Borders and Fill
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Borders
|
A very large selection of
borders, each of which is
very customizable.
|
Different but roughly
equivalent. Most of the
time, this will not be noted.
|
A very large selection of
borders. The shadow color
and width is not as
customizable.
|
Borders
|
When in a border, one can
move forward and exit that
border either through reveal
codes, using the arrows,
clicking past the border with
the mouse or turning the
border off. $
|
Type in the text first and a
hard return in Word and
then add the border so that
it does not include the hard
return.
|
Once I got into a border at
the end of a Word
document, I could not go
past that border. I had
similar problems to this in
Word which a “reveal
codes” feature would help to
solve.
|
Borders
|
A border can include
groups of paragraphs or
can be applied to individual
paragraphs. $$
|
There must be some way
to fix this, but I spent 10
minutes attempting to fix
what is essentially a trivial
problem in Word.
|
Even when I chose several
paragraphs to be included
by one border, Word still
separated these into
several sets of borders. At
other times, everything was
included in one border.
|
Fill
|
In WordPerfect, when it
comes to placing fill within a
border or in a table, you
have a choice of a million
colors, which actually look
good and not as if they are
three or four different colors
thrown together in a pattern.
$$
|
|
In Word, the fill will not look
like a smooth color, but
often like spots of one color
inside another. It looks very
unprofessional.
|
Fill
|
The fills could be separated
into 21 different styles, apart
from a simple percentage of
fill. $$
|
|
There are 12 fill styles in
Word apart from simple
percentage of fill.
|
Compatibility
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
File Save as
|
WordPerfect, as presently
shipped, can save files in
33 different formats. $$
|
|
Word will save in 15
different formats.
|
File Open
|
WordPerfect opens files
written in 19 different
formats. Downloads from
Corel will increase this
number. $$$
|
WP also ships with “Quick
View”, which opens, edits
and prints about 70
different formats.
|
Word opens files written in
13 different formats. “Web-wise” Word does not even
have the option of “Open as
an HTML file” nor will MS
Word open most MS Works
files.
|
Suite toolbar
|
WordPerfect’s DAD bar
allows all applications to be
easily accessed in one click
from this OS toolbar. $
|
Better than either of these
are the toolbars that one
can use with Windows ‘98
and newer. I found the
ability to place items much
easier with the
Windows 98 toolbar, and
they were as unobtrusive
as the DAD bar in WP.
|
The office launching bar
appeared at first to only
allow certain Microsoft
products to be launched.
With a little work, I could get
other programs on there as
well, but it was not as
intuitive as adding a MS
Office product.
|
Comment:
|
I did some cutting and pasting between WordPerfect and Word in order to get some text
to work with in Word. Even though I took the exact same text and dropped it into Word,
it was formatted very differently on two occasions. In one, the drop caps appeared
where they should; however 6 lines of text were indented instead of 4, so it didn’t look
right. The second time, the caps were sitting above the paragraph completely.
|
Additional
comments:
|
Microsoft has made a big issue out of compatibility and some people advocate Microsoft
Office so that we have compatibility. In all actuality, it is Microsoft which is only
compatible with the exact same Microsoft products. If you have Word ‘95, don’t expect
to be able to read a Word ‘97 document; or if you have MS Works on your computer,
don’t expect to be able to easily transfer complete files between Works and Word ‘95 or
Word ‘97.
|
Customization
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Accessing a
toolbar’s
features
|
In WP, if a toolbar is longer
than one row, there are
arrows that you can click on
to access the other buttons.
$
|
Make two toolbars in Word
and place one above the
other.
|
If you make a toolbar in
Word which is longer than
one row, it is difficult to
access all the features that
you have placed there.
|
Customizing
a toolbar
|
To determine what a
particular button does, the
quick tip (which is editable)
is visible. $
|
In Word, you can choose to
display text and graphic;
however, your toolbar will
look different than the
finished product (unless
you choose image and
text).
|
You can right click the
particular button to find out
what the name of the button
feature is.
|
Customizing
a toolbar
|
You can set the number of
rows or columns for a
toolbar or property bar.
Although not easy to edit,
the result you get is what
you expect. $
|
A toolbar in MS Word (and
WP) can be set up as a
floating box. That box can
be manipulated into 2 or
more rows or columns and
edited in that form. It
cannot be easily placed on
the top, bottom or side,
however, without losing the
two or more rows or
columns.
|
A toolbar is simply one
column or one row. If your
toolbar is longer than one
line, you can change it into a
pallette or make it a one
row free-floating toolbar,
which was rather
inconvenient.
|
Customizing
a toolbar or a
menu
|
WordPerfect’s Menus,
toolbars and property bars
all act independently. When
you choose to modify one of
them, you cannot
simultaneously modify
another.
|
|
The menu in Word is simply
a toolbar. When you
choose to customize any
toolbar, they are all
available to customize
simultaneously, including
the menu.
|
Customizing
a toolbar or a
menu
|
All commands are in
alphabetical order in their
respective categories.
|
|
The commands are not in
alphabetical order except
under the “All” category,
where they are.
|
Environment
|
Let’s say that three or more
people work on the same
computer. In WordPerfect,
each person can set up
their own environment; that
means tool bars, macros,
keyboards, margins, etc.
One keystroke can take you
from Charlie’s preferences
to Lucy’s preferences. If
Lucy likes the menu that
Charlie uses and his
keyboard, but not his
toolbars, she may
selectively copy any portion
of his template into hers. $
|
WordPerfect has had
complete customization for
about five years now. MS
only recently (with
Office ‘97), allowed greater
customization of its
programs. A macro would
allow a quick customization
of Word’s environment.
Changing the default
template in Word would
allow for several people to
use the same computer
with limited customization.
|
In Word, in order for two
people to have their own
settings on a computer, they
each must design their own
template. Keyboards,
toolbars and menus may not
be shared in part from one
template to another.
|
Keyboard
|
Every key of the key board
can be customized. 99
different keyboards can be
set up. Keyboard will run
macros, menu items, type
out text, and start other
programs. Assignments to
keyboard are all kept track
of and easy to read. $$$
|
Several keyboards can be
set up in Word, but only
one per document. Each
template can have its own
custom keyboard.
However, you cannot use
two different keyboards on
the same document in
Word.
|
Only one keyboard can be
used in a document. The
keyboard can run macros,
type text or run a menu item.
One cannot easily view all
previous assignments to
keyboard.
|
Placement of
a toolbar
|
In WP, you may place the
toolbar on the top, bottom,
or on either side. You may
do this with the mouse or
through your settings
feature. $$
|
Both programs made it
easy to work with a pallette
and change the number of
rows in a pallette.
|
You could only maneuver
Word’s toolbars with the
mouse. Sometimes, one
toolbar would sit on top of
another; sometimes you
would loose half of your
toolbar and be unable to
use it.
|
Toolbar Icons
|
All features of WP have a
corresponding icon. All
features or commands have
an accompanying
description. There are very
few situations where
different features have the
same icon. $
|
When there is no icon for a
feature in Word, one can
be designed and/or an
icon can be copied.
