Why is the wordperfect document being cut when printing

Macros, tips, and templates for Corel� WordPerfect� for Windows�
� Copyright 1996-2024 by Barry MacDonnell. All Rights Reserved.

How to find and fix common (and some not so common) problems


Includes -

• Why the program can fail to start, be slow to load, lock up (freeze or "hang"), or show odd behavior

• Why documents and templates can become damaged (and some typical symptoms)

• A "troubleshooting path" you can use to isolate the problem

• Various repair methods

• Links to information on repairing the WordPerfect program itself, fixing print (and printer) problems, etc.

• Preventing problems with documents and templates

Related pages on this site -

That said, once you've looked it over you can use it in much the same way as you would use a cross-referenced cookbook. And it might help to keep in mind something Roy "lemoto" Lewis [a Corel C_Tech and WordPerfect Universe Administrator] once said:

"An explanation in words makes any activity seem more complex than it is in practice. To test this, write out instructions for boiling a kettle or putting a letter into an envelope. Or riding a bicycle."

Some important points

• Even though it might not seem so at times, the majority of unfamiliar or non-obvious problems in WordPerfect tend to involve internal damage (i.e., file corruption) to the document (s) you are working on or trying to open — that is, assuming they are not simply due to a formatting problem (discussed below) which is even more common than document corruption.

• Other problems can sometimes involve the WordPerfect default template (or possibly a custom template) which "spawns" copies of itself so you can create new documents with some standard and (possibly) user-preferred formatting.

• Sometimes — although less common that document or template issues — a problem can be due to WordPerfect's software connection to your printer , or to your network , or because of a damaged WordPerfect program file or a corrupted Windows setting . These are discussed later in this article.

• Please note that reinstalling or repairing the WordPerfect program will not fix a corrupted user document or modified template since these are user files , not program files.

Read further for some fairly simple things you can do to try and fix them.

If you can start WordPerfect — i.e., you can at least get to the first blank document window — try the three restore/repair document methods in the " Primary methods and tools " section below on the document that is giving you problems.

Please be aware that without following a logical and systematic "troubleshooting path" these methods might only be a shot in the dark, so to speak. On the other hand they are quick and easy things to do, and if you have backed up the document no harm is done trying them first. Fear not, it will not require advanced computer skills to use them. Moreover, using any of the repair or workaround methods here should take only a few minutes for the majority of problems you might encounter. Don't automatically assume any of them are not relevant to your situation from their titles alone!

If the three steps do not work for you, or if you cannot even open WordPerfect, please read — or at least browse — the rest of this page for more troubleshooting methods and suggested solutions. Reason: Some issues might be caused by user formatting issues, a damaged template, a WordPerfect menu setting, a bad program file, or even an external factor involving your printer, a corrupt Windows profile, etc. [Many of the methods are based on how the program works "behind the scenes." Some are based on user reports and verification of them by power users in the real world over many years and versions of WordPerfect. ]

These sections are best reviewed in sequential order. The estimated time to read each section at a reasonable speed — excluding any time to study, try a method, or follow links — is shown in [green] .

I. Troubleshooting and repairing
WordPerfect documents and templates

• The program fails to start.

• The program starts but it is very slow to open one or more existing documents — such as the one you last worked on.

• You see an "Unknown Format" message when opening a document.

• The program locks up ("freezes") unexpectedly, such as when opening a document or when scrolling past a certain place in a document .

• You see strange problems, such as an older document that appears blank when it is opened (and you know it should not be empty).

• A document's formatting shows unexplained or even bizarre changes from what you expect.

• You notice other "odd" behavior — especially if it happens only in one document or in documents based on a particular template . [Note that all documents in WordPerfect are initially based on a template (which has a .wpt filename extension). For everyday work this is typically the default template, but it could be a custom template.]

When things like this happen it is normal to assume something has gone wrong with the WordPerfect program. This is possible, of course, and is discussed on a separate page (here). But it is more likely due to a damaged (corrupted) document or template file.

S o before you decide it's time to reinstall WordPerfect — usually the last thing to try — please read further, k eeping in mind the old saying:
Half the solution to a problem is describing it accurately.

The following sections should help you do that.

There are hidden elements in documents and templates.

WordPerfect documents and templates are not like pieces of paper that serve to hold only words or pictures on them, like pages in a magazine. In fact, they are digital structures that contain hidden, behind-the-scenes information in their prefixes, such as the current printer selection, style data, formatting, and many other document-specific settings.

It is here, in these hidden areas, that things can sometimes go wrong, ranging from a document that might still open but sometimes show some strange or erratic behavior or formatting, to a document that displays one or more of the major symptoms listed above, such as a freeze.

Here are the most common ones:

• Improper shut-down of WordPerfect due to (for example):

- Turning the computer off (powering down) before closing WordPerfect.

- A power surge/dropout that turns off the computer while you were working in WordPerfect.

- A forced reboot of WordPerfect due to a freeze or crash while working on a document, or while adjusting something in WordPerfect or elsewhere in Windows .

