Saving WordPerfect® Files to Other File Formats
by Laura Acklen
www.wpwriter.com

It's no secret that Microsoft® Word users outnumber WordPerfect® users. Sadly, although WordPerfect is more flexible, easier to use, and a lot more powerful, Microsoft products continue to dominate the market. You probably have colleagues who use Microsoft Word and you might be worried that since you use WordPerfect, you can't share (or collaborate on) documents with them.

Good news - it's not a problem! WordPerfect has the most comprehensive set of conversion filters for Microsoft Word files. WordPerfect can open and save to more versions of the Microsoft Word file format than Microsoft Word.

But Microsoft file formats are only a part of the story. Many governmental bodies and court systems have started requiring that all documents be submitted in a certain format. PDF, HTML, XML, ASCII – you hear people talk about them, but what are they really?

ASCII is one of the oldest formats out there and has the advantage of being the most "plain vanilla" file format that you can save to. ASCII text files, as the name suggests, contain plain text with no formatting. Because the file format is so basic, virtually every application can open and read the file.

Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF) quickly became the industry standard for document exchange because recipients can view a copy of the document, exactly as it looked when it was created, but cannot make any changes to it. It remains the most secure method for sharing files.

Other formats are also becoming more common. WordPerfect has long been able to export a document in HTML format for posting on the Web. With each successive version, improvements are made to simplify and perfect the process of publishing information on the Web.

You've probably noticed the term XML (or Extensible Markup Language) appearing frequently in the media. You may be wondering if it is something that will make your job a little easier. The short answer is yes, it might. The long answer is that XML was implemented to allow information to be encoded in a meaningful way so that both computers and humans can understand it. XML tags label certain parts of your document so they can be pinpointed later. For the most part, the process of using XML documents would be mostly invisible to a typical user.

That said, it is a fantastic feature to have in an office productivity application because it allows you to create documents that can be manipulated without dependence on a certain application (i.e. WordPerfect or Microsoft Word). Once again, we are back to the sharing document theme.

Tip: WordPerfect® Office 12 can import and export 85 file formats more than Microsoft® Office 2003, which makes it the perfect solution for any company that has a large number of applications. Using the WordPerfect Office Conversion Utility, you can convert hundreds of Microsoft Word files to WordPerfect format at once.

Saving Files in Microsoft Word Format
One of WordPerfect's greatest strengths is that you can open, edit, and save files in Microsoft Office file formats all the way up to version 2003. This ensures that you can share your files with clients and customers that use other office productivity applications. In fact, in version 12, WordPerfect opens files in Microsoft Word format, all the way back to Word 1.0. That's more than Microsoft Word itself can do!

To save a file to the Microsoft Word format, choose File > Save As to display the Save As dialog box. Click the File Type drop-down list arrow to display a list of file formats (see Figure 1). Select the applicable Microsoft Word version, then choose Save.

The Save As dialog box is used when you need to save a document to another file format.

Saving Files in Other Formats
WordPerfect can export files to over 150 different file formats, including ASCII, Lotus® Ami Pro®, DisplayWrite, MultiMate, Rich Text Format, OfficeWriter, and WordStar. If you are interested, there is a complete list of export formats in a help topic. Choose Help > Help Topics, then click the Index tab. Type "export", then double-click "export file formats" in the list. In the help topic Import and export file formats for WordPerfect, click word-processor and text export formats. Another help window opens with a complete list of file word-processor and text export formats (see Figure 2).

WordPerfect provides a help topic with a complete list of word-processor and text export formats so you can choose the format that best suits your needs.

To save a file to another format, choose File > Save As to display the Save As dialog box. Click the File Type drop-down list arrow to display a list of file formats. Select the format you want, then choose Save. It's that simple.

WordPerfect automatically assigns the appropriate extension to the file name so make sure you leave that alone. The extension is important because it identifies the file as being in a certain format.

Publishing to PDF
WordPerfect Office takes interoperability with other programs and formats a step further with the ability to produce documents in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF captures formatting information from a variety of applications, making it possible to send formatted files and have them appear on the recipient's system exactly as they appear on the author's system. PDF is the widely accepted format for electronic file distribution via email and the Web.