However, it is not
immediately clear how to
solve this. When a picture
is added or copied, the text
continues to show. Rather
than the selection Icon only
the selections are: default
style, text only (Always),
text only (in Menus);
image and text. You can
figure out which choice is
the right one by eliminating
the other three. Once the
changes are made, there
is no “okay” button to
press. One must simply
click elsewhere to end the
process (otherwise, you
could undo your changes).
|
A surprisingly large number
features of Word do not
have an icon. Some
features or commands do
not have an explanation or
comment. Icons are not all
unique in Word; that is, two
similar but different
functions can have the
same icon.
|
Toolbar Icons
|
All toolbar features are
displayed the same
way—either with or without
the text and with or without
graphics.
|
|
In Word, each icon can be
chosen individually for
display. $
|
Toolbar Icons
|
When adding an icon to
WP, there is an explanation
in the dialog box as to what
the function of the icon is. $
|
Many features in Word are
like those in WP, except
they require additional
steps to achieve them.
|
In Word, if you want to know
more about a feature, then
you need to click on
description for that
information.
|
Toolbar
Spaces
|
When customizing the
toolbars in WP, spaces can
be easily added. Two or
more spaces may be
added in WP to separate
icons. $
|
I could not determine at
first how to add spacing to
the Word toolbars,
although some spacing
was already there.
|
The key to adding spacing
is to right click a particular
button and choose “start a
new group.” Two or more
adjacent spaces could not
be added.
|
Dialog Boxes
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
File open
dialog box
|
WordPerfect’s file opendialog box can be sized. $
|
None.
|
Word’s cannot.
|
File open
dialog box
|
WordPerfect’s file open
dialog box can be set to fill
up the screen. $
|
None.
|
Word’s cannot.
|
File open
dialog box
|
WordPerfect’s open dialog
box comes with an
extensive menu. $
|
None.
|
Word’s does not as there
are a very limited number of
things that you can do within
Word’s file open dialog
box.
|
File open
dialog box
|
WordPerfect comes with a
document preview which
can be increased in size
and even “torn off.” $
|
None, other than to
purchase a 3rd party utility.
|
Can’t be done in Word.
|
File open
dialog box
|
Opening a file in WP is like
accessing explorer. You
can drag and drop files with
your mouse; use the
keyboard or a right click to
copy, cut, and paste files. A
simple right click on a file in
WP gives me 16 different
options (some of these are
from third party programs
like Quick View). When you
are in WP’s file open dialog
box, it is like being in
Explorer except with more
options. $$
|
You can always open up
the explorer menu.
However, then you lose file
preview (unless you have
Quick View installed, a $50
program which came free
with most or all versions
WordPerfect 8).
|
You have fewer than a
dozen options of what can
be done while in Word’s
open file dialog box.
|
Ease of Use
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Accessing
various
functions and
features
|
Almost anything one needs
to do in WP can be
accessed through the
menus, or by a right click.
Almost all features can be
accessed in all three ways.
$$
|
Both programs can set up
tool bars to access
whatever functions need to
be accessed.
|
In order to access many of
the functions of Word, I had
to modify the menu by
adding items which were
not there before. Several
times, I came across by
accident a method of
accessing a function. If I
had inserted a header or a
footer, for instance, then
went into this box with a
double left click and then
right clicked it, I gained
access to page numbering.
|
Menus
|
As has been pointed out,
the menus are much more
logically laid out. $
|
You can rearrange all of the
menus in Word, but that is
somewhat of a pain to do.
|
To find the feature to shrink
text, one has to go through
page preview and then click
on the correct icon. It is
difficult to determine how to
formal pages, lines and
documents.
|
Editing
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Delete a word
|
In WP, Ctrl+Backspace or
Ctrl+Del will delete a word,
no matter where the cursor
is found in the word.
|
I find it necessary more
often to delete an entire
word than just a piece of
one. When I do, I don’t like
to sweat the insertion point.
Such a macro could be
written for Word, but it
would not function correctly
unless the cursor was
place inside the word (not
at the end or the
beginning). To write a
macro to cover all cases is
beyond my area of
expertise.
|
Where the cursor is found in
the word makes a big
difference in Word. If you
are at the beginning of a
word, then it is Ctrl+Del to
delete the word;
Ctrl+Backspace will delete
the previous word. If you
are in the middle of a word,
then neither keystroke will
delete the word. Both are
required. Help had nothing
under word or delete,
although there is a
command which reads
delete word (this command
deletes the next word or the
remaining characters in a
word.
|
Expand a
document
|
One can expand a
document as well as shrink
it in WordPerfect. You
wouldn’t use this often, but
let’s say you shrunk it, didn’t
like it, then you could
expand it to any desirable
number of pages. $
|
The only workaround is to
manually change font, font
sizes and margins until you
get what you want. This
can involve hundred of
keystrokes and mouse
clicks versus 2 or 3.
|
You can’t do this in Word.
|
Find and
Replace
|
In WordPerfect, you can
search out codes (369
codes, if I have counted
correctly) and easily replace
them with anything,
including 77 codes. $$
|
I am certain that you can
search for a hard return in
Word; you do it by
searching for a paragraph
mark (which would be ^P).
|
You can search out and
replace only 21 codes in
Word (and hard return was
not listed as one of them).
That e-mailed letter that you
want to fix up before you
save it isn’t so easy to fix up
in Word.
|
Find and
Replace
|
You cannot do this with a
simple find and replace in
WP.
|
This would have to be done
in WP with a macro (which
would be easy to do, but
more time-consuming than
Word).
|
You can change every
occurrence of a word to a
different font and size. $
|
Find and
Replace
|
One person wrote me
concerned that match case
works for find or for replace
independently in WP.
|
Although this appeared to
be the case, I did not have
a problem with this (I could
not come up with a
scenario where this would
be an issue, including her
illustration).
|
When match case is
selected, it automatically
works for find and for
replace.
|
Relative Tab
Adjustment
|
When the margins are
changed, the tabs change
relative to the margins. $
|
It is not unusual, in my
experience, and in the
experiences of others, for
Word to act one way one
day, and differently the
next.
|
Word margins don’t. Some
tabs are mysteriously lost.
|
Separate
Windows
|
WordPerfect has no
comparable feature.
|
The same document in WP
can be opened twice and
the document windows can
be sized appropriately;
only one can be edited,
however and saved with
the original name.
|
In Word you can have two
editing windows open for
the same document. $
|
Smart Case
Toggle
|
If initial caps are applied to
a title, like “the wind and the
rain”, the result in WP is
“The Wind and the Rain.” $
|
Go back and change the
prepositions and articles.
|
If initial caps are applied to
a title like “the wind and the
rain”, the result in Word is:
“The Wind And The Rain.”
|
Reveal
Codes
|
One can look at the codes
in WP and see what is
going on “behind the
scenes.” One can edit a
document directly in the
“reveal codes” screen
portion. $$$
|
Once you use the reveal
codes feature in WP, you
won’t want to be without it.
|
Word has no comparable
function. Those who think
that Word does have a
comparable function are
obviously ignorant of what
WP’s reveal codes is like.
|
Shrink
Document
|
WordPerfect shrunk the
same document right off the
main menu (under “format”)
and shrunk the document to
almost exactly one page.
