Editing WordPerfect (section)

==WordPerfect for Windows==

===History===
WordPerfect was late in coming to market with a Windows version. '''WordPerfect 5.1 for Windows''', introduced in 1991, had to be installed from DOS and was largely unpopular due to serious stability issues. The first mature version, '''WordPerfect 5.2 for Windows''', was released in November 1992<ref name=WP60PC.NYT/> and '''WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows''' was released in 1993.  By the time WordPerfect 5.2 for Windows was introduced, Microsoft Word for Windows version 2 had been on the market for over a year and had received its third interim release, v2.0c.

WordPerfect's function-key-centered user interface did not adapt well to the new paradigm of a mouse and pull-down menus, especially with many of WordPerfect's standard key combinations overridden by incompatible keyboard shortcuts that Windows itself used; for example, Alt-F4 became ''Exit Program'', as opposed to WordPerfect's ''Block Text''. The DOS version's impressive arsenal of finely tuned printer drivers was also rendered obsolete by Windows' use of its own printer device drivers.

===WordPerfect Office Suite===
[[Image:Novell PerfectOffice Professional 3.0 for Windows.jpg|thumb|right|The PerfectOffice 3.0 suite, Professional edition, as released by Novell in 1995]]
WordPerfect became part of an [[office suite]] when the company entered into a co-licensing agreement with [[Borland|Borland Software Corporation]] in 1993. The offerings were marketed as Borland Office, containing Windows versions of WordPerfect, [[Quattro Pro]], [[Borland Paradox]], and a LAN-based groupware package called WordPerfect Office. Originally based on the WordPerfect Library for DOS, the Novell / WordPerfect Office suite was integrated by "[[middleware]]". The most important middleware suite, still active in current versions of WordPerfect Office, is called PerfectFit (developed by WordPerfect). The other "middleware" (developed by Novell) was called AppWare.<ref name="NovellvMSUtah2-302.pdf">{{cite web |url = http://www.groklaw.net/pdf3/NovellvMSUtah2-302.pdf |title = Novell vs Microsoft }}</ref>

===Novell buys WordPerfect Company===
{{pic|WordPerfect, Novell Applications Group logo.svg|Logo of WordPerfect, Novell Applications Group}}
The WordPerfect product line was sold twice, first to [[Novell]]<ref name=Brinkley.NYT2K/> in June 1994, for $1.4 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rosenwald |first=Michael S. |date=2024-07-02 |title=Bruce Bastian, a Founder of WordPerfect, Is Dead at 76 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/business/bruce-bastian-dead.html |access-date=2024-07-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Novell sold it (at a big loss) to [[Corel]] in January 1996. However, Novell kept the WordPerfect Office technology, incorporating it into its [[GroupWise]] messaging and collaboration product.

===Microsoft vs Novell===
[[Image:Novell WordPerfect and Quattro Pro users guides.jpg|thumb|left|Novell-era user guides for WordPerfect and Quattro Pro]]
Compounding WordPerfect's troubles were issues associated with the release of the first [[32-bit application|32-bit]] version, '''WordPerfect 7''', intended for use on [[Windows 95]]. In the lawsuit 'Novell v. Microsoft', Novell argued that these problems were due to anti-competitive acts by Microsoft.<ref name="NovellvMSUtah2-302.pdf"/>

While WordPerfect 7 contained notable improvements over the [[16-bit application|16-bit]] WordPerfect for Windows 3.1, it was released in May 1996, nine months after the introduction of Windows 95 and [[Microsoft Office 95]] (including [[Word for Windows|Word 95]]). The initial release suffered from notable stability problems. WordPerfect 7 also did not have a Microsoft "Designed for Windows 95" logo. This was important to some Windows 95 software purchasers as Microsoft set standards for application design, behavior, and interaction with the operating system. To make matters worse, the original release of WordPerfect 7 was incompatible with [[Windows NT]], hindering its adoption in many professional environments. The "NT Enabled" version of WordPerfect 7, which Corel considered to be Service Pack 2, was not available until Q1-1997, over six months after the introduction of [[Windows NT 4.0]], a year and a half after the introduction of Office 95 (which supported Windows NT out of the box), and shortly after the introduction of Office 97.