WordPerfect has a built-in Publish to PDF feature so you can publish your documents to PDF format without purchasing Adobe® Acrobat ® Distiller®. Anyone who has Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®, which is widely distributed as a bundled application and available online as a free download, can view them.

In WordPerfect Office 12, the built-in PDF functionality includes Adobe® Acrobat® 6.0 compatibility, which supports symbols and improved page numbering. Furthermore, the default setting was changed from High to the Acrobat 6.0 standard dpi setting, which eliminates file bloat in PDF files. You can manually switch it back if you need to preserve the details.

To publish a document to PDF format, choose File > Publish To > PDF to display the Publish to PDF dialog box (see Figure 3). If necessary, click the General tab. Type the name for the PDF file in the File Name text box. Leave the .pdf filename extension alone. If necessary, verify the compatibility setting (this should be set to the version of Adobe Acrobat that the intended recipient has on their system). Choose OK.

The General tab of the Publish to PDF dialog box has options for naming the new PDF file and selecting a compatibility setting.

You'll see a status indicator that shows you the progress of the document. When this message box disappears, the process is complete. Note that you will still have the WordPerfect version of the document onscreen. To verify that publishing to PDF was successful, start Adobe Acrobat Reader, and open the PDF file.

Publishing to XML
The term "repurpose" is used often to describe the idea behind XML. Why? Because one can take data or content from one file, extract and rearrange the information into a specific pattern, and then separately describe how this content will be displayed in XML, HTML, PDF, RTF, or text formats. The term "repurpose" describes perfectly the ability to reuse information in a variety of different forms.

To publish a file in XML, choose File > Publish To > XML to display the Publish to XML dialog box (see Figure 4). Type a name for the file in the XML File Name text box. In the Graphic Output Options section, select either GIF or JPEG and customize those settings. Choose Publish. You might see a status indicator that shows you the progress. When this message box disappears, the process is complete. Or, it might go by so fast that you don't even see it.

The Publish to XML dialog box has options for naming the new XML file and selecting graphic output options.

Publishing to HTML
HTML and XML are both considered "open" file formats because they can be viewed and manipulated in a variety of different applications. You have more freedom to share information because you don't have to worry if the recipient uses the same office applications that you do. This is critically important in today's global workplace.

WordPerfect enables you to publish your documents as web pages, converting your formatting using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) so the document on the Web looks virtually identical to the document in WordPerfect. When you are ready to publish your document to HTML so you can put it on a Web server, save it to the WordPerfect Document file format first. That way, you can go back to the original if the HTML copy doesn't look the way you want it to.

To publish a document in HTML, choose File > Publish To > HTML to display the Publish to HTML dialog box (see Figure 5). Type the name of the web page in the HTML File Name text box. If necessary, customize the available options, then click Publish. WordPerfect converts your document into HTML code by using styles.

WordPerfect also converts your graphic images to the file format you selected (JPG or GIF). The converted graphic images are placed in a folder with the same name as the web page you just created. For example, if the HTML file name is phone list. htm, the graphics are stored in the phone list folder, a subfolder of the folder where the phone list.htm file is stored.

Use the Publish to HTML dialog box to name your web page and choose publishing options.

Using the Compatibility Toolbar
The Compatibility toolbar, a new feature in WordPerfect Office 12, allows you to save a file in Microsoft Word format with just one click. The toolbar also gives you the option of publishing your documents to PDF, HTML, and XML.

To display the Compatibility toolbar, point the mouse at the WordPerfect toolbar and right-click, or choose View > Toolbars. Choose Microsoft Word Compatibility. The new toolbar appears, either under the WordPerfect toolbar, or as a floating palette in the document window (see Figure 6).

The Compatibility toolbar makes it easy to save files to other formats.

Tip: If you frequently publish your documents to Microsoft Word, PDF, or HTML file format, turn on the Compatibility toolbar. It has buttons for publishing to PDF, the Web, and XML as well as and Microsoft Word, Microsoft® Excel and Microsoft® PowerPoint® file formats. Choose View > Toolbars, and then put a check mark next to Compatibility.