To set up WordPerfect for Foreign Characters


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In the menu bar at the top of the main WordPerfect screen, click Tools. From the drop-down menu, select Settings. In the box that appears, double-click Customize, then click on the Keyboards tab to bring up the Keyboard Preferences dialog.

The next step depends on whether you are creating a new keyboard definition or editing one you have already made (for example, to add a character or change a key combination).

Now you should see a box with the title "Keyboard Shortcuts -- " and the name of the keyboard definition you are editing or creating. On the left is a panel on the left with the heading "Choose a shortcut key," and a window from which to select a key or key combination. On the right is a panel with tabs at the top. To set up, click the Keystrokes tab in the right panel. When you do this, a blank box with the title "Type the text to be inserted..." will appear above the text window in this panel. This is the edit box. Now you are ready to enter key definitions. For each definition, you select a key combination from the left panel and pair it with a character which you place in the edit box. Here's how you do it:

  1. Select the key combination: In the left panel, scroll through the list until you find the key or key combination you wish to use to enter a character. For example, you might want to use "E+Alt" to enter the character é. Highlight this combination by clicking on it. (You will notice that some key combinations are predefined shortcuts to WordPerfect commands. It is OK to replace these shortcuts with your key definitions. Of course, the shortcut then becomes unavailable. For example, WordPerfect defines I+Ctrl as a shortcut for italics. If you were to replace this shortcut with the character î, then you would have to use a different method, such as the property bar button, to italicize text. If you don't use a particular shortcut, feel free to replace it.)
  2. Select the character: Next, position the cursor in the edit box in the right panel and click. A text insertion point marker (vertical bar) appears. Erase anything already written in the box. Then press Ctrl-W. The "Word Perfect Characters" dialog appears. Click Character Set in the top left part of the window and select a character set from the drop-down menu. Most of the characters you will need are in the Multinational set. A few, such as punctuation marks, are in the Typographic set. Scroll through the main window until you find the character you want and click on it (a box appears around the character). Click Insert and Close at the bottom of this window. Your selection should appear in the edit box.
  3. Associate them: Click Assign keystrokes to key below the edit box. The character should appear next to the key combination you have selected in the left panel. If you make a mistake, highlight the key combination and click Remove assignment.
  4. Repeat this procedure for the other character definitions you want to use. When you are finished setting up characters, click OK to save your work and exit the Keyboard Editor. If you want to use the keyboard you have just defined, click Select in the Keyboard Preferences box, then close the Preferences menu.

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Send comments, critiques, additions to Author cbuck@nadn.navy.mil.

EDITED BY: Chris Buck
URL: http://www.usna.navy.mil/LangStudy/wp_keyboards.html
REV: 12 Feb 99