===Market share===
By 1993 WordPerfect Corporation had three disadvantages as it expanded beyond word processing, according to an industry analyst: A reputation for arrogance, a perception that it was a one-product DOS software company, and shipping products late.<ref name="gerber19930125">{{Cite magazine |last=Gerber |first=Cheryl |date=1993-01-25 |title=WP Office due for net boost |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2zsEAAAAMBAJ&dq=dataperfect&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=true |access-date=2025-05-20 |magazine=InfoWorld |pages=1,83 |volume=15 |issue=4}}</ref>{{r|WP60PC.NYT}} While WordPerfect dominated the DOS word processor market, Microsoft shifted its attention toward a Windows version of Word; after Windows 3.0 was introduced, Word's market share began to grow at an extraordinary rate.  A Windows version of WordPerfect was not introduced until nearly two years after Windows 3.0, and was met with poor reviews. Word also benefited from being included in an integrated office suite package much sooner than WordPerfect.<ref>{{cite book |title = Winners, losers & Microsoft : competition and antitrust in high technology |url = https://archive.org/details/winnerslosersmic00lieb |url-access = registration |year = 1999 |first1 = Stan J. |last1 = Liebowitz |first2 = Stephen E. |last2 = Margolis |publisher = The Independent Institute |isbn = 0-945999-80-1 |lccn = 99-73414 |chapter = 8. Major Markets - Spreadsheets and Word Processors }}</ref><ref><!-- This is an author preview of the previous cited book. -->{{cite web |url = http://www.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/book/wordprocessor/word.html |title = A. Word Processors |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100805133621/http://www.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/book/wordprocessor/word.html |archive-date = August 5, 2010 |website = Utdallas.edu |access-date = July 17, 2013 |url-status = live }}</ref>

While WordPerfect had as much as 60% of the word processing market by the early 1990s,{{r|WP60PC.NYT}} one consultant for the legal profession in 1990 estimated that 70% of law firms used it,<ref name="fisher19900326">{{Cite magazine |last=Fisher |first=Sharon |date=1990-03-26 |title=Networking Legal Offices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1DsEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PT88&pg=PT50#v=onepage&q&f=true |access-date=2025-04-12 |magazine=InfoWorld |page=S1, S4}}</ref> 46% of respondents in a 1990 [[American Institute of Certified Public Accountants]] survey used WordPerfect,<ref name="aicpa1990">{{Cite report |url=https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1563&context=aicpa_guides |title=1990 AICPA survey of computer usage |author-link=American Institute of Certified Public Accountants |year=1990 |id=561 |access-date=2025-04-30}}</ref> and the application had more than 50% of the worldwide word-processing market in 1995, by 2000 Word had up to 95%; it was so dominant that WordPerfect executives admitted that their software needed to be compatible with Word documents to survive.<ref name=Brinkley.NYT2K>{{Cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/21/technology/state-of-the-art-it-s-a-word-world-or-is-it.html |title = It's a Word World, Or Is It? |first = Joel |last = Brinkley |newspaper = [[The New York Times]] |date = September 9, 2000 |access-date = July 15, 2019 |author-link = Joel Brinkley }}</ref>

===Application integration and middleware===
While Microsoft offered something that looked like a fully integrated office suite in [[Microsoft Office]], a common complaint about early Windows versions of WordPerfect Office was that it looked like a collection of separate applications from different vendors cobbled together, with inconsistent user interfaces from one application to another.

In fact, enabling applications from various software developers to work together on every platform was part of the Novell strategy. Novell had acquired WordPerfect for Windows from WordPerfect Corporation, Paradox from Borland, and various peripheral utilities from other companies and had started to evangelize the Novell "middleware"&nbsp;– '''Appware'''&nbsp;– as a means for others to run their programs on every operating system. This "middleware" strategy would make software vendors and customers independent from operating system vendors, like Microsoft, thus posing a real threat.<ref name="NovellvMSUtah2-302.pdf"/>

Contrary to Microsoft with its MS Office however, starting with WordPerfect Office 9, Corel successfully integrated the components of WordPerfect Office almost seamlessly. PerfectScript and the middleware PerfectFit played the major role here. Elements of applications like CorelDraw and Ventura desktop publishing were also integrated and enriched the document format.

===Faithful customers===
[[Image:