Then WP was able to
expand it to two full pages
(not 1.3 pages). $$
|
In Word, You could only
manually adjust this bit by
bit in word to get close to
one page and to expand to
two pages.
|
To shrink a document, one
had to first go to “Print
Preview” and then choose
“shrink document.” Word
shrunk a 1.3 page
document to less than 3/4ths
of a page. There were no
real options; just a button to
click.
|
Fonts
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Font
|
One can change already
typed font following cursor
by simply changing the font.
$
|
This can be approximated
in Word; it just requires
more steps.
|
You can only change font by
selecting text which has
already been typed.
|
Font
|
An infinite choice of colors.
$
|
None.
|
16 choices for text color.
|
Font Effects
|
11 (Redline and Italics are
the additional font effects).
Character and word
spacing available through a
different dialogue box.
|
Word can use the color
red; WP can use different
font (however, WP is
unable to emboss or
engrave every font). Italics
are available in some fonts
in particular for Word and
WP.
|
12 (double strike-through,
emboss and engrave are
the extra fonts). Various
types of underlining also
available. Character and
word spacing available
through the same dialogue
box. $
|
Fonts
|
WordPerfect ships with
1000 fonts. $$
|
Buy more fonts.
|
Word ships with 15 fonts.
|
Font Size
|
68 choices. $
|
You can type in the font
size in Word from the
dialogue box (as you can in
WP). As usual, more
keystroke in Word to
duplicate WordPerfect.
|
16 choices.
|
Font Size
|
Fonts can be done to the
nearest 10th of a point.
|
None
|
Fonts can be chosen to the
nearest 0.5 pt.
|
Footnotes, Headers, and Footers
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Beginning a
footnote
|
Inserting a footnote is a one
step operation. I have it tied
to the keyboard, but it is
also one click from the
menu.
|
This can be fixed by
placing “insert footnote
now” on the menu,
keyboard or toolbar.
|
Every time a footnote is
created, there are two
mouse clicks; one to initiate
process and one to choose
whether that is what you
really want to do.
|
Editing a
Footnote
|
A footnote can be edited by
using the menu or clicking
once on the footnote itself.
|
|
A right-click or a left-click on
the footnote allows you to
edit it.
|
Footnote Exit
|
When doing a footnote in
WP, one can simply exit that
footnote by F7 (the universal
DOS exit keystroke for
WP). You can also exit with
your mouse. $
|
|
In Word, you must exit using
your mouse. Under the
index, again there was
nothing under "exit" or under
"footnote -> exit."
|
Footnote Font
|
Changing the font in WP
involves two dialogue
boxes. $
|
|
I never got the hang of
changing the font without
introducing an outline
format, which gave me two
sets of numbers for each
footnote. One could be
easily erased; but it had to
be erased for each
footnote.
|
Footnote
Separator
line
|
This can be changed by
accessing footnote options
in the menu. $
|
Obviously, this would need
to be added to the menu or
to the toolbar.
|
Although help in Word
seemed to indicate that the
separator line could be
changed (and it seemed
quite simple; it reads:
“Change the line that
separates notes from the
document text: Footnote
separator or Endnote
separator”]. However, I
could not locate that in the
menu (I checked all the
possible buttons) or under
options for the footnotes.
|
Footnote
Style
|
From one very simple
dialog box which leads to 4
simple dialogue boxes (one
which leads to 3 others),
you can change the spacing
of the footnotes, the
indentation, and provide the
same rich formatting for a
footnote as you would for
anything text paragraph.
This change of style for the
footnote does nothing
untoward to the general text.
$
|
I can accomplish the same
thing in Word and in WP;
it’s just that WP requires
about half the mouse clicks
and is much more intuitive.
|
From at least 12 different
dialogue boxes, one can
change the font of the text
and the font of the footnote
itself in the footnote.
|
Footnote
Style access
|
Menu: Insert -> footnote ->
options.
|
Both programs should
have offered at least two
ways to access this
feature.
|
Right click while in a
footnote and click on styles.
|
Footnotes on
first page
|
I’ve never any experienced
any problems. $
|
|
I heard of people having
problems with footnotes on
the first page. I did not
personally have that
problem. I tried it with and
without the page number
being suppressed and my
footnotes seems to be fine
either way.
|
Header
|
Default setting places
header on every page.
|
|
The first header I created
was on the first page only.
However, when I changed
the setting, headings
created afterward in
different documents were
placed on every page.
|
Headers and
Footers
|
Two headers and two
footers can be inserted by
WP. One or both can
alternate. $
|
None
|
You may insert one header
and one footer in Word.
|
Headers and
Footers
|
Because you can insert two
headers (or, two footers),
they can be placed on every
other page as is often done
in books. $
|
You could manually insert a
new header or a new footer
on every page and make
certain the remarks note
that it is for that page only.
|
This cannot be done in
Word. I have been told that
this can be done in Word. I
haven’t figured out how to,
yet.
|
Format
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Fit document
|
When you shrink or expand
a document to any given
number of pages, that is the
end result. $$
|
None. Some tout these as
identical features; but only
people who have not used
them both.
|
You can shrink Word
documents by a page, but
the result is often
unpleasant. A 1.2 page
paper would be shrunk to
half of a page; to expand
the size, it might go to 1.7
pages.
|
Justification
|
Left, right, centering, full
justification and all
justification available. $
|
Select text in Word and
keep changing the spacing
until it fits as you would like
it to.
|
All justification not available.
|
Justification
|
Any line can be left justified,
right justified and/or
centered. $$
|
Use tables in Word or a
series of tab’s.
|
Only one justification for
each line.
|
Justification
|
Full justification will expand
and compress text (and you
can choose by how much).
$
|
None.
|
Full justification expands,
but does not compress text.
|
Justification
|
All justification allows a
header to be stretched from
margin to margin. $
|
One can experiment with
letter and word spacing in
MS Word to get the same
desired effect, but it takes
ten to twenty additional
keystrokes.
|
Word cannot easily do this.
|
Line height
|
The height of the line can be
set to be relative or
absolute be choosing either
spacing or line height. $
|
|
Line height is only relative.
Changing font or font size
will automatically change
the spacing between lines.
|
Margins set
with menu
|
Click format, margins and
set. There are two ways to
get to this by keystrokes. $
|
|
Click file, page setup,
margins. This feature could
not be added to the
keyboard except by macro.
|
Margins set
with mouse
|
Can be done by mouse
applied directly to the
margins one sees.. When
using the mouse, the margin
value can be seen and it
changes as mouse moves.
