Adding Your Favorite Applications to the Toolbar

by Laura Acklen
www.wpwriter.com

No one works in a vacuum – we all use applications other than WordPerfect. Knowing this, Corel designed WordPerfect so it would "play" well with others. You'll be pleased to see how easy it is to create toolbar buttons and menu entries to launch other programs. If you can locate the program file on your system, you can create a button to start that program.

There is something really cool about clicking a button to do something – it's quick, it's easy, and if there is an interesting icon representing the action, it's also fun. WordPerfect Office X3 comes with it's own unique Yahoo! toolbar that gives you one-click access to valuable online resources. If you haven't explored this toolbar yet, you'll be amazed at how much functionality is packed into such a small space. The clever integration of a web search engine into WordPerfect offers significant benefits for those who rely on online resources.

After you've explored the Yahoo! toolbar, you might be wondering if you can add your own buttons to the WordPerfect toolbar. You can, and it's very simple to do. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to add a button to the WordPerfect toolbar that launches your favorite application. You'll also learn how to accomplish this with a menu item. Last, but not least, you'll learn how to assign your most frequently-used macros to a toolbar button.

Note: Anyone can make a program to automatically add toolbar icons, menu entries, and wizards to WordPerfect Office X3 during an install. All the documentation you need is in the software developers kit (SDK). If you are a vendor and you want to add your program's icons to WordPerfect, register as a Corel partner and download the software development kit here.

Using the Yahoo! Toolbar

The Yahoo! toolbar displays underneath the Property Bar so it's the closest to the document window (see Figure 1). If you don't see it, click the red Y! (Yahoo!) button on the far right of the application bar to turn it on.

The Yahoo! Toolbar has a search feature that lets you search the Web from within WordPerfect.

Moving from left to right, the buttons on the Yahoo! toolbar allow you to launch your web browser and perform the following tasks:

• WordPerfect button - opens the WordPerfect Office X3 Online Resources page (see Figure 2). From here, you can check out the video of the month, read tips and tutorials, find books and training materials, download free stuff, sign up for the WordPerfect Expert newsletter (and view archives), and check for product updates.

The WordPerfect Office X3 Online Resources page is constantly updated with new videos, learning tools and free stuff.

• Red Y! (Yahoo!) button - opens the Yahoo.com website, which you can personalize through My Yahoo!.
  
  
• Search box - type a search phrase and press Enter (or click the Search Web button) to access the Yahoo! search engine and return a web page of resulting links. Or, select text in a document, right-click the selection, then choose Search with Yahoo!.
  
  
• Search Web - opens the Yahoo! search page where you can type a search phrase.
  
  
• My Yahoo! button - opens your My Yahoo! page.
  
  
• Messenger button - opens the Yahoo! Messenger page, where you can Instant Message (IM) your friends and family.
  
  
• Reference button - opens the Yahoo! Education page (see Figure 3) where you can search a dictionary, encylopedia, thesaurus, world factbook, Spanish dictionary, and quotations. You can also access Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body and use a conversion calculator.

On the Yahoo Education page, you can search a dictionary, encylopedia, thesaurus, world factbook, Spanish dictionary, anatomy book, and quotations.

• Photos - opens the Yahoo! Photos page where you can organize, share, and print your digital photographs online.
  
  
• Briefcase button - opens the Yahoo! Briefcase page where you can upload your files to the Web.
  
  
• News button - opens the Yahoo! News page where you can read the top news headlines from all over the world. This page can be personalized so that you only see the topics you are interested in.
  
  
• WordPerfect MAIL button - opens the WordPerfect Mail application (if it is installed on your system).

Note: You can install a companion WordPerfect -Yahoo! toolbar for Internet Explorer so you'll have access to these same online resources from within IE.

Adding Your Favorite Programs to the Toolbar

Some applications integrate directly with WordPerfect, creating their own menu items and toolbar buttons. Other programs, like industry-specific dictionaries, are activated from within WordPerfect and are used as a part of the program. For the thousands of other applications that you might be using, it only takes a minute to create a button to launch the application from within WordPerfect.

Choose Tools > Settings > Customize. If necessary, click the Toolbars tab. A list of the available toolbars is shown in the Customize settings dialog box (see Figure 4). The currently displayed toolbar (WordPerfect) has a check mark next to it. This is the toolbar you will be customizing. Click Edit to open the Toolbar editor dialog box. As you can see, you can assign features, keystrokes, programs, and macros to a toolbar button.

