WordPerfect 8.0 catches up fast in word processing<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Once in a while, Microsoft Word for Windows 97,
\nwhich is part of Microsoft Office 97, surprises me.<\/p>\n
First, document files created with this version cannot be read
\nby earlier generations of Winword. This is not really a surprise,
\nof course. Any new version usually packs new features that the
\nold ones won't be able to handle. It's no problem, either,
\nbecause there is, as one would expect, the option in Winword 97
\nthat allows us to save our documents in Winword 95 or even
\nWinword 6.0 format.<\/p>\n
The problem is, each time I did this, I got a file in Rich
\nText Format (RTF). While Winword 95 or Winword 6.0 have no
\nproblem opening a file in this format, other word processor
\nprograms may choke. Several friends have also reported having
\nproblems when opening Winword 7.0 in a Mac, and it usually
\nhappened when their deadline was just half an hour away.<\/p>\n
More serious than this, however, are the inconsistencies I
\nhave encountered in formatting a long document. For example, when
\nI had to print a 10-page document in two balanced columns; I had
\nselected all the text in the columns and applied a different font
\nand font size formatting. When I printed the document, I found
\nthat one paragraph -- for some unknown reason -- had a font size
\none point larger than the rest of the text. I fixed it by
\nrepeating the formatting procedure, and the next printout came
\nout perfect.<\/p>\n
There were other times when I seemed to have lost control over
\nthe formatting and even margin settings of the text on the pages.
\nThis included boldface and other font attributes of the numbering
\ncharacters in the number list that refused to be altered. I soon
\nlearned that changing the font or its attributes after I'd
\ncreated a list using the automatic list feature would most likely
\ngave me a headache.<\/p>\n
Every time I was frustrated by Winword's insistence on acting
\naccording to its own will, I wished I had decided to use
\nWordPerfect for the project in the first place. I would end up
\nlonging for the formatting codes that we find in WP's Reveal Code
\nmode. In my experience with WordPerfect, these codes put me more
\nin control as far as complex document formatting is concerned.<\/p>\n
Better WP<\/p>\n
Then, when Kany Chan, Corel's media relations manager for
\nGreater China and Southeast Asia, handed me a copy of WordPerfect
\nSuite 8.0 after her recent presentation at Grand Hyatt, Jakarta,
\nI was elated. I wasted no time in exploring its strengths and, of
\ncourse, weaknesses.<\/p>\n
One will immediately appreciate the real consistency found in
\nthe user interface across all core applications in the new
\nWordPerfect Suite 8.0. WP, Quattro Pro and Presentation now have
\nthe same look and feel. Unlike in the past, we can no longer
\naccuse whoever sells us WordPerfect Suite that they are just
\nselling a box into which they have thrown in a set of disparate
\napplication programs.<\/p>\n
The interface is now very clean. In fact, as you can see in
\nthe accompanying picture, the menu items in WP's menu bar is now
\nalmost identical to the one you find in Winword 7.0. Only the
\nTable menu item is missing in WP 8.0. This time we explore WP
\n8.0. We will take a look at the other programs in WP Suite 8.0 in
\nthe future. Installation was smooth and quick, considering the
\nfact that my hard disk was already full with all sorts of things
\nand that it is already time again to reformat it.<\/p>\n
On my 133 MHz Pentium machine, WP 8.0 runs at least as fast as
\nWinword 97. It doesn't take very long to load, and opening files
\nis also quick. Reports in magazines such as Byte and PC World
\nalso confirm that WP 8.0 is noticeably faster than the previous
\nversions. Corel has obviously done a good job in optimizing the
\nprogram codes.<\/p>\n
On-the-fly spelling and grammar checking, which is my
\nfavorite, is also available in WP 8.0. However, one of the best
\nadditions in WP 8.0, as well as in other core members of the 8.0
\nSuite, is certainly the Property Bar.<\/p>\n
Property Bar was first introduced in CorelDRAW 7.0, and it
\nbecame an instant hit. Containing all properties pertinent to
\nwhatever we are doing, the bar changes as we move to work on a
\ndifferent object. So, for example, when we type in the text, the
\nProperty Bar will display all current properties of the text