$
|
(1) Change to margin, note
the reading, and change it
again if it isn’t right. Or,
(2) Double-click ruler (if
your ruler is showing) will
bring up the margin
dialogue box. I couldn’t
find documentation for this
under help in Word.
|
Can only be done through
mouse applied outside the
body of the text. You can
only approximate your
margin until you let go of the
mouse.
|
Page
formatting
|
You can subdivide a page
in whatever way you would
like, similar to PageMaker.
$$
|
You can work with tables to
achieve this. Section
break is similar, but not
quite the same. WP has
section breaks as well as
subdivision of a page. I
checked MS Word’s help
on this, and I got ten
options, none of which had
anything to do with
subdividing a page (I got
options like troubleshoot
master documents,
change a margin or a
border, etc.)
|
Word cannot subdivide the
page.
|
Page
Numbering
|
Dozens of options with
regards to placement, font,
additional text, etc. Can be
accessed through format.
Furthermore, everything that
you need to do with regards
to the number of any page
can be done from one
dialogue box. $$
|
I couldn’t even get MS
Word to recognize the
additional text added to a
page number in a WP
document by cutting and
pasting.
|
In Word, you can change the
position of the page number
but it is not obvious how to
format the text itself (e.g.,
use a smaller font); nor was
it obvious how to add the
standard text to the page
number.
|
Quick Format
|
Text and paragraph
formatting can be copied
using a right click and then
used elsewhere in the
document. If you change
the original formatting, the
other formats will change to
match. $$
|
You just have to format
everything either at the
beginning or each and
every paragraph and or
title as you come to them.
|
Word has no comparable
feature. There is something
called auto-format, but it did
not work the same way.
Furthermore, it is less
intuitive and therefore more
difficult to use.
|
Quick Format
|
Quick Format allows you to
maintain some consistency
in your document. If you
change the font size of your
original heading which
format you copied, then the
other headings which were
so formatted will also
change. $$
|
The headings and
paragraphs can all be
formatted to look the same
in Word, but not through an
instantaneous change.
You must apply a chosen
style or a recently designed
style which to your entire
document.
|
Word does not have a
similar feature to allow this
kind of immediate change.
|
Styles
|
Sometimes there are styles
in a document which I want
to duplicate. One easy way
to do this is to open reveal
codes and select and copy
the codes that you want to
use in another document. $
|
|
This can only be done by
copying styles or using
styles in Word.
|
Styles or
templates
|
80+ different templates.
The entire menu has
hundreds of different styles
in the other Office Suite
programs (accessible
through WP). These are
real styles where the entire
page of one style is very
different from the entire
page set-up in another. $$
|
You could make them up
from scratch in Word
|
20 different styles and
templates. A myriad of
paragraph styles (about 90),
which differed mostly in font
size and indentations.
|
Underlining
|
WordPerfect offers either a
single or a double underline.
|
WP improved this in
version 9
|
Word offers at least six
different kinds of
underlining. $
|
Word and
letter spacing
|
You can adjust the spacing
between letters and
between words in
WordPerfect and this is
expressed in percentage. $
|
Manually add spaces
between words in Word.
|
You can adjust the spacing
between characters but not
between words and the
spacing is given in terms of
points.
|
Graphics
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Captions
|
In WordPerfect, the
captions can be placed
anywhere relative to the
picture. A right click on the
object reveals a menu,
caption being one of the
choices. The caption
dialogue box is quite
extensive and complete. $
|
In Word, if you created a
separate text box, that
could be moved about as a
caption. If you needed to
move the graphic, then you
would need to move the
text box as well.
|
I could get a caption to
show up on the bottom, but
it was difficult to figure out
how to navigate to that
point.
|
Clip Art
|
Comes with 10,000 clipart
images. $$
|
Buy additional software.
|
Comes with 274 clipart
images.
|
Clip Art
|
Clip art could not be
extended off of a page.
|
One must crop clip art in
another program and then
bring it back into WP.
|
In Word, a piece of clip art
could extend beyond the
page and that extended
portion would be
automatically cropped. $
|
Drawing
|
To draw a graphic image,
Corel Presentations is often
automatically opened. It is
possible to overlay certain
images directly in
WordPerfect.
|
The number of steps in WP
is about the same as those
in Word; there is some
time lost when
Presentations loads the
first time. With a slower
computer, this can be
aggravating.
|
One may draw a graphic
image right in Word. The
drawing is quite fluid. $
|
Graphics
Boxes
|
In WP, there is a choice of
16 different custom boxes
(plus, you can add as many
custom boxes as you want
to this selection). $
|
If you have certain box
attributes that you use, then
the insertion of same could
be part of a macro or
inserting a previously
designed file.
|
In Word, you can insert a
text box and then modify its
attributes.
|
Graphics
Drawing
|
The drawing over a
WordPerfect document is
equally fluid, but not as
intuitive and not as many
choices are offered.
|
WordPerfect 9 corrects
this imbalance. A person
used to drawing individual
objects right in Word will
feel right at home in WP 9.
|
Word provides a myriad of
shapes and figures which
may be drawn easily and
fluidly over the document.
$$
|
Graphics
Drawing
|
Clip art may be added as
an overlay. One can leave
WP and go into
Presentations (which is
almost automatic in some
cases) and more can be
done with an image;
however, only bitmaps may
be used to fill a shape.
|
The mixture of fills and
pictures in MS Word
produced some very cool
effects. One would have to
access a drawing program
in order to match this in
WP. WP would support gif
and jpeg images, but was
unable to integrate them
with redesigned shapes as
Word can.
|
Clip art and pictures and
patterns may be inserted as
a coloration of an object as
well as an overlay. $$
|
Graphics
Menu
|
WordPerfect has a
complete graphic menu
category with 19 options. $
|
You can add this category
to the Word menu along
with the features.
|
Word does not have a
specific graphics category.
|
Graphics
toolbar
|
For anything complex,
WordPerfect often opens up
Presentations (often you
don’t know that you have left
WordPerfect).
|
WP improved this in
version 9.
|
Word has a very good
graphics tool bar within
Word. Each additional
graphic added to a Word
document off the Word tool
bar is treated separately,
which is often
disadvantageous.
|
Right-clicked
graphics
menu
|
Right clicking an image
yields 17 options for the
right click menu. $
|
|
Right clicking an image
produces only eight options
and most of those are all
purpose options no matter
what you right click.
|
Rotation
|
WordPerfect graphic boxes
can be rotated any degree.
$
|
In Word, you need to break
the association. You can
select clip, draw, ungroup.
Then group and use the
free rotate icon. Select
clip, turn on free rotate and
then rotate.
|
Word graphics can only be
rotation in 90° increments
and this was difficult to
figure out how to do.
|
Watermark
|
There is a choice on the
menu for a watermark.
When an image is retrieved,
it is automatically lightened
and it is in the background.
In any case, it is a simple
process. $
|
In MS Word’s help, I am at
a loss as to why header
and footers are involved in
the making of an image
watermark. This would
eliminate two of the steps
under help.
|
The help menu gave five
moderately long steps and I
had two additional toolbars,
one help file and the
paperclip guy all open at the
same time in order to insert
a watermark.
|
Macros
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Initial
recording of
macro
|
Click on record (under tools
-> macro -> record); must
click on macro record to
end recording macro.
|
|
Click on record (under tools
-> macro -> record new
macro); dialog box springs
up
|
Initial
recording of
macro
|
Once you click on record,
you name the macro. There
is no limitation, for all intents
and purposes, on the length
of the name. $
|
|
You may not use spaces to
name a macro.
|
Initial
recording of
macro
|
Once you name the macro,
you begin recording macro.
