Here’s a condensed version of the full manual for those who already know what they’re doing.

Requirements

Version 3.2 of the template only works in Word 2010 or Word 2007, with any version of Windows. Word 2007 isn’t as extensively tested. Formatting stuff (but not macros) might work in Mac Word 2008, but this is untested. Will hopefully work in Mac Word 2011 eventually.

Installation

Download the new template, and put it in your Word Templates folder. Do NOT just leave it on your desktop – files produced by others won’t be able to find the template and will “lose” their macros.

The download packages contain a shortcut which will automatically open the right folder on your computer.

To do it manually, the Templates folder is here:

Vista/7 – C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates

XP – C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates.

Enable Macros – Word Options – Trust Center – Trust Center Settings.

Install as a Global Template – Not required, but you can make the macros available to all documents by installing as a Global Template. Word Options – Add-Ins – Select “Templates” in the “Manage” drop down box and click Go. Click “Add” and navigate to the folder where you stored the template.

Install a timer – put your choice of timer program in the Word Templates folder, name it Timer.exe. I recommend Alex Gulakov’s Synergy timer.

Move the QAT – By default, the Word Quick Access Toolbar appears above the ribbon. Right-click to show below the ribbon, and delete any unnecessary buttons to the left of the custom ones. You can hide the ribbon and just use the QAT to save screen space by double-clicking the name of the tab.

Formatting Files

The keyboard shortcuts are listed above. Always use “Paste Unformatted” for pasting from the internet. F12 clears formatting if you mess up.

Don’t use manual page breaks, ever.

Hats should only be one line.

Use the new Navigation Pane to see the different heading levels. Right-click and select “Show Heading Levels” to expand or collapse. Hat = Heading 1, Block = Heading 2, Tag = Heading 3. You can also drag and drop right in the Nav Pane. Recommended you install NavPaneCycle.exe to make this easier.

Paperless

Start a new speech document. It’s just a new blank template document, but you can start one with the button on the toolbar or by pressing Ctrl-Shift-N.

The ` Key is the new multi-function paperless button. It sends the current selection, or if nothing is selected, the current Block, Card, or Hat. In Reading view, it inserts a card marker.

Ctrl-Alt-Up and Ctrl-Alt-Down move units up and down in the document outline. Ctrl-Alt-Left deletes a unit.

When the speech is ready, save a copy to the USB drive using the button on the toolbar or Ctrl-Shift-S.

Porting/Customizing The Template

Realistically, most people will probably not want to use Whitman’s template “out of the box.” People have different preferences for keyboard shortcuts, fonts, etc.A version of our template is even available that removes references to keyboard shortcuts from the ribbon so you can customize it. I’ve tried my best to make the macros in the template as readable to a non-programmer as possible – and as easy to port as possible.

Here’s what you need to know to port our platform to your own template:

Customizing Styles/Fonts: Open the Style Pane by clicking on the small arrow in the lower right corner of the Styles part of the Ribbon. Right click on the relevant style name and select “Modify.” Change as you wish. Changing the “Normal/Card” style will affect all the other fonts, because those styles are based on Normal. Remember that the style names are ALIASES for Word’s built-in styles. I would strongly recommend not creating “new” styles from scratch when designing a template.

Customizing the keyboard: Word Options – Customize The Ribbon – Customize Keyboard. Make sure your template is selected in the “Save Changes In” box, then scroll down in the left box to find “Macros” and “Styles.” Find the relevant macro or style in the right box to see the currently assigned keys, delete them, and add your own. Note that the ` key can’t be assigned manually – that requires coding.

Copying Macros: You can use the built-in Macro “organizer” or you can cut and paste code manually in the visual basic editor. I have tried to make the macros as portable as possible – there’s no complicated function calls. There’s just 4 easily understood code modules. Make sure to port the “Ribbon” module if you want the ribbon to still work. Also, a couple macros need to have specific Microsoft reference libraries installed. To do this, in the VB editor go to Tools – References and make sure “Microsoft Forms 2.0 Object Library” and “Microsoft Scripting Runtime” are checked for your project.

Customizing the ribbon: To be honest, this is probably unrealistic for most people. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn’t make it easy to customize the ribbon beyond the very rudimentary tool in the Word Options, which can’t be used to change the Debate tab. To make changes to the Ribbon’s appearance requires a working knowledge of XML programming, a good XML editor, a few byzantine and incomplete reference sites, and an absurd amount of patience. If you want more details, feel free to contact me – if you just want something small changed, you might be able to talk me into doing it for you.

Open Paperless Project – If you do decide to make your own template, it’s suggested that you do your best to make it compatible with a new “Open Standard” for writing debate templates. It’s called the Open Paperless Project, and is designed to make people’s different templates work interoperably with each other. The development of this standard is in progress – For more information, check out the links on the Whitman Paperless page.