WordPerfect

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 WordPerfect word processor

 Author:    Corel Corp.
 Homepage:  http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1207676528492#tabview=tab0
 Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordPerfect
 Family:    WordProcessorFamily
 Platform:  MS-DOS, Windows, Linux
 License:   Commercial
 Screenshot:

WordPerfect is a very powerful WordProcessor, with a history going back to the MS-DOS days, when it supplanted its rival, WordStar. WordPerfect (now owned by Corel Corporation) has a large base of devoted fans and users. This is not surprising, since by 1991 WordPerfect had over 10 million users and $500 million in annual sales. WordPerfect eventually lost its market share to MicrosoftWord, but its users have remained fiercely loyal. The following statement is copied verbatim from Edward Mendelson's site, WordPerfect for DOS Updated (link at end of this page):

WordPerfect for DOS, in the opinion of many knowledgeable users, is still the greatest program ever written. Some of its features have not been matched even by the latest Windows software, and its interface remains unequaled for efficiency and elegance. Its support for multiple font formats has not yet been equaled by any other program or operating system, and its support for multiple alphabets, languages, and symbol sets has only been equaled by the latest versions of Windows.

As a reviewer for PC Magazine and other publications since 1985, I have tested hundreds of programs, including almost every word processor that was ever released to the public, plus one or two, like IBM's Signature, that were never released at all. There is much to admire in WordPerfect for Windows (and every user of the DOS version should own a copy of the Windows version, for use with graphics-rich documents), but I still return to WordPerfect for DOS whenever I want to get any serious work done, and even when I simply want to write a letter and address an envelope. (If there were a truth-in-reviewing law, it would oblige me to add that, among graphics-based word processors, I generally prefer Microsoft Word for Windows to Corel WordPerfect for Windows, but if I were forced to choose only one word processor, and I could choose among all text-based and graphic-based programs, I would unhesitatingly choose WordPerfect for DOS 6.2.)

An interesting history of WordPerfect by one of its founders, Pete Peterson, can be found in his book, Almost Perfect, which he has made available online: http://www.wordplace.com/ap/

A lengthy, excellent summary of WordPerfect appears at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordPerfect

A number of WordPerfect fan sites persist today. They include (to name a few)

 WordPerfect Universe:         http://www.wpuniverse.com
 WordPerfect for DOS Updated:  http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/wpdos
 Free WordPerfect Macros:      http://www.gmccomb.com/vault/
 WPWriter.com:                 http://www.wpwriter.com
 WordPerfect versus Word:      http://www.wpvsword.com

WordPerfect is not suitable for editing program source code, and dedicated programming editors will probably do a better job. But for medical and legal transcriptions, writing essays and reports, and a variety of specialized tasks, it has many advantages.


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