Macros are automatically
stored in the same directory
unless you specify
otherwise when you name
the macro. They may be
added to the keyboard,
menu, toolbar or property
bar at a later time.
|
|
Once you click on record, a
dialog box springs up. You
must determine at this point
whether the macro will be
assigned to a keystroke, a
toolbar and you determine
whether it is stored in your
normal.dot (default
template), in the document
itself or in another template.
|
Initial
recording of
macro
|
You must click on macro
record to end recording
macro.
|
|
A box pops up indicating
that a macro is being
recorded and there is a
stop button on that box. $
|
Locating
macros
|
Although I already knew
where my macro files where
located, I attempted to find
this out via WordPerfect's
help. Going to macro help
was of much help. Going to
the regular help and
searching for macros was
not helpful. Finally, under
regular help, I typed in
location and I would have
stumbled across the
location of the macro files.
|
Macros can be stored in a
WP template, if so desired
(check help -> location ->
macros). Typically, macros
are stored under C:/Corel/
Suite8/macros/WPmacros.
|
I first thought that I could find
a macro as a separate file;
however, macros are stored
in the normal.dot template
and accessed only by Tools
-> Macro... -> choose a
macro and click on edit.
The help directions were
quite clear here. $
|
Location of
macros
|
Each macro is saved as a
separate file and can be
moved en masse or
selectively. $
|
|
Macros can be copied in
other templates and those
templates can have the
macros copied into the
default template of another
user.
|
Macro
commands
|
Must simpler and easier to
understand in WP. $$
|
See Macros in more detail
|
Macro commands are often
very abstruse in Word.
|
Macro
information
|
Recorded under document
information (hidden from
view) and the date can be
placed there as well as
automatically under file
management.
|
WP can also place this
information as a part of the
macro by preceding the
line with //.
|
The person who recorded
the macro as well as the
date of the macro travels
with the macro automatically
as a part of the macro.
|
Macros
|
Nineteen macros are
included with WP 8.
ALLFONTS will set up an
editable list of all the fonts in
the system, as well as a full
printout of all the characters
of that font. ADRS2MRG
will change the addresses
in the WordPerfect address
book into a merge file.
CloseAll and SaveAll are
duplicated in Word under
the file menu (they must be
added when customizing
the menu). There is a
macro which will audibly
read the contents of a
document (voice-type
software must be installed).
|
WordPerfect and Word
could learn from one
another here. However,
with all of the viewers
installed, WP can open any
Word document and save
it in whatever format is
desired.
|
Twelve macros are included
with Word '97. Only one is
particularly important, which
is a batch file, allowing the
user to convert a group of
files from MS format into
another format or vice
versa.
|
Menus
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Menu
movement
|
Menu is always on top.
|
A toolbar of all menus
could be set up in WP and
that could be moved to
anywhere in the
workspace. Icons could
also be added here.
|
Word’s menu can be moved
as a menu in Word is simply
another toolbar. For this
reason, icons can be added
to the menu in Word. $
|
Menus
|
WP ships with four menus
and they can be customized
and additional menus can
be created, copied and/or
customized. $
|
The key in designing a new
menu in MS Word is to
realize that a menu is really
just a toolbar.
|
Ships with two menus which
can be customized. New
menus cannot be created
but it is a process which is
not intuitive as a menu is
essentially a Toolbar.
Finding the second menu a
second time was difficult.
|
Menus
|
Menu items do not have
pictures.
|
Toolbar items in WP have
pictures and they are
customizable by a right
click.
|
Menu items have pictures
which are easily
customizable. $
|
Menu
Organization
|
Under the heading
format, one can find line,
paragraph, page,
document; and one can
format those items. $$
|
|
Under the heading formal in
Word, paragraph is there. I
don’t know where I would go
if I wanted to format a line,
page or document in Word.
|
Menu
Organization
|
Sort is located under tools
next to merge. To open a
template, one must go to
“new” first.
|
|
Sort is located under tables.
Opening up a template for a
document was found in
styles.
|
Menu
Organization
|
Making a document fit a
specified number of pages
is found under format. $
|
In Word, once you learn
where something is, and
you use it a lot, then you
remember where it is.
However, finding it in the
first place is often a pain.
|
Shrinking a document can
be found if you go to page
preview under file, and then
you must click the correct
icon.
|
Menu
Organization
|
No one will agree on the
perfect menu; however, I
believe that WP has the
most reasonable set up. $
|
|
To insert a header or a
footer in Word, you go to
“View” rather than to “Insert”
or to “Format.”
|
Right Click
Menu (table)
|
Inside a table, a right click
gives you 18 options. $
|
This can be changed in
Word, but the right click in
WordPerfect gives you
options not available to
Word users.
|
Inside a table, a right click
gives you 12 options.
|
Right Click
Menu (text)
|
Text yields 14 options. $
|
See above.
|
Text yields 8 options.
|
Right Click
Menu
(selected text)
|
Selected text yields 12
options. $
|
See above.
|
Selected text yields same 8
options as simple text.
|
Right Click
Menu
|
WordPerfect does not.
|
Even so, there are still
more options with WP’s
right-click menu.
|
Word lets you edit the right
click menu.
|
Navigation
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Bookmark
Insertion
|
When you choose to create
a bookmark, its default
name is the text which
follows or the text which you
have selected. $
|
Extra steps, as usual, to
get the same result from
Word.
|
You must name each and
every bookmark. There is
no default name.
|
Documents
|
When several documents
are open at the same time
in WP, the status bar will
show these documents and
you can go from one to
another by clicking the
status bar. $$
|
In Word 2000, separate
documents appear to be
opened in separate
programs.
|
The status bar does not
offer this option in Word.
|
Document
Navigation
|
Ctrl + Home will give you
several ways to navigate
your document. You can
choose to go up or down
one page as well from the
bottom right-hand corner of
the document.
|
A right click where one
finds page navigation will
offer other types of
navigation; however, it
requires more mouse
clicks in WP than in Word.
WP improved this in
version 9.
|
At the bottom right-hand
corner of the screen, you
can choose several ways to
navigate through your
document (by page, table,
comment, etc.). $
|
Page
up/page
down keys
|
Takes you up one page or
down one page. $
|
I have used this key dozens
of times in MS Word and
have never understood its
exact function.
|
Takes you up or down 1/4th
of a page or so. Using the
page up or page down
could land you almost
anywhere.
|
Scroll bar
|
You can tug on the scroll bar
in WP and the document
moves accordingly with it. $
|
In Word, when you move
the scroll bar in the middle,
you can only approximate
where you will end up in
your document.
|
You can only do this with the
arrows on the scroll bar in
Word.
|
Printing
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Booklet
Printing
|
In WP, you can print a
duplex (4 page 8.5x11)
document onto 1 sheet of
11x17 paper so that when
folded in half, you get a
booklet with page 1 on the
cover (right side of sheet 1),
page 2,3 on the inside and
page 4 on the back (left
side of sheet 1). You do this
by selecting multi page
printing, side by side and
booklet option to put first
and last page on same
side. $
|
I don’t think that there is a
workaround here.
|
You cannot do this in Word.
|
Printing
|
Clicking on print in WP
takes you to a dialog box.
