Creating A Structure Chart Using WordPerfect 8

1. Create A Rectangle

  1. Select: Insert | Text Box. Type text (name of computer program) in the box.


  2. Emphasize text by making it bold and enlarging the font to 14 points. Then centre it.

    1. Select text by pressing the left mouse button as you run the cursor over the text.
    2. Press the right mouse button | Font... | Click Font style: Bold|Font size: 14 | OK
    3. While text remains selected, simultaneously press Shift and F7 to centre the text.


  3. Shrink the width of the box to the size of the text.

    1. Place the cursor on the box. click the left mouse button.
    2. Place the cursor over the left or right handle bar (small emergent square) until the cursor becomes a horizontal double headed arrow. <-->
    3. Press the left mouse button and drag the side of the box until the text fits comfortably in the box.

  4. Centre rectangle.

    1. Place the cursor on the box. Click the left mouse button.
    2. Move the cursor toward a side of the rectangle until the cursor turns into a criss-crossing vertical and horizontal set of double headed arrow line.
    3. Press the right mouse button | Position... | Select "Attach box to:" Page | Select "Horizontal ... from" Center of Margins.

2. Duplicate the box for as many times as you need modules

  1. Select box: Place cursor on box. Click the left mouse button.
  2. Move the cursor toward a side of the rectangle until the cursor turns into a criss-crossing vertical and horizontal set of double headed arrows.
  3. Copy to the clipboard by simultaneously pressing the Shift and Insert keys.
  4. Release your grip on the box by pointing the mouse elsewhere on the screen and clicking the left mouse button.
  5. Retrieve the image from the clipboard by simultaneously pressing the Shift and Insert keys.
  6. Drag and drop the new boxes near their eventual destinations.
    1. Select box: Place cursor on the box. Click the left mouse button.
    2. Move the cursor toward a side of the rectangle until the cursor turns into a criss-crossing vertical and horizontal set of double headed arrows.
    3. Drag and drop the box near the desired location.
  7. Change the text in the box as appropriate, example: INPUT, PROCESS, OUTPUT.
  8. Note: Make the size of the boxes the same for boxes at the same level. Select Size

3. Distribute the boxes at the same level about two inches below the bottom of the highest level

  1. Select box: Place cursor on the box. Click the left mouse button.
  2. Move the cursor toward a side of the rectangle until the cursor turns into a criss-crossing vertical and horizontal set of double headed arrows.
  3. Press the right mouse button | Position ... | Adjust parameters as desired.

4. Draw the Bent Vertical Then Horizontal Lines

  1. Insert | Shape | Polyline.
  2. Place the cursor on the bottom of the box where you will begin to draw your line.
  3. To draw a line that is precisely vertical or horizontal, press the Shift key and drag the cursor in the direction of your line.
  4. to change direction, single click the left mouse button and drag the cursor in the new direction. To quit drawing the line, click the left mouse button twice.

5. Draw Parameter Lines With Arrow Heads

  1. You must use this different line tool so that the arrow heads will be on this single segment of line and not at the opposite ends of the bent line itself.
  2. Insert | Shape | Line.
  3. Place the cursor over at the point of the horizontal line from which this line will be drawn.
  4. Press the right mouse button and, while continuing to hold that right mouse button, drag the cursor to the point where you want the line to end.
  5. Rapidly click the mouse button twice to end the drawing of the line.


  6. You may now evoke a graphics toolbar containing arrow heads.
  7. Bring the line into focus by placing the cursor just over the line and clicking the left mouse button.
  8. When the line is in focus you will notice three things.
    1. The line is identified by six round black dots surrounding it.
    2. A graphics tool bar replaces the property bar at the top of the screen.
    3. The graphics bar contains two black squares. Clicking on these generates a flyout menu giving a choice of arrow heads.
  9. You may choose one arrow head from each black square for each end of the line.
  10. Left click on the first black square. The flyout menu appears.
  11. Left click on a chosen arrow head shape. The arrow head appears at one end of the line.
  12. Left click on the second black square. A second flyout menu appears.
  13. Left click on the same shaped arrow head as done in the first black box. That arrow head appears at the other end of the line.

