PDF and RTF Program File Creation
COMPMNGR can either print a program directly or save a program file in the Rich Text Format (RTF) used by some word processing programs. It cannot save a file in Adobe's PDF format; however there is a 'workaround'. These topics are addressed separately below.
Importing program into word processor
COMPMNGR can export an RTF file that you can import into Microsoft Word™,
Corel WordPerfect™, and possibly some other word processing programs. The RTF
file export feature was designed in the late 1990's and worked well with
Microsoft Word™, Version 7, Corel WordPerfect™, Versions 7 and 8. The exported
RTF file format may be somewhat less compatible with later versions of Word and
WordPerfect, which apparently changed the way they render RTF files. It would be
prohibitively expensive to provide perfect compatibility by modifying COMPMNGR
every time these word processing programs are updated, so COMPMNGR' development
emphasis has been on printing directly from within COMPMNGR. However, the RTF
file export feature may still be useful if you are willing to experiment with
the 'styles' feature of your word processing program as described below.
To produce the RTF file, which is always named PROGRAM.RTF, you click on
COMPMNGR's main menu item 'Program', then on 'Create WP file'. To import the
file into any of the word processor programs, you launch the program, click on
menu items File and Open, then in the Windows file dialog box which pops up you
specify the file name and location (usually C:\CMPMGR\PROGRAM.RTF). You should
be aware that not all versions of these word processor programs will correctly
import the RTF file, so you should test this feature before you need it.
When the word processing program imports the PROGRAM.RTF file, it converts the
file to the word processor program's native format. This conversion may or may
not preserve all the styles specified by COMPMNGR in creating the file. The word
"style" as used here is a word processor feature which you should learn about in
order to use your word processor program effectively. Basically a style is a
collection of text attributes, like font type and size, bold on or off,
underline on or off, tab settings, etc. The styles created in the PROGRAM.RTF
file, which you specify in COMPMNGR's on-screen program menu item Fonts, are:
PAGE_HEADER - applied to page headers
DANCE_CATEGORY_HEADER - applied to schedule of event markers in the body of the
program
HEAT_HEADER - applied to heat headers
HEAT_TEXT - applied to heat entry lines (i.e. Joe dancing with Betty)
BALLROOM_HEADER - applied to ballroom lines (e.g. Ballroom B)
LEVEL_HEADER - applied to level headers within heats (e.g. Bronze II)
AWARDS_BREAK_HEADER - applied to awards breaks
NORMAL_TEXT - applied to any other text in the program
Corel WordPerfect™ Version 7 does a good job of preserving styles. Corel
WordPerfect™ Version 8 does not do as well, in that the style applied to heat
headers (e.g. the lines with text like Heat 12 Bronze Waltz) is frequently also
applied to the first line after the heat header. You can repair this problem,
line by line, but it can be tedious.
Microsoft Word™ Version 7 seems to import the PROGRAM.RTF file correctly, then
effectively disables the styles. To re-enable them, you can mark the entire
program (Ctrl-Home, F8, Ctrl-End, F8), then press Ctrl-spacebar.
In later versions of either word processing program you may have to experiment with style tab settings to produce the format you want.
Creating PDF file
There are several free utility programs that will allow you to print to a PDF file. We have tested a program named BullZip, downloadable from
and it appears to work very well. Once you have downloaded it and installed it on your computer, BullZip will appear in your list of printers. So all you have to do is print directly from COMPMNGR and select BullZip as your printer. You will be asked to specify the file, which will then be saved for you so you can import it into whatever PDF file printing/editing software you use.