An icon or a command
which gives a quick print
can be added to WP’s
menu or tool bar (print
page; print document). The
description, the name and
the icons are all different. $
|
Why on earth does Word
use the same icon and the
same description to do
different things?
|
Clicking on print in Word
immediately prints the entire
document. If you want to
only print a couple of pages,
then you go to menu and
choose print. There are two
different print icons which
can be added to the toolbar
or to the menu; however,
they look exactly the same
and their description is
identical.
|
Print Preview
|
There is no print preview in
WP because it is already
WYSIWYG (when a
document is opened, it is
reformatted for the default
printer). $
|
Because many people
demanded it, WP 9 has a
print preview feature (it
essentially is equivalent to
looking at a full page in
WP. In WP 9, you can
switch between several
documents while in print
preview mode.
|
Although Word is about
95% WYSIWYG, the codes
look funny; going to print
preview allows limited
document editing ability;
also, one cannot switch
back and forth between
documents anymore until
print preview is turned off.
|
Tables and Columns
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Borders
|
Each border can be set
individually and completely
customized. $$
|
|
The borders have pre-set
selections which can be
customized. Some
customization resulted in
the cell border as being too
large.
|
Column and
row indicators
|
WordPerfect can be set to
show cell references. $
|
Manually count them. Fine
for a small table.
|
Word does not have a
comparable table feature.
|
Columns
|
WordPerfect offers four
types of columns with as
many columns as one
wants. $$
|
I’m not certain if there is
one.
|
Word offers one kind of
column. Both programs
allow for customizing the
types of columns that they
offer (e.g., borders, size,
etc.).
|
Cross
formulas
|
WordPerfect’s can use
values from different tables.
$
|
Just make it one big table
in Word, count the places
to determine where y1ou
are, join some cells where
you normally wouldn’t have
a table, etc., etc. etc.
|
You can’t do this in Word.
|
Exiting a
table
|
No matter how you set up a
table, you can always set
your cursor to precede or to
follow a table. $
|
Make certain there is a
hard return before or after
a table in MS Word.
|
If you set up your table
incorrectly, it is difficult to
exit it in either direction.
|
Editing a
table
|
In revising this comparison,
I decided to switch the
headings around; I selected
a set of cells with the mouse
and then dragged them
where I wanted them. The
new row with all formatting
in tact, was easily moved.
$$
|
Using right click, cut, copy
and/or paste, a row could
be moved in Word.
However, a new vacant
row would have to be
created, as this pasting
would replace the existing
cell contents. Formatting
would have to be fixed. In
WP, it was select and
drag; in Word, there were
at least a dozen steps
required.
|
The contents of a single cell
could be easily moved, but
one could not select and
move a row in Word using
the mouse. When moving
cell contents, they did not
append the contents of the
cell but replaced the
contents entirely. Some
formatting is lost.
|
Formatting as
numbers
|
10 different types which can
be customized. This can be
accessed from a right click
or from the menu. $
|
You have to do the table in
Excel again.
|
It appears as though there
was some way to customize
some cell numbers if a
formula is used, but it can’t
be done with a right click.
There were only 7 possible
number formats, and none
of these could be
customized.
|
Formulas
|
WordPerfect ships with
about 98 formulas which
can be used in WordPerfect
tables. A formula bar may
be accessed similar to a
spreadsheet formula bar.
$$
|
Do the table in Excel and
then cut and paste.
|
It appears as though Word
ships with 18 formulas, but it
was not clear how to use
them all.
|
Formulas
|
Can be accessed by menu,
additional formula bar, or
right click. $
|
Do the table in Excel and
then cut and paste
|
Can be accessed from
menu only.
|
Formulas
|
Can be copied; relative cell
relationship is maintained.
$
|
Do the table in excel, cut
and paste and then link the
files or do what is
suggested under Word.
|
This cannot be done
automatically in Word. You
must select the formula
copied in the new cell, right-click it and then choose
update field.
|
Initial size
|
In WP, one can easily adjust
the line height, which
adjusts the size in any table.
$$
|
Word can adjust the font
size, which affects the
height. Then text must be
selected individually and
that text changed back
(however, some text or
spaces must be left at the
original height).
|
Word cannot adjust the line
height by the font alone.
Make some tables and then
change the font in Word and
see what happens. Select
the table and change the
font; see what happens..
|
Numbering
Columns
|
You can number each
column in WordPerfect (i.e.,
each column can have its
own page number). $
|
You would have to manually
insert automatic numbering
at the top of each column
(any later editing of the
document would mess this
up, of course).
|
This cannot be done
automatically in Word. You
must select the formula
copied in the new cell, right-click it and then choose
update field.
|
Rotate a
Table
|
In WP, in order to rotate a
table, you insert it into a box
and then rotate the box. $
|
One person suggested to
rotate the text in each cell
of the table in Word. An
alternate method is to
insert a section break and
change the page to
landscape. The negative
here is that the other
formatting (like page
numbers and headings) will
be inconsistent in the
document.
|
Can’t do this in Word.
|
Text
alignment
|
Text can be aligned with
respect to either side or top
and bottom. Text can be
decimal aligned. $
|
In order to decimal align
columns in Word, block the
column and set a dec. align
tab where you want the
divider to be. You don't
have to tab in each cell, the
whole column will
automatically align.
|
Text can be aligned to the
top or bottom or centered
vertically. Other alignments
require use of justification
as well.
|
Viewing cell
address
|
Automatically found in the
status bar. $
|
A macro can be run in
order to view what cell you
are in.
|
Not found anywhere.
|
Updating
|
WP can be set up so that,
when a number is changed,
then the document is
automatically updated. $
|
|
You can select what you
want updated and then
press F9 or, select update
under print which is under
options and your document
will be updated prior to
printing.
|
Viewing
formulas
|
I could either insert a
formula into WP through a
right click or through the
menu. The cell references
are found at the bottom of
the screen as well as on the
table formula bar. When I
inserted a simple formula,
that was shown in the
formula bar, but the answer
was in the cell. $$
|
Inserting formulas and
seeing them is not quite as
intuitive in Word as it is in
WP. Without the cell
references, it is a little
more convoluted to write a
formula in a word table.
You can either view the
formula in Word or the
answer, but not both.
|
After checking with Word
help and dinking around a
little, I could get Word to
add a couple of cells
together (a rather
elementary function).