• Assembling many files or file fragments into one document, especially if one of them is damaged.

• Lots of copy-and-paste or cut-and-paste operations on the same document — especially involving format codes, graphics, etc.

[ Tip: If you need to re-use the same document as a "template," why not turn it into a custom template and reduce or eliminate such problems?]

• Corruption in the template that spawns the document: Even if the template seems to work okay, it can transmit internal damage to its offspring. See Section III and Section IV below.

• Corrupt "objects" that were imported or inserted into the document, such as graphic images (especially very large ones), tables, custom styles, etc.

• A conflict with another program in your computer's RAM memory, especially if it causes a forced reboot.

• Less common but worth considering: Problems with data storage on the computer disk — e.g., cross-linked files; damage to the physical disk surface; disk writes failing to complete due to write-caching; et al .

II. A troubleshooting path to help isolate the problem
(some logical questions to ask yourself)

Question 1: When launching WordPerfect does the program.

• Lock up / freeze?
• Not move past the program's "splash screen"?
• Be very SLOW to load when you try to open it?

First: Try to determine if the program is truly frozen. As noted below, some things can cause the program to take a few minutes to open.

□ It could be a corrupted default template. ( See "Fixing the default template" below.)

This important file is one of the first things WordPerfect accesses when you start the program. If it's corrupted then the program can "hang" when you try to start it.

Note that the default template also stores some of your user settings, and it generally is not replaced if you reinstall WordPerfect since it is a user file . Hence, if the file is damaged it can still cause problems even after a reinstall. ( See "Fixing the default template" below.)

□ It could also be due to a printer problem, especially if WordPerfect is slow to load, rather than refusing to load at all. See "Printer problems" here for some solutions.

□ Similarly, it could be a network issue if WordPerfect needs to access the network but it is not available to the user's computer (sometimes it can take several minutes for the computer to access the network).

□ It could also be a problem with -

(1) a corrupt document (see the following paragraphs), or

(2) an inaccessible document that the program is trying to access when you have enabled the Save Workspace option.

□ Or it could even be caused by a corrupt Windows user profile, which stores various user-specific settings — including WordPerfect program settings. (More on this topic can be found in the sections below.)

□ See "Miscellaneous problems. " below for other issues such as when using the automatic backup feature, getting various error messages, dealing with corrupt WordPerfect tables, et al.

However: Please read the rest of this section, which lists more common causes of problems that users encounter before assuming it is your printer, network, or some other less common cause .

Question 2: Assuming you can open WordPerfect . some of the most common problems involve damaged ("corrupt") documents and/or templates. Could the document or template be corrupt?

Be aware that many documents can still be opened, and templates can still function, if they are not extensively damaged.

This might be one reason some people immediately conclude that the program is at fault (which is, of course, possible).

When problems suddenly appear, try to stop what you are doing and think about what is going on at the moment, and also think about the time immediately preceding the problem's appearance (e.g., did you shut down the computer without closing the program first?). Sometimes this can offer valuable clues to the cause, especially if you can determine a pattern in the surrounding events.

Then ask:

Question 3: When working on a document . does the problem show up only in that particular document but not in a different document on your disk (i.e, not a backup copy of the current file)?
If so, perhaps that document is corrupt.

For the various reasons discussed on this page, it could be a problem with just that particular document file (or backups of it) — especially if you have done a lot of editing, pasting, or importing during the session. Comparing the current file to different files helps you isolate the source of the problem.

But first ask: Could it simply be a formatting problem?

This is easy to overlook — although technically speaking this is not the "damage" we mean here.

Format codes are always present in a document. The initial code at the very top of the document (seen in Reveal Codes) handles some default formatting. Even when you just press you insert a format code!

These codes are a very useful thing, and it's helpful to know at least a little bit about them. (Just keeping Reveal Codes open once in a while can impart knowledge on how they work.)

In fact some formatting issues that cause intractable problems in other programs are often solved quite easily in WordPerfect's Reveal Codes window.

However, sometimes format codes can make a document appear damaged because the formatting is not what you wanted or expected. (This probably is a more common cause of user problems than many of the other things on this page.)

This can happen for several reasons. For example:

- Strange codes that were carried into the document when pasting into it. (This is especially true if the source is another program or the Internet. The program does its best to interpret the new codes, but sometimes it cannot.)

- Format codes that the program placed in the document by design during a previous formatting operation, such as those that force certain formatting when needed.

- Misplaced or missing codes that result from manipulating the document's content.

- Incompatible, overlapping, or contradictory format codes (at least, for the current purpose) that can "confuse" the program.

If the problem suddenly appears when you open a document, or while you are editing it or trying to print or fax it — and it appears in the form of changes to formatting, especially if the changes are restricted to one document, then the validity — or the placement — of formatting codes might be the first thing to check.

☼ You can pass your cursor slowly over these format codes in Reveal Codes (View, Reveal Codes) and you should see information about each code appear in a floating tip. Look at the same loction in the main document pane above Reveal Codes and see if the problem coincides with a particular code (or codes) in Reveal Codes.

