Print this page

Incorporating Special Characters into Keyboard Macros when using Word Perfect

It is possible to assign a keyboard macros (shortcut) to special characters within Word Perfect. This will allow for the user to incorporate special characters such as letters with accents and other special characters with a combination of keystrokes, rather than inserting it from a symbols menu.

To assign a combination of keystrokes to a special character, please follow the instructions below.

• In WordPerfect, click on the Tools option from the menu bar.

• Click on the customize icon.
• Select the keyboards tab.

• The current keyboard layout will be shown below the box at the bottom of the screen.
• Click on Edit.

• The left column shows the keyboard shortcuts already assigned, and where the keys show no shortcut assignment, these are available to be used for new shortcuts.
• Select the key combination you wish to use for the shortcut.
• Click on the Keystrokes tab in the right column.
• In the empty text box, you must key in the ASCII or Extended ASCII key code for the character you are wishing to map. ASCII codes are a combination of the ALT button plus the character code. For instance, to obtain a ç hold down the ALT button while keying in 135, which is the Extended ASCII code for this character.
• Once you release the ALT key the character will appear in the box. If this is correct, click assign keystrokes to key.
• Add any additional characters to your keyboard but it is important to use a different key combination for each character.
• When finished, click ok to complete the task and return to word processing.
• Now each time you select the key combination from the keyboard, it will display the appropriate character.

For a complete listing of ASCII and Extended ASCII codes, please refer to the following website.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-ca/assistance/HA011331361033.aspx

Note: ASCII codes contain 128 characters consisting of the English alphabet plus common symbols used in English. ASCII Extended codes contains 128 non-English characters plus some other symbols. Be sure to look at both ASCII and Extended ASCII for the correct character.