Although the answer did not
show on the paper, it did
when I printed it out. I had to
change the view menu in
order to see the answer.
|
Conclusion
|
The tables in WordPerfect act like the tables in a spreadsheet and not as simple
borders. One does not have to leave WordPerfect to gain the use of a spreadsheet
(although the WordPerfect Suite ships with a spreadsheet program similar to Excel).
|
Tools
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
QuickMark
|
A bookmark is
automatically placed in a
document when the
document is saved. Then
one can go to the place in
the document with on
mouse click. $
|
User can set the bookmark
manually.
|
Word has no comparable
feature.
|
Sort
|
Five types of sort; new sort
can be set to automatically
be saved as a new file.
Sort can be customized.
Custom sorts can be saved
to use again. WP
differentiated between hard
returns and items to be
sorted. $
|
MS Word will sort second
and third fields if these are
placed into a table.
|
Fewer sort options. No true
custom sorting. When I
double spaced items to be
sorted, the hard returns
became part of the sort.
Only the first item could be
sorted in a list with several
“fields.”
|
Spell-check
|
When you accidentally type
two words without a space
between them (e.g.,
twowords), WP spell check
catches this and offers the
alternative of place a space
between them. $
|
Word does fix some words
which are run together
without a space (like
“onthe”) because it is
specifically built into their
spelling tool.
|
Word doesn’t offer this
option either through a
formal spell-checking or
through a right-click.
|
Spell-check
|
Here’s a nifty feature of
WP’s spell check which I
just discovered: if there is
only one possible alternate
way of spelling a word (for
instance, you type the word
“zspelling”), WordPerfect
will correct this even though
it is NOT in the Quick
Correct word list. $
|
Word will only correct what
you tell it to correct. That
is, if you have told auto-correct that “zspelling”
should be “spelling”, it will
change it. If you don’t, you
will just have to catch it
later with spell-check or
change it because you
notice it’s underlined.
|
MS Word does not do this
automatically.
|
Suite toolbar
|
WordPerfect’s DAD bar is
placed as an integral part
right on the Window’s
taskbar, which can be
hidden to gain more space.
$$
|
None
|
The office launching bar
either takes up precious
space or is hidden, but
there is no easy access if it
is hidden.
|
Template
|
In WP, you can individually
share tool bars, menus, and
keyboards. $$
|
None. You must put every
type of toolbar or menu that
you want into one template,
or you cannot access them
from a different template.
|
In Word, in each template, it
is an all or nothing choice.
You use all that is in the
template or none of it.
|
Template
|
When a template is moved
from one computer to
another, the previous
template is not removed nor
are its characteristics lost.
$$
|
None
|
If you move “Normal.dot” to
another computer, then the
custom items in the other
program of Word are lost.
|
Thesaurus
|
In WP, the word great
yielded 50 synonyms (and
their synonyms). $
|
WP 9 really fell down on
the job here; their
Thesaurus if quite inferior
to WP 8's.
|
Word allowed for 7
synonyms and their
synonyms.
|
Toolbars
|
Toolbars and property bars
could be placed separately
in the workspace to allow
more of the document to be
seen.
|
|
The toolbars and menu
could be placed separately
throughout the workspace to
allow more of the document
to be seen.
|
Toolbars
|
Ships with 16 toolbars; new
ones can be added. $
|
|
Ships with 13 toolbars; new
ones can be added.
|
Tasks
|
Although it would never occur to me to use a template for writing a letter, I attempted to
write a letter in Word and WordPerfect. Word was slightly easier to use and it did
access the Corel address book (which surprised me). WordPerfect offered many more
options with respect to the style of the letter, but was more difficult to determine how to
insert the recipient’s address.
|
View
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Comment
|
When a comment is hidden
in a WP document, there is
a symbol in the margin
which calls attention to the
reader that there is a hidden
comment. It can be clicked
on to read and/or edit the
comment.
|
WP’s placement in the
margin seems more
prudent than in the middle
of the document. However,
in Word, when you hold the
cursor over the comment,
the contents may be read
without clicking on it.
Hopefully, both will learn
from the other’s program.
|
In Word, when viewing
hidden comments is
allowed via the options
menu, the symbol shows up
in the midst of the document
(but does not print).
|
Document
Heading
View
|
At the top of the screen, the
open document is marked
unmodified if you recently
saved it (helpful when you
have several documents
open). $
|
|
Word just lists the name of
the document.
|
Document
View
|
Only one toolbar button is
required to toggle between
page view and default view
(there are actually three
different toggle buttons in
WP). $
|
|
In Word, you must put two
buttons on your toolbar to
go from one view to the
other.
|
Document
View
|
WordPerfect can view two
active, editable pages of a
document. $
|
Someone who only uses
Word probably won’t get
the difference.
|
Word can’t do this. Word
can, however, view in two
different windows two
different pages of a
document.
|
Font Preview
window
|
There is a font preview
window available in WP
which pops up and displays
in very large letters the font
highlighted. It is big enough
for small screens, bifocals
and baby boomers to read.
You do not have to go to the
font dialogue box to access
this. $
|
You can go to the font
dialogue box, change it to
a large font, then go
through the fonts, find the
one you want; change the
font back to its normal size,
and choose okay.
|
There is no similar feature
in Word.
|
Opening a
blank
document
|
When you close all of your
documents, a blank
document set to the
standards of your default
template appears. $
|
You must click on “new
document” in Word.
|
You close your documents
in Word and nothing is left.
|
Page breaks
|
They look like page breaks.
$
|
|
I had to go through a two
page document several
times in order to see the
page break.
|
Print Preview
|
WordPerfect no longer has
a Print Preview because it
is a true WYSIWYG. There
are guidelines in WP
(margins and tables) which
do not print up, but can be
removed from the screen if
you don’t want to see them.
$
|
In Word, this can function
as the screen that one
works in as long as you
have only one document
open. I don’t know its other
limitations.
|
Word has a complete Print
Preview screen where one
can go to see how a
document will look in its final
draft. The screen had to be
reset every time I closed
one document and opened
another into it.
|
Toolbar icons
|
WordPerfect has more
choices for its icon buttons
(all of which may be
customized). $
|
|
Some of Word’s icons are
simply words which take up
more room.
|
True
WYSIWYG
|
All headers, page numbers,
etc. appear on the computer
screen as they will in the
document. $$
|
Tables and margins do
appear as broken lines on
screen in WP, but these
can be turned off.
|
Although Word is almost
WYSIWYG, not everything
looks on screen like it will
when printed.
|
Window
|
There are a number of ways
to tile several documents; it
can be set so that the active
document is prominent. $$
|
|
There appears to be only
one way to view the
documents and the active
document is not given any
more space than the
inactive document.
|
Web Capabilities
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Editing
|
WordPerfect will allow you
to edit a web document.
$$$
|
|
Word ‘97 cannot do this.
|
Opens web
documents
|
You can open any HTML
document in WordPerfect.
$$$
|
|
Word will open it mostly as
a text document with a lot of
formatting changes.
|
Prints web
documents
|
When you print out a HTML
document, it looks very
close in printing to how it
looks on screen $$$
|
|
When Word allows you to
open a web document, it will
print in only text without very
little of the web formatting.
|
Comment
|
Although Microsoft touts itself as being progressive, and that one of the top ten most
important improvements in Office 2000 is web publishing; in fact, this was mentioned as
one of the big improvements in a Time Magazine article in the April 19, 1999 issue.
