Before converting to Word 2003, I'd like to know if I should save my WP files
as .rtf format or as version 6.0 (as I've read in some help screens) or
should Word convert automatically. These files may have tables, and a fair
amount of text and paragraph formatting applied. Do I really need the ABC
Amber WordPerfect converter mentioned in the March 27th discussion?
Thanks in advance!

[WordBanter AI]

Hi there! Converting WordPerfect 12 files to Word 2003 is definitely doable, and I'm happy to help you out with this.

To answer your first question, it's generally recommended to save your WordPerfect files as .rtf format before converting to Word 2003. This is because .rtf is a universal file format that can be read by both WordPerfect and Word, and it preserves most of the formatting in your original document. However, if you prefer to save your files as version 6.0, that should work as well.

As for your second question, Word should be able to convert your files automatically without the need for a third-party converter like ABC Amber WordPerfect. However, it's always a good idea to make a backup copy of your original files just in case something goes wrong during the conversion process.

Here's how to convert your WordPerfect files to Word 2003:

1. Open Word 2003 and click on "File" in the top left corner of the screen.
2. Select "Open" from the dropdown menu.
3. In the "Open" dialog box, navigate to the folder where your WordPerfect files are saved.
4. Change the "Files of type" dropdown menu to "WordPerfect (*.wpd)".
5. Select the file you want to convert and click "Open".
6. Word will automatically convert the file to a Word document and open it for you to edit.

If your WordPerfect file contains tables, they should be preserved during the conversion process. However, it's always a good idea to double-check your document after conversion to make sure everything looks the way you want it to.

Save them as WP 6.0, WP 5.1, .rtf and text. See if within WP, there is a
save as Word file option as well. Use these to recreate the documents in
Word. Which version will work best for you depends on what you have going on
in each document.

Don't create new documents based on conversions, you'll spend all your time
figuring out and fixing inane formatting inserted by the conversion program.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.


"Curious" wrote in message
...
Before converting to Word 2003, I'd like to know if I should save my WP
files
as .rtf format or as version 6.0 (as I've read in some help screens) or
should Word convert automatically. These files may have tables, and a
fair
amount of text and paragraph formatting applied. Do I really need the ABC
Amber WordPerfect converter mentioned in the March 27th discussion?
Thanks in advance!

Thanks Charles. I'm unsure of which suggestion you are recommending the
most. I think you're suggesting to first see if the files can be saved as a
Word file within WP. Am I right? I'd hate to have multiple versions of one
file (.rtf, .txt...) if I can help it.

"Charles Kenyon" wrote:

Save them as WP 6.0, WP 5.1, .rtf and text. See if within WP, there is a
save as Word file option as well. Use these to recreate the documents in
Word. Which version will work best for you depends on what you have going on
in each document.

Don't create new documents based on conversions, you'll spend all your time
figuring out and fixing inane formatting inserted by the conversion program.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.


"Curious" wrote in message
...
Before converting to Word 2003, I'd like to know if I should save my WP
files
as .rtf format or as version 6.0 (as I've read in some help screens) or
should Word convert automatically. These files may have tables, and a
fair
amount of text and paragraph formatting applied. Do I really need the ABC
Amber WordPerfect converter mentioned in the March 27th discussion?
Thanks in advance!

It depends on what it is you are trying to do.

If you want to create Word templates so that you can create new documents
based on them I would print out the WP document in WP and then save it as a
text file. You use the printed version to figure out layout, you use the
text version so you don't have to retype everything.

If you want permanent electronic records of documents you've sent, put them
in pdf format.

The thing is that the conversion process makes things that look good but
that are a real mess to edit.
Different processes will mess up different things to a different degree, but
none of them produce clean results.

Here is some general info on moving from Word Perfect to Word:

Word and Word Perfect work very differently from one another. Each program's
methods have strengths and weaknesses; but, if you try to use one of these
programs as if it were the other, it is like pushing on a string! You can
easily make a lot of extra work for yourself. In the (short) long term
(weeks rather than years) spending the time to learn Word will save you time
if you are spending any time at all (more than an hour a day) using Word.

See http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordperfect.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Genera...ordPerfect.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Genera...AndGotchas.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/RevealCodes.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Genera...Converters.htm
http://businesssoft.about.com/comput.../blconvert.htm
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/conc...ion/index.html
for information on Word for Word Perfect users.

For mo
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Custom...platePart2.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Custom...platePart1.htm
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Number...gExplained.htm
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Custom...latesStore.htm


Function Keys

In Word 2000 (or later) You can get the function keys to display in a
special toolbar at the bottom of the screen if you want (something like
pressing F3 twice in WP). The following macro will do this.
Sub ShowMeFunctionKeys()
Commandbars("Function Key Display").Visible = True
End Sub

Word's Extend key (F8) gives something similar to block processing.


