A Simple WordPerfect Tip
Whenever WordPerfect displays a list of files, you can press the asterisk key (*) to "mark" the highlighted file. Move the highlight with the arrow keys. Once files are marked, a command like "move" or "delete" will apply to all the marked files.
The same technique works in WordPerfect Office. You can mark several e-mail messages and delete them all at once.
WordPerfect Graphics Tip
WordPerfect 5.1 can include a graphic in a document in two different ways. The document can include a copy of the graphic, or the document can just contain the name of the graphic file on the disk.
Graphic in Document
If you want to send someone a document with pictures or charts, the graphics should be in the document, so you only need to send one file.
Here are the keystrokes (for WordPerfect 5.1) to read a graphic into a document:
ALT-F9 (Graphics)
1 (Figure)
1 (Create)
1 (Filename)
Enter the name of the file which contains the graphic image. You can use a full pathname. WordPerfect will immediately read the file into the document.
Graphic on Disk
If you read graphics into a document, the document will be larger -- possibly much larger for a big, high-resolution image. Suppose you write letters which contain your letterhead and signature as graphics. Most of the disk space used by your documents will be occupied by the copies of these images in every single document.
It would be better to have just one copy of each image on the disk. WordPerfect can do this easily. The documents will contain the filename of each graphic. Since WordPerfect does not store the disk drive or path, you must place the files in the Graphics directory (specified on the Location of Files screen).
For example, if your letterhead image is stored in file
C:\WP51\GRAPHICS\LHEAD.WPG
then the document contains the name of the file, LHEAD.WPG, but not the rest, C:\WP51\GRAPHICS\.
To create a graphic which refers to an image on disk:
ALT-F9 (Graphics)
1 (Figure)
1 (Create)
2 (Contents)
2 (Graphic on Disk)
1 (Filename)
Here again you enter the filename, but WordPerfect will not read the file. Do not enter a full pathname, because the file must be in the WordPerfect graphics directory. If it isn't, you won't see the graphic when you view or print the document.
Where Is The Graphic?
You can easily tell if a graphic image is stored in the document or on disk:
ALT-F9 (Graphics)
1 (Figure)
2 (Edit)
Enter the number of the figure you wish to check. Look at the Contents item. If it says Graphic, then the document contains the image. If it says Graphic on Disk, then the document only contains the name of the image file.
Restoring Files From A Backup
In the last issue we discussed data backup. Although you need a backup in case of a disaster, like complete failure of the hard disk, that is a rare event. Backups are most often used to restore accidentally modified or deleted files.
You should test your ability to restore a file from a backup. Here is a simple way to do that. Create a file which is a copy of some other file, such as a word processing document or a spreadsheet. If you create the file today, your backup system should have a copy of it tomorrow. So tomorrow you should delete the file and try to restore it.
The procedure for restoring a file will depend upon the software which made the backup. This is a good opportunity to learn how to use that software!
After you restore the file, you can compare it to the original file (since it was a copy of another file). For a DOS system, use the COMP command:
COMP original restored
where "original" and "restored" should be replaced by the actual filenames. For UNIX systems, use "cmp". Both COMP and cmp compare every byte of the two files and report any differences.
Is Your MS-DOS Legal?
Almost every owner of an IBM-compatible PC uses Microsoft's MS-DOS. There are alternatives -- Novell's DR DOS and IBM's PC-DOS, for example -- but most PCs come with MS-DOS.
Not every owner, however, has a legal copy of MS-DOS. We have seen many situations in which stores which sell "clones" (unbranded PC-compatibles) put MS-DOS on the hard disk, do not charge for it, do not provide written documentation, and do not provide the original DOS diskettes.
Often you can get the diskettes and documentation simply by asking for them, since the seller knows they should be included in the sale.
Even on a network, every PC should have a legitimate copy of MS-DOS (or equivalent). It doesn't matter if the PC has a hard disk or boots from a floppy, you still need DOS. When DOS starts up, it loads the network software.
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