WordPerfect's recordable macro feature has always been one of its strengths, and its macros are easier to modify and debug than Word's arcane Visual Basic for Applications language.
Built-in legal features include preformatted pleading formats and Bates numbering (which means numbering that includes trailing zeroes, as in 007). Other advanced publishing features that Microsoft Word can't match include an option to have two headers and two footers on each page, each with separate text and numbering. Some of WordPerfect's other unique features include the ability to combine left-aligned, centered, and right-aligned text on a single line without fussing over tab stops, and a parallel-column feature that lets you create side-by-side text without fiddling over table formatting. In WordPerfect, master documents are simple to build and use, and I've never had one go wrong. In Word, working with master documents is a wildly over-complicated procedure that requires going in and out of outline mode, and the result is a typically fragile file that (in my experience) sometimes needs to rebuilt from scratch to get it working properly. If you're writing for publication, the Reveal Codes feature gives you total control over formatting in ways of a kind you can't get from any other word processing app.Īs a document-building tool, WordPerfect also outclasses Word in its ability to combine multiple chapters into a single master document.
Microsoft added a roughly similar feature into the OS X version of Word a few years ago, but it's still not in the Windows version. This is an optional pane at the foot of the main window that shows exactly where formatting features like point size and columns begin and end in your file–something you can't see in any other processor. X7 Word Processing Features Some new features in WordPerfect X7 worth noting are the ability to save a file in multiple formats (WordPerfect, Word, PDF, HTML 5) at the same time, and the ability to save automatically numbered revisions of a document so you can restore an older version effortlessly.īut, as in every version dating back to the 1980s, the best thing about WordPerfect is its reveal-codes feature. Whichever version you choose, The WordPerfect word processor is the star of the show. A digital notebook called WordPerfect Lightning lets you store freeform notes and view WordPerfect and Word files, but I've never felt a strong impulse to use it. Presentations uses a clunky 1990s-style interface to create usable but dated-looking slideshows.
The $349.99 Legal edition omits Paradox but adds Corel's well-focused Table of Authorities utility for legal documents.Ī $99 Home & Student Edition includes only the word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, and digital notebook apps and omits the PDF import and form-creation tools from the word processor.Ī word on the spreadsheet and presentations apps: Quattro Pro has enough functions for business and home use, but it doesn't try to match Excel's advanced features, fancy graphics, and automation.
The $399.99 Professional Edition adds the venerable Paradox database and a software developer's kit for WordPerfect automation. The Standard Edition also includes SharePoint integration and Roxio DVD burning software.
Prices and Options WordPerfect X7 Standard Edition (which I tested) is a full office suite, with apps for spreadsheets and presentations (Quattro Pro and Presentations, respectively), but most users buy it for the word processing. The only thing that reminds you that you're not saving in WordPerfect's native format is a Conversion in Progress box that pops up briefly when you're saving a file. DOCX the default open and save format, and you can use WordPerfect to create and save Word-format files, and your Word-using colleagues will never know that you're not struggling with Word the way they are. The new version is also smoother and more reliable when opening and saving Microsoft Office documents. It also adds some awkwardly implemented but potentially terrific new features that I hope will get better in future versions. The app also lets you save documents to standard ebook formats and create PDF forms with fill-in-fields. X7 makes tasks like mail-merge easier than before and adds conveniences like the ability to type the first few letters of the name of a feature and use that feature without finding it in a menu.
In a Microsoft-centric world, few people (if any) are going to switch from Office to WordPerfect, but if you already have it, you'll want the latest version, Corel WordPerfect Office X7 ($249 upgrade $159).