Sarasota PC Monitor
Tech Talk (5/06)
WordPerfect Office X3
by Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D.*
Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc.This is the latest version of Corel's WordPerfect Office Suite. Since I am runningWindows XP Pro, I had to start the install using my admin name and password. But at least it did set itself up for any user on this computer.
There are two CDs in the install package. The overallprocess went quite rapidly since I chose not to install the total package. Instead, I was selectedthe components I wanted to install quite early in the process. In order to fit my biases, I immediately removed the check mark from the Norton Internet Security. I did not want the NortonInternet Security installed and overriding my settings for my firewall and anti-virus programs,both of which are far superior to Norton, in my opinion. The other thing I did not install was thePinnacle software that is included in this office suite. At this point I don't really need video editing capability, and my CDBurnerXP Pro does all the CD/DVD burning I need, including ISOfiles. It can also burn bootable CDs. So, I was able to test the WordPerfect, Quattro Pro and theCorel Photo Album software.
Corel WordPerfect is still running second in its competition with Microsoft Office in terms of the number of users. However, this version does have some improvements in its handling of documents produced by Microsoft Office. I found I could easily read/write files in both Microsoft Word and Excel formats. All I needed to do was open or save the document in theformat I wanted. WordPerfect also has the option of opening a document in Word format or Excel format instead of the native WordPerfect or Quattro format. When opening a spreadsheet in Quattro it made no difference which format I selected, the formulas were all converted to the Quattro format. If the spreadsheet was saved and then opened in Excel, the formulas were still inthe Excel format.
Thus, there was no real difficulty exchanging documents between the Corel and Microsoft formats. WordPerfect has retained one of its major advantages over MS Word in the "reveal codes" view. In a complex document, this is a definite advantage. Sometime you can't find the source of a formatting problem in Word. With WordPerfect the "reveal codes" view gives you the information you need to solve the problem.
As for other word processing features, WordPerfect comes equipped with what I consider the usual features: spell check, search/replace, undo, and grammar check and thesaurus. These generally match MS Word in capability. The usual editing functions are also included. In order to really familiarize myself with the word process, I am writing this review in WordPerfect. It is quite comfortable with no noticeable idiosyncrasies. WordPerfect has an undo history that allowsyou to do more than one undo. This is something I haven't found in the versions of MS Word that I have used. So far, I haven't found anything that limits the capability of WordPerfect as aword processor. I also played with importing graphics and spreadsheets. Both proved to be quite simple and there were no problems.
The default style in WordPerfect uses the Times Roman 12 point font and one inch margins for a letter size page. There is a method for changing the default font, however, I did not find any way of changing the overall default style. There were many references on styles in the Help file, but none of them referenced a method of changing the default style (see Editor's comment following).
Other items included with the Home Edition of WordPerfect are the "OfficeReady"templates. There are 130 templates included in the package that can be used in both WordPerfect and Quattro Pro. These are grouped under "Home and School Essentials" and "Personal FinanceEssentials." They both have a PDF tutorial to assist the user in working with the templates. One of the first items in the tutorial is an explanation of "What is a Template?". The tutorial provides a depth of information on working with templates. This is something I've never found in MSWord. It's also something that will help make templates more useful to anyone working withWordPerfect or Quattro Pro. Although there are a large number of templates included, you also have the option of purchasing more from Corel.
Last month I outlined some information on PDF files and how to convert documents to aPDF format. At the time I pointed out that OpenOffice had a built-in PDF converter, well, so does WordPerfect. You don't need a separate program to produce PDF documents.
BothWordPerfect and Quattro Pro have a built-in PDF converter. They can also publish documents in HTML format for posting to the Internet. One other added feature on a "Compatibility" toolbar is the choice to e-mail your current document. Clicking on the e-mail icon brings up the composedialog window from your default e-mail program with the document already attached. And, as Iindicated this can be done in both WordPerfect and Quattro Pro. I think this is a nice feature.The other component of the Office Suite that I installed was the Corel Photo Album. This software can be set to automatically download photos from your digital camera. It also will help you organize your photos. However, since mine were already organized, I didn't allow this function to proceed. I also canceled the software for the auto download. I prefer Picasa for that.But the other functions of this software are extensive and easy to use.. You can enhance the photos with some simple functions such as cropping, eliminating red-eye, quickfix and adjustwizards. If you don't like the changes, there is an undo function which can backup through the changes you have made.
The Corel Photo Album also has a "create" function which allows you to create greeting cards, e-cards, collages, calendars and others. Of course, all of these will use your photos as the base for the document you are creating. It also has a setup for printing multiple pictures on apage.
The final function of Corel Photo Album is sharing of your photos. It has a quick e-mail button that brings up your default e-mail compose window with the selected photo or photosattached. If the photo is not in a .jpg format, it is automatically converted and compressed forsending by e-mail. This is a very easy process. You can also burn photo CDs, quick print pictures, make a slide show, or convert the picture into a screen saver or wallpaper. It is truly an easy to use multifunction program. The Home edition of WordPerfect Office contains the WordPerfect word processor,Quattro Pro spreadsheet, Corel Photo Album, Pinnacle CD/DVD burner software, Pinnacle videoediting software, Norton Internet Security, and a collection of templates. It does not have any equivalent of the Microsoft PowerPoint software. To get that capability, you have to purchase theStandard edition or the Professional edition. The advantage of the Home edition is that it ispriced at only $99.99 with a $20 mail-in rebate. That's the direct from Corel price. There is no other office suite competition at this price level, with the exception of OpenOffice, which is free.I did find one web site where WordPerfect Office was priced at $78.00 plus shipping.
WordPerfect Office is published by the Corel Corporation, 1600 Carling Ave., Ottawa,Canada. More information can be obtained from their web site: www.wordperfect.com
EDITOR'S COMMENT: Dr. Lewis has rightfully noted the capability of changing the default template as a highly desirable key function. By changing the default template, you can cause your blank document to open each and every time with the fonts, margins, tabs, layout and other settings of your choosing. In Microsoft Word, this is done by modifying the default "normal.dot template" which is an extremely difficult one to find and many times more difficult to modify.
An important key feature in WordPerfect is that you can very easily modify the default template, although WordPerfect does not list the instruction under the word "default." All you need do is go to the File Menu>Document>Current Document Style and set up your page exactly the way you want it to open every time. Then check the box that says "Save As Default." Easy and painless! Along with "Reveal Codes," I consider it one of WordPerfect's key features and tops on my list of many that make WordPerfect my favorite word processor as it has been for more than 25 years now.
Both WordPerfect and Microsoft Word are universally recognized as the world's leading word processors containing every imaginable bell and whistle. Wordperfect, however, distinguishes itself as being twice as easy to use, twice as intuitive, and half the price. Also, very much to its credit, Corel offers a free trial full version of WordPerfect at its website. :
*Dr. Lewis is a former university & medical school professor. He has been working with personal computers for more than thirty years. He can be reached via e-mail at bwsail@yahoo.com.
Copyright 2006. This article is from the May 2006 issue of the Sarasota PC Monitor, the official monthly publication of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-1889. Permission to reprint is granted only to other non-profit computer user groups, provided proper credit is given to the author and our publication. We would appreciate receiving a copy of the publication the reprint appears in, please send to above address, Attn: Editor. For further information about our group, email: admin@spcug.org/ Web: http://www.spcug.org/The Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. has 1,100+ members and was established in 1982. We are members of the Assoc. of PC User Groups (APCUG), the Florida Assoc. of PC Users Groups, Inc., and we are members of the America Online Ambassador Program.
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