However, these features have been available to WordPerfect users since WP 7, which
came out in 1996 and these web features were further refined and improved by WP 8.
What Word will eventually have, WP has had for almost 4 years (which is a long time in
the computer world).
|
Miscellaneous
|
return to
topics
|
WordPerfect 8
|
“work around”
|
Word ‘97
|
Access to
Third Party
Special Font
Characters
|
These can only be
accessed through the font
dialogue box.
|
Whatever cannot be
accessed in WP’s 1500
character set would have to
be gotten via a macro if
quick access is desired.
|
Choosing characters brings
up a dialogue box where all
the various windings are
given easy access to. If WP
is installed, then you have
access to the 1500 WP
character set; if WP is not
installed, then you don’t. $
|
Advance
|
From any point in
WordPerfect, one can
advance in any direction
any amount on a given
page. $
|
|
Word’s advance features
are not as powerful and
difficult to locate.
|
Automatic
numbering
|
WordPerfect can be set up
to insert automatic numbers
throughout a document
without being at the
beginning of a paragraph.
There was also a one
keystroke way to access
this, which was not intuitive.
$
|
I could find no help
documentation of this in
WP and it was not easy to
figure out how to set up
automatic number from the
dialogue. Help gave a
quick one sentence
solution (press
SHIFT+CTRL+F6). The
help documentation in
Word did not explain how
to do this. WP, as usual,
was several steps shorter.
|
Word can also be set up to
automatically number within
a document. To begin this,
simply go to insert, field,
listnum. I was told by one
person who used this
feature to embed it in styles
in Word
|
Characters
|
WordPerfect allows for the
insertion of 1500 different
characters in math, science
and language fields. $$$
|
You can buy the different
fonts and Word does
provide easy access to
character fonts. However,
if you’re going to buy the
WordPerfect program for
the fonts, you might as well
install the whole program.
|
Word allows for the
insertion of approximately
150 different characters.
Word is set up to access
whatever character sets are
available on the hard drive;
therefore, if you have WP
and its character sets on
your hard drive, word can
use these symbols.
However, you must have the
WordPerfect fonts installed.
|
Date insert
|
Date and or time can be
inserted by clicking the
status bar in WP (as well as
by the menu or using the
keyboard or using the
toolbar). It is nice to have
the time and the date
always on the status screen.
$
|
|
This can be gotten as a
menu item only in Word
(and it can be added to a
toolbar).
|
File
management
|
WordPerfect’s file manager
comes with a full menu; the
menu size can be adjusted
and there are 19 buttons on
the toolbar. The window to
look at a document can be
removed and sized
separately. $$
|
To do any sort of file
management I Word, you
must go to explorer or
another program.
|
Word’s file manager cannot
be sized, it has no menu,
and the size cannot be
adjusted. There are 9
buttons on the toolbar.
|
File Manager
|
WordPerfect, the tool bar in
file manager can be
customized and the
dialogue box can be sized.
$
|
|
In Word, when you open file
manager what you see is
what you get.
|
Integration
|
When in templates in WP,
one is offered hundreds of
templates in all suite
applications. $$
|
|
Not only do you have half as
many templates, but you
cannot begin an Excel
template from Word.
|
Printer
|
When working with two or
more printers, WP displays
which printer is being used
on the status bar. $
|
|
If there are two printing
options, there is nothing in
Word to immediately let you
know that you might be
using the wrong printer.
|
Playfulness
|
WordPerfect tends to be
very business-oriented.
Backgrounds may be
added to a WP document,
but these backgrounds will
print, unless the code is
eliminated before printing.
|
Menus in WP open and
close in an entertaining
manner under
Windows ‘98. However,
there is no paperclip guy in
WP. Personally, I liked the
menu effects the first 3 or 4
times I saw them, but never
warmed up to the paper
clip guy.
|
Word offers the paperclip
guy, a temporary
background to your
documents (which does not
print out, but looks cool),
and menus that open in an
entertaining manner.
|
Printing
|
WordPerfect automatically
adjusts for the various
printers. $
|
The default setting for the
footer must be changed in
Word (do this in file, then
page setup).
|
Word will, on some ink jet
printers, will not print the
page numbers.
|
Printing
|
WordPerfect, by default,
lists the printer for which a
document has been
formatted for, on the status
bar. Different printers will
produce different results
and this allows for a true
WYSIWYG document. $
|
|
Word does not.
|
Printing
|
When a document is
opened in WordPerfect, it is
re-formatted for the printer
in use, so that, if you choose
to print from that printer, you
have a true WYSIWYG
document. $
|
|
In Word, you must go to
Print Preview to see what is
going on with your
document.
|
Property Bar
|
Ships with 10 customizable
property bars. New ones
can be added. A property
bar is a tool bar which
automatically shows up
depending upon the
environment that you are in
(e.g., selected text, in a
table, header/footer,
graphic, etc.). These
features are peculiar to that
environment.
$$$
|
In Word, when you are in a
table, then you can bring up
the “table” toolbar” and
then remove it when you
are done. This is done
automatically in WP in
several different
environments. You can
also choose what
environment will “trigger”
what property bar.
|
Word has no comparable
feature.
|
Repeat
Function
|
In WordPerfect, you first
choose how many times you
would like an action
repeated, then the action
must involve one keystroke.
It will be repeated the
specified number of times.
This can be a macro, text, a
pasting of text, etc. $$
|
The repeat function in WP
is simply quite impressive.
Surprisingly enough, it was
a MS fan who directed me
to look at the repeat
function, in hopes that
Word’s was better than
WP’s.
|
In Word, you use the repeat
function after the fact and it
simply repeats the text
which you have typed once.
It will not repeat a macro,
although it might repeat the
typing of some of the text in
the macro. There are times
I wasn’t certain what would
occur when I chose the
repeat function.
|
Shadow
cursor
|
The shadow cursor is
a”ghost” cursor which tells
the user where clicking
would place the cursor
(even if the mouse arrow is
outside the margins). $
|
|
No comparable feature.
|
Shadow
cursor
|
The shadow cursor also
allows the user to click
anywhere in a blank
document and begin right
there. The hard returns and
the tabs will be
automatically set.
$
|
|
Word ‘97 does not does
this; however, a similar
feature is found in
Word 2000; Word does
catch up in some areas.
|
Speed
|
Moving through a document
in WP was quicker than the
equivalent document in
Word. $
|
On one person’s computer,
under the Windows NT OS,
WordPerfect was very
slow. I have not found that
same problem duplicated
elsewhere but I have heard
that NT and WP often don’t
agree..
|
One particular document of
only two or three pages took
forever in word to skim
through.
|
Recovered
Documents
|
WordPerfect has a backup
feature so that if you lose
your power, WP will prompt
you to open documents
which were saved. They
are listed as document 1, 2,
etc.
|
|
In Word, a document is
recovered and it keeps the
name that it originally had.
After the name, we have the
notation recovered. $
|