6. Duplicate the Original Paramenter Line So All Parameter Lines Are The Same Length.

  1. Place the arrow headed into focus if it is not still in focus by left clicking on the line.
  2. Copy the line to the clipboard. While continuing to hold the Shift key, press the C key.
  3. Left click the mouse elsewhere on the screen so the pasted lines will not be on top of the original line.
  4. Paste a new line from the image in the clipboard. While continuing to press the Shift key, press the Insert key.


  5. Move the new line to the desired position.
  6. Repeat copying the original line to the clipboard, pasting a new line from the clipboard, and moving all lines into their desired locations.


7. Repeat Drawing Bent Polylines and Parameter Lines For The Other Modules.

  1. If you don't see an extra line after pasting it from the clipboard, it may be that it is "glued" to the top of the original line. Simply left click on the position of the original line and drag the new line to its destination.
  2. Add or delete arrow heads as required. The black squares on the graphics bar represent the absence of an arrow head. Choose that to eliminate an arrow head.

8. Create and Vertically Place Names of Formal Parameters On The Parameter Lines.

  1. Insert | Text Box | Type parameter name. | Move cursor to side of box.
  2. Press right mouse button | Content | Click on bullet for 90° | OK
  3. Shrink the box to comfortably accommodate the text.
    1. Move cursor to edge of box.
    2. Click left mouse button.
    3. Move the mouse over the centre dot on the far end of text box until the cross-hair icon turns into a single vertical double arrow headed line.
    4. Drag the end of the text box toward the name in the box until it is a convenient size.


  4. Align the box on the paramenter line.
    1. Move the cursor over a line on the box.
    2. Click the left mouse button. [Six black dots surround the box.]
    3. Move the cursor over the box until it becomes cross hairs of two double headed arrows.
    4. Drag the text box until the Name itself rests on the appropriate parameter line.


  5. Delete the border surrounding the text box using the Border/Fill option.
    1. Left click the border of the text box so the six black dots appear as above.
    2. Launch a speed menu by clicking the right mouse button.
    3. Click the left mouse button on Border/Fill ...
    4. Choose the top left "border" by clicking the right mouse button.
    5. Left click OK.


  6. Repeat for remaining paramenter names.


9. Remember The Type of Parameter Represented By Each Arrow.

  1. Double headed arrows represent reference parameters.

    Values are passed from the calling module to the function when the function is called. But values are also passed back from the function to the calling arguments when there are changes to the values of the formal parameters in the function.

    This happens because the formal parameters are, in fact, aliases of the corresponding arguments in the calling module. That is, both the arguments of the calling module and the formal parameters of the function share the same address (point to the same location).

    When a change happens to the value of a formal parameter in the function, that change also occurs to the value of the calling module because both the calling argument and formal parameter share the same memory location.

  2. Single header arrows pointing down represent value paramenters.

    Values are passed from the calling module to the function when the function is called. But values are not passes back from the function to the calling arguments when there are changes to the values of the formal parameters in the function.

    This is because the formal parameters and their corresponding arguments point to different memory locations.

    When a change occurs to a value of a value formal parameter in the function, that change occurs in a different memory location than that addressed by the corresponding calling argument.

  3. Single headed arrows pointing up represent values returned, not by reference parameters, but by the function's return statement as the function completes execution.

    Note: Arguments refer to the parameters of a call when it invokes a function. Those parameters are often called actual parameters because they represent the actual values that are passed to their corresponding formal parameters in the function. The arguments, or actual parameters, may actually be constant values (an integer, or character, or string) or they may be symbolic variables that identify a memory location where actual values may be found.

    Formal parameters are the variables declared in the header of a function. Formal parameters are “formal” because they symbolically address memory locations that will receive “actual values” (actual parameters) passed to them from the calling arguments in the call of the function.

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    URL:   http://members.xoom.com/csgate/charts/struct-wp/sc-wp.htm
    Last Revised:   February 16, 1999.