You can edit the default WordPerfect toolbar, or any of the other toolbars, and add buttons to launch other applications.

Here is a good example: Adobe Reader is a very popular program and it comes bundled with lots of applications, so there is a good chance you already have it on your system. For this example, let's add a button for Adobe Reader to the toolbar. Click the Programs tab, then click Add Program to open the Open file dialog box. Browse to the \program files\adobe\acrobat eader folder and double-click the acrord32.exe file. The Adobe Acrobat Reader program icon appears on the right end of the toolbar and the Toolbar editor dialog box stays open so you can continue adding buttons if you like.

While the Toolbar editor dialog box is displayed, you can continue to customize the toolbar. At this point, you are in a toolbar editing "mode". Notice that the thin gray lines that separate buttons on a toolbar are now shown as white rectangular boxes. You are now free to rearrange buttons and delete the icons that you don't want. To move a button, drag it across the toolbar to a new position.

In addition, there is an icon editing function that you can use to edit or create icons that are used on toolbar buttons. To edit a button while in the toolbar editing mode, right click the button, then choose Customize. The Customize button dialog box appears. Notice that you can edit the text that displays on the button and in the Quick Tip. In the Image area, click the Edit button next to the icon graphic to open the Image editor dialog box where you can edit the icon image. If you want to display a list of help topics for the Image editor, click the Help button.

When you can manage to tear yourself away from customizing your toolbar, choose OK > OK > Close to return to the document window.

Note: The two pleading wizards that are built into WordPerfect can also be accessed from the Start menu: Start, Programs, WordPerfect Office X3, Utilities, Pleading Expert. These wizards provide a great example of what can be done with custom-designed wizards that can be launched outside of WordPerfect.

Creating a Menu Entry for Your Favorite Application

Certain applications, like Stamps.com, create their own entry on the WordPerfect menu. As you saw with toolbars, you can add your own menu entries to activate features, keystrokes, programs, and macros, so you are free to add an entry for any program file. You can then start the program by selecting a menu item in WordPerfect.

To add a menu entry for a favorite program, choose Tools > Settings > Customize. Click the Menus tab. The currently selected menu (WordPerfect) is highlighted in the list. Click Edit. Click the Programs tab, then click Add program. This opens the Open file dialog box where you can browse for the file that launches the program. Double-click the file to select the file and return to the Menu editor.

Now, move the pointer over the Menu button and wait for the pointer to change to a four-headed arrow (see Figure 5). Drag the rectangular box (representing the new menu item) up to the menu bar. If you want to place it directly on the menu bar, drop it into position. To add the new entry to an existing menu, hover over the menu name to open the menu, then drop the entry into position. That's it! Drag and drop – how much easier could it get?

In the Menu Editor, you click and drag a new entry button to position the menu entry on the menu bar, or in a drop-down menu.

Continue adding menu items if you like. Otherwise, choose OK > Close > Close to return to the document window. Your changes are saved when you exit the Menu editor, so if you change your mind and want to remove the entries, you'll need to retrace your steps. When the Menu editor is displayed, you can drag the entry off the menu bar (or from the drop-down menu) to remove it.

Tip: Corel has set up a web page for partners at www.wordperfect.com/partners. This page lists the companies who are working with Corel to integrate their products with WordPerfect Office applications. This page is always updated so check it often for up-to-date information.

Assigning a Macro to a Toolbar Button

Creating a button to launch frequently-used applications is very popular among users, but assigning a macro to a toolbar button is a close second. It's so simple – you can add a button to run a macro that you need for a particular project, then remove it when you are done.

Choose Tools > Settings > Customize. If necessary, click the Toolbars tab. Verify that the currently selected toolbar is the one you want to edit, then click Edit to open the Toolbar editor dialog box. Click the Macros tab, then click the Add macro button to open the Select macro dialog box where you can browse for the macro file. When you locate the file, double-click it. When prompted to save the macro with the full path name, choose No. A new macro button appears on the right side of the toolbar. All macros are represented with a generic cassette tape icon. When you hover over a macro icon, a QuickTip appears with a short definition of the macro.

With the Toolbar editor dialog box displayed, you can drag the macro icon to position it on the toolbar. Continue adding macro buttons to the toolbar if you like. Otherwise, choose OK > Close > Close to return to the document window.

Obviously, you can personalize WordPerfect in ways that you never dreamed possible, but did you know you can do the same thing in Quattro Pro and Presentations? You can and the steps are virtually identical. Have fun!