Formatting and Styles

Learn about Styles - really learn!
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm I resisted for years and now
regret every day of those years because although that string was still very
hard to push, it kept getting longer and longer, and had some very important
projects tied to it! Once you understand styles and the Word concept of
organizing things into Chinese boxes everything falls into place and instead
of pushing a string, you can push a button that turns on the very powerful
text processing machine known as Microsoft Word and it will start doing your
work for you instead of running around behind you trying to undo what you
just thought you did.


Converting documents Word / Word Perfect

Some special characters in Word Perfect documents don't convert well to
Word. There is a macro to assist with this described at
http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/wpdos/...html#macroword and can be found
at http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/wpdos/WPSymbolConv.bas.
This was prepared by Edward Mendelson.
Otherwise, look at the macro from http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=212396
Use these on _copies_!

As for converting documents from Word Perfect to _use_ in Word... In a word,
don't plan on it. I would not recommend using converted documents long-term.
They will be filled with formatting anomolies that will get you at the worst
time. This is especially true of any documents containing automatic
numbering or bullets. Try recreating form documents in Word using the
following process:
In Word Perfect (if you still have it, in Word if not) save your files as
text files.
Use your converted files as references to show you how you want your
formatting to look.
Create a new document in Word and insert the text from the text file. Save
this new document as a Word template. Format it the way you want using
styles, not direct formatting. Save it again.
To use a template within Word, use File = New and pick your template. This
will create a new document for you.

Merge documents have special problems and should be recreated from text
files or retyped in Word. To convert data files, consider generating labels
in WP as a document, converting that to Word, and then using
http://www.gmayor.com/convert_labels...mail_merge.htm to get a new Word
data file.

Note that conversions usually do create documents that look passable and
print OK; the problems I'm referring to have to do with editing / making
changes, that is, using the documents long-term. (See below on reusing
documents vs. using templates.)

Conversion back to Word Perfect: There is a problem (in addition to the ones
mentioned for conversion _to_ Word) with Version 2002 (XP) and later of
Word. The conversion file only works for conversion _to_ Word, not from Word
to Word Perfect! Earlier versions went both ways. To fix this, you need to
find the old conversion file WPFT532.CNV from a Word 97 or Word 2000
installation and copy it to your new installation, replacing the file of the
same name. Note, the change making the file one-way was done as a security
measure. While I don't know of any problems the old file causes, keep the
new installation's file somewhere as a backup just in case.


Boilerplate and Forms

In WP a lot of people use macros to hold chunks of text - boilerplate. In
Word this function is filled by Templates, AutoText and AutoCorrect, not
macros. Follow the links at
http://addbalance.com/word/wordwebre...s.htm#AutoText for more
information on these tools.

You can use FILLIN and ASK fields or UserForms to query the user. For more
about online forms, follow the links at
http://addbalance.com/word/wordwebresources.htm#Forms or
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customizat...nTheBlanks.htm especially Dian
Chapman's series of articles. You may also want to look at
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFl...nesInForms.htm.


Reusing Documents vs. Using templates

General practice in WP is to have a document and copy and edit it to create
a new document. This is not good practice in Word. In Word, construct a
good, tight, template for your documents and use that template when
constructing new documents. Among other things, this can avoid embarrassing
"metadata" (http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/metadata.htm) and things
like surprise headers and footers from creeping into new documents.

It's a lot of reading, I know. It's OK to chunk it down and do a bit each
day, but I would recommend that you make it a top priority to do that bit
each day. In the (short) long run, it will save you both time and grief.
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.


"Curious" wrote in message
...
Thanks Charles. I'm unsure of which suggestion you are recommending the
most. I think you're suggesting to first see if the files can be saved
as a
Word file within WP. Am I right? I'd hate to have multiple versions of
one
file (.rtf, .txt...) if I can help it.

"Charles Kenyon" wrote:

Save them as WP 6.0, WP 5.1, .rtf and text. See if within WP, there is a
save as Word file option as well. Use these to recreate the documents in
Word. Which version will work best for you depends on what you have going
on
in each document.

Don't create new documents based on conversions, you'll spend all your
time
figuring out and fixing inane formatting inserted by the conversion
program.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.


"Curious" wrote in message
...
Before converting to Word 2003, I'd like to know if I should save my WP
files
as .rtf format or as version 6.0 (as I've read in some help screens) or
should Word convert automatically. These files may have tables, and a
fair
amount of text and paragraph formatting applied. Do I really need the
ABC
Amber WordPerfect converter mentioned in the March 27th discussion?
Thanks in advance!