\nincluding the fonts, the font size, alignment and paragraph
\nstyles. It even displays alternative words when WP 8.0 spell
\nchecker encounter a word that it doesn't recognize.<\/p>\n
If we click on a table in the document on the screen, for
\ninstance, the Property Bar will display all properties of the
\ntable, including the number format of the cells. In addition to
\nthese properties, the bar also contains icons that are relevant
\nto the object we are working on.<\/p>\n
This allows us to have on the screen only the icons that we
\nneed and it helps minimize clutters. There are 32 different
\nproperty bars altogether, and you could modify any of them if you
\nwish.<\/p>\n
Nifty tools<\/p>\n
When we move a column or row border in WP 8.0's table, the
\nprogram will tell us the exact position of the cursor. This helps
\na lot if we have to format a large number of tables in our
\ndocument.<\/p>\n
Another welcomed innovation is the Cursor Shadow. In other
\nword processors, we always have to start at the top left-hand
\ncorner of the blank page after we open a new document. In WP 8.0,
\nwith Cursor Shadow turned on, we can move the cursor directly to
\nthe center of the page and a shadow cursor will follow. It will
\nautomatically tell us where the insertion point -- the I-beam --
\nwill be when we click the mouse button. So we can immediately
\nstart typing the front page of a report, for example, without
\nhaving to tap the ENTER key many times to get down to where we
\nwant the title to be placed.<\/p>\n
Changing fonts is now more convenient than ever. Each time we
\nselect a font from the font list found in the Property Bar or the
\nFormat toolbar, WP 8.0 will display the typefaces of the font so
\nthere'll be no more guess-work involved.<\/p>\n
WP 8.0 has no decorative animated wizard, but the
\nPerfectExpert offers equally, if not more, exhaustive answers to
\nour questions and guidance for what we want to accomplish. On the
\nCD-ROM there is also the on-line electronic manual.<\/p>\n
Wish list<\/p>\n
WP 8.0 no longer accepts file created with Wordstar. In
\nIndonesia, this can mean a lot of hassles because a lot of users
\nare still sticking to Wordstar. While CorelWordPerfect 6.1 was
\nstill able to open a Wordstar 4.0 file, it is rather unfortunate
\nthat Corel has decided to drop this format from its list of
\nconvertible files. Interestingly, although it cannot open
\nWordstar 3.0 to 4.0 files, WP 8.0 can still recognize them as
\nsuch.<\/p>\n
Another thing that Corel still has to perfect is the movement
\nof the insertion point. In other Windows-based word processors,
\nthe insertion point always stops before a punctuation mark (a
\nperiod, a coma, a semicolon, a colon, a question mark or an
\nexclamation mark) when we move around using the Ctrl-Arrow key
\ncombinations. This makes navigating with the arrow keys more
\nprecise. WP 8.0 still carries a legacy of the DOS-based WP. The
\ninsertion point only stops before the next word.<\/p>\n
Why is this so important? When I want to delete a word or a
\nstring of words, I usually highlight it first and then type in
\nthe replacement. This way I can make sure that I don't make more
\nmistakes. Now, if I want to delete a word at the end of a
\nsentence, for instance, I'd like to select the word with the
\nperiod not included so that I won't have to retype the period. In
\nWP 8.0, I'll still have to type in the punctuation marks.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, when we move a word from the center of a sentence
\nto the beginning, the first letter will not be automatically
\ncapitalized as it would in Winword. Luckily, WP 8.0 will
\nrecognize the missing capitalized first letter and will suggest,
\nfor example, \"Lazy\" as the replacement for \"lazy\". The good news
\nis that Ctrl-End no longer erases the entire line to the right of
\nthe insertion point, as older versions of WP did.<\/p>\n
WP 8.0 has proven that the old word processor champ is still
\nvery much alive and kicking. Its imperfections are minor, and I'm
\nsure one can easily live with it. On the other hand, the seamless
\nintegration among the core applications and the accessibility of
\nthe formatting codes that put the user in control are really its
\nstrong points. Besides, like the previous versions of WP, it is
\nalso very task-oriented. Therefore, I guess, from now on I'm back
\nwith WP again.<\/p>",
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