

Go into the Footer editing screen (one easy way is to  right-click in the area at the bottom of the page and then click “Edit Footer”).  Look at the lower left side of the screen to see which footer the cursor is in and, if necessary, move to the correct section by clicking the “Next” button (labeled “Next Section” in Word 2007) in the Header & Footer Toolbar.  Then click the “Link to Previous” button to turn it off, thereby unlinking the new section from the prior one.

Once you have unlinked the sections, you can create a different footer in the new section.

Display of non-printing characters in Word is “sticky”

One of the attorneys at the law firm where I’m currently providing floor support for an Office 2010 rollout asked me last week why the paragraph symbols (pilcrows) and other non-printing characters were appearing even when he pressed Ctrl N or otherwise started a new blank document. My first thought was to check the configuration options (in Word 2010, click the File tab, Options,[1] then click the Display category on the left side of the Options screen and look to see if anything is checked under “Always show these formatting marks on the screen“), but the only item that was enabled by default was “Hidden text.”  Hidden text includes, among other things, Table of Authorities codes — i.e., the codes that you insert when you mark a citation for inclusion in a Table of Authorities.  However, it does not include the paragraph symbol.

In other words, the display of the non-printing characters (except for Hidden text) was disabled by default.  (He had enabled the display manually in the document he was working on at the time.)  So why were the paragraph symbols showing up in the lawyer’s brand-new documents?

I did some experimentation and discovered that the display state for the non-printing characters is “sticky,” based on the setting in the current / active document.  That is, if you have chosen to show the non-printing characters in the current document (by clicking the paragraph symbol (¶) in the Paragraph group on the Home tab or by pressing Ctrl Shift * [asterisk]), they will appear, as well, in any new document you launch during the same work session.  By the same token, if you hide the non-printing characters in the current document (by clicking the paragraph symbol or pressing Ctrl Shift * a second time), they will not appear in a new document you launch afterwards.

Of course, that assumes that the Word Options are configured not to show any of the non-printing characters.  If one or more of the characters is enabled (checked) in the Options, that setting will override any change you attempt to make manually (i.e., by clicking the paragraph symbol or using the Ctrl Shift * [asterisk] key combination to toggle the display of the non-printing characters on or off).

So the general rule is:  (1) the non-printing characters always will display if they are enabled in the Options — even if you attempt to turn them off manually; but (2) even if they are disabled in the Options, they will appear in a new blank document if you have turned on the display manually in the current (active) document.  And the display state in the current / active document — on or off — “sticks” (persists) when you start a new document during the work session.

Note that if you open multiple documents and alternate between showing and hiding the non-printing characters, the setting for the last-opened doc is the one that will stick.  In other words, the display state in the last-opened document will persist in both new blank documents and existing documents that you open later in the session.

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[1]  In Word 2007, click the Office Button, Word Options, Display… to change the default settings for displaying the non-printing characters.

WPU is back!

The WordPerfect Universe user-to-user help site is online once again after an extended period during which the forum software was upgraded.  This long-overdue change has produced several benefits, including increased security against attempted spam and hack attacks. Although we are still in the process of designing the look of the site, the functionality is essentially back to normal — and perhaps even somewhat improved.

Members, regular visitors, and other WordPerfect users who are looking for help — whether how-to or troubleshooting advice — are welcome.  The site is still using the same URL as before the upgrade, http://www.wpuniverse.com.

WordPerfect Universe site update

As many of you know, the WordPerfect Universe web site[1]  has been offline for a few weeks. We are in the process of moving to a new web-hosting company and upgrading the software for the forums.  It has taken longer than expected for a number of reasons (too tedious to go into here), but the past couple of days we’ve made rapid progress.

I’ll post a follow-up note when the site is up and running again.  With luck, that shouldn’t be much longer.

Many thanks to Martin V. and to our new web-hosting company, Amerinoc, for their tenacious behind-the-scenes efforts to restore the site.

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[1]  For those of you who are not familiar with WordPerfect Universe (which we sometimes refer to affectionately as “WPU”), it is a user-to-user help site consisting of several different forums.  Some years back, WordPerfect guru Gordon McComb ran the site.  I am the site’s current owner and primary administrator.