☼ Some format problems become more obvious if you compare the problem location's formatting in Reveal Codes with another similar (but properly working) location in the document (or a new blank document into which you type — but not paste — some text and format it the same as in the problem location).

☼ For more tips on using Reveal Codes see here.

Also, double-click on the [Open Style] code at the very top of the document to open the Styles Editor and examine all format codes inside the initial document style code. The document will "inherit" any formatting that is found inside this special code, as explained here. It can also contain formatting codes that were inserted during document creation or editing with the intention of using them as a document default. And if you got the document from someone else, some formatting might not apply to your system.

Sometimes manual (or even some automatic) formatting causes the program to insert a [Delay] code in the document — usually to delay the onset of certain formatting. (To manually insert a [Delay] code, use Format, Page, Delay Codes.) These codes act like little containers for other format codes, and as such they can hide the codes — even from search attempts! — that might be causing the problem. You can double-click on the [Delay] code to view what is inside it.

Delay codes are actually made up of two codes: the first [Delay] code tells WordPerfect what to do; the second [Delay Codes] code appears on the (delayed) page and tells WordPerfect where to start doing it.

You can double-click on the first [Delay] code of the pair to open the Define Delay Codes window. (Make sure Reveal Codes is open so you can see what is inside the [Delay] code.)]

If you have eliminated — or reduced the possibility of — formatting issues causing the problem, see "Some methods. " below to try and fix any potential document damage. But read the rest of the current section first (i.e, "Some logical questions to ask. ").

Notes and tips about some other "formatting problems"

• Check to see if the font is still available for the document in question. Note that some fonts are built into printers ("hardware fonts"), so if they are not available WordPerfect will substitute what it thinks is an appropriate font. This and other "spontaneous" reformat issues are described here.

• Similarly, a bad or outdated printer driver can cause problems with rendering fonts on your screen as well as on paper. See this page for some printer driver problems and solutions. People often first notice these font changes when opening an old document (created on an old printer) or one sent to them by a colleague with a different printer, but they can happen if the printer driver is damaged or otherwise impacted.

• If you have done some copying and pasting from other documents or programs (or from an Intenet or email source), you might get some odd formatting codes carried into the current document. You might benefit form using Edit, Paste Special, Unformated text when pasting the material. (See this page for more information about using this feature.) Note that copying and pasting over and over in the same document can lead to unexpected formatting problems, and even lead to internal document corruption. If such damage might have occured the methods below should help you fix it.

• If you notice that a document's status (at the top of the WordPerfect window) changes from "(unmodified)" or you get a "Save changes. " message when closing the document or when exiting WordPerfect — and you believe you have not made any changes to that document — this might not indicate document or template corruption. Rather, it might be due to other, working-as-designed, "document reformat" causes which are detailed here.

Question 4: Does the problem show up in a new blank document into which you have typed (i.e., not pasted or inserted) some new material? If so, perhaps the default template is corrupt.

If you opened the blank document with File, New, then typed some text, and you still see the problem, it could be due to a problem with the default template.

This special file is used to create Document1, Document2, etc., that you see on screen when you first open WordPerfect (or when you click File, New). Such new documents "inherit" many things from the template — including possible internal corruption. See the section, "Fixing the default template," below.

If you opened the new document some other way it could be a problem with a custom template that spawned the document. See the methods below, which can be used to fix a custom template as well as document files.

To gain more confidence you are on the right track, you could try opening one or more new blank documents the same way you opened the first one, and then type some text to see if the same problem appears. If the problem appears in these new documents as well, then you have good evidence the template file is damaged.

Important:

You should type the new text into the new blank document. It should not be formatted: Just use regular plain-text characters.

Why do it this way? Copying and pasting material — or inserting material (e.g., with Insert, File) from another WordPerfect document — might simply introduce the problem (or some other potential problem) into the new document, and not help you isolate the cause of the current problem. The idea here is to use plain (unformatted) text in the new document.

Tip: To easily enter some plain, unformatted "dummy" text into a document to fill up a paragraph or page (or more) see "What is Lorem Ipsum?" here: http://www.lipsum.com/. You can use that site generate a dozen paragraphs or so, and then select them and copy them (Ctrl+C) into WordPerfect as unformatted text with Edit, Paste Special, Unformatted text. (This sample text could be turned into a QuickWord for future use.)
Update: WordPerfect X7 and later versions comes with a macro, Lorem Ipsum.wcm , which quickly generates “Lorem Ipsum” text of a chosen size, and types it into the current document. Just play it with Tools, Macro, Play, "Lorem Ipsum," Play. (You could assign the macro to a keyboard shortcut or toolbar button for quicker access. Its location is typically shown in Tools, Settings, Files, Merge/Macro. Or, as above, turn a generated sample into a QuickWord.)

Question 5: What else can you do?

There are several other things you can try. See the "Miscellaneous problems, error messages, etc.," section below.

III. Some methods and tools to fix
damaged documents or custom templates

► This section and following sections assume you have a basic familiarity with the troubleshooting material in Sections I and Section II above.