WordPerfect 8.0 catches up fast in word processing
By Zatni Arbi
JAKARTA (JP): Once in a while, Microsoft Word for Windows 97, which is part of Microsoft Office 97, surprises me.
First, document files created with this version cannot be read by earlier generations of Winword. This is not really a surprise, of course. Any new version usually packs new features that the old ones won't be able to handle. It's no problem, either, because there is, as one would expect, the option in Winword 97 that allows us to save our documents in Winword 95 or even Winword 6.0 format.
The problem is, each time I did this, I got a file in Rich Text Format (RTF). While Winword 95 or Winword 6.0 have no problem opening a file in this format, other word processor programs may choke. Several friends have also reported having problems when opening Winword 7.0 in a Mac, and it usually happened when their deadline was just half an hour away.
More serious than this, however, are the inconsistencies I have encountered in formatting a long document. For example, when I had to print a 10-page document in two balanced columns; I had selected all the text in the columns and applied a different font and font size formatting. When I printed the document, I found that one paragraph -- for some unknown reason -- had a font size one point larger than the rest of the text. I fixed it by repeating the formatting procedure, and the next printout came out perfect.
There were other times when I seemed to have lost control over the formatting and even margin settings of the text on the pages. This included boldface and other font attributes of the numbering characters in the number list that refused to be altered. I soon learned that changing the font or its attributes after I'd created a list using the automatic list feature would most likely gave me a headache.
Every time I was frustrated by Winword's insistence on acting according to its own will, I wished I had decided to use WordPerfect for the project in the first place. I would end up longing for the formatting codes that we find in WP's Reveal Code mode. In my experience with WordPerfect, these codes put me more in control as far as complex document formatting is concerned.
Better WP
Then, when Kany Chan, Corel's media relations manager for Greater China and Southeast Asia, handed me a copy of WordPerfect Suite 8.0 after her recent presentation at Grand Hyatt, Jakarta, I was elated. I wasted no time in exploring its strengths and, of course, weaknesses.
One will immediately appreciate the real consistency found in the user interface across all core applications in the new WordPerfect Suite 8.0. WP, Quattro Pro and Presentation now have the same look and feel. Unlike in the past, we can no longer accuse whoever sells us WordPerfect Suite that they are just selling a box into which they have thrown in a set of disparate application programs.
The interface is now very clean. In fact, as you can see in the accompanying picture, the menu items in WP's menu bar is now almost identical to the one you find in Winword 7.0. Only the Table menu item is missing in WP 8.0. This time we explore WP 8.0. We will take a look at the other programs in WP Suite 8.0 in the future. Installation was smooth and quick, considering the fact that my hard disk was already full with all sorts of things and that it is already time again to reformat it.
On my 133 MHz Pentium machine, WP 8.0 runs at least as fast as Winword 97. It doesn't take very long to load, and opening files is also quick. Reports in magazines such as Byte and PC World also confirm that WP 8.0 is noticeably faster than the previous versions. Corel has obviously done a good job in optimizing the program codes.
On-the-fly spelling and grammar checking, which is my favorite, is also available in WP 8.0. However, one of the best additions in WP 8.0, as well as in other core members of the 8.0 Suite, is certainly the Property Bar.
Property Bar was first introduced in CorelDRAW 7.0, and it became an instant hit. Containing all properties pertinent to whatever we are doing, the bar changes as we move to work on a different object. So, for example, when we type in the text, the Property Bar will display all current properties of the text including the fonts, the font size, alignment and paragraph styles. It even displays alternative words when WP 8.0 spell checker encounter a word that it doesn't recognize.
If we click on a table in the document on the screen, for instance, the Property Bar will display all properties of the table, including the number format of the cells. In addition to these properties, the bar also contains icons that are relevant to the object we are working on.
This allows us to have on the screen only the icons that we need and it helps minimize clutters. There are 32 different property bars altogether, and you could modify any of them if you wish.
Nifty tools
When we move a column or row border in WP 8.0's table, the program will tell us the exact position of the cursor. This helps a lot if we have to format a large number of tables in our document.
Another welcomed innovation is the Cursor Shadow. In other word processors, we always have to start at the top left-hand corner of the blank page after we open a new document. In WP 8.0, with Cursor Shadow turned on, we can move the cursor directly to the center of the page and a shadow cursor will follow. It will automatically tell us where the insertion point -- the I-beam -- will be when we click the mouse button. So we can immediately start typing the front page of a report, for example, without having to tap the ENTER key many times to get down to where we want the title to be placed.
Changing fonts is now more convenient than ever. Each time we select a font from the font list found in the Property Bar or the Format toolbar, WP 8.0 will display the typefaces of the font so there'll be no more guess-work involved.
WP 8.0 has no decorative animated wizard, but the PerfectExpert offers equally, if not more, exhaustive answers to our questions and guidance for what we want to accomplish. On the CD-ROM there is also the on-line electronic manual.
Wish list
WP 8.0 no longer accepts file created with Wordstar. In Indonesia, this can mean a lot of hassles because a lot of users are still sticking to Wordstar. While CorelWordPerfect 6.1 was still able to open a Wordstar 4.0 file, it is rather unfortunate that Corel has decided to drop this format from its list of convertible files. Interestingly, although it cannot open Wordstar 3.0 to 4.0 files, WP 8.0 can still recognize them as such.
Another thing that Corel still has to perfect is the movement of the insertion point. In other Windows-based word processors, the insertion point always stops before a punctuation mark (a period, a coma, a semicolon, a colon, a question mark or an exclamation mark) when we move around using the Ctrl-Arrow key combinations. This makes navigating with the arrow keys more precise. WP 8.0 still carries a legacy of the DOS-based WP. The insertion point only stops before the next word.
Why is this so important? When I want to delete a word or a string of words, I usually highlight it first and then type in the replacement. This way I can make sure that I don't make more mistakes. Now, if I want to delete a word at the end of a sentence, for instance, I'd like to select the word with the period not included so that I won't have to retype the period. In WP 8.0, I'll still have to type in the punctuation marks.
Furthermore, when we move a word from the center of a sentence to the beginning, the first letter will not be automatically capitalized as it would in Winword. Luckily, WP 8.0 will recognize the missing capitalized first letter and will suggest, for example, "Lazy" as the replacement for "lazy". The good news is that Ctrl-End no longer erases the entire line to the right of the insertion point, as older versions of WP did.
WP 8.0 has proven that the old word processor champ is still very much alive and kicking. Its imperfections are minor, and I'm sure one can easily live with it. On the other hand, the seamless integration among the core applications and the accessibility of the formatting codes that put the user in control are really its strong points. Besides, like the previous versions of WP, it is also very task-oriented. Therefore, I guess, from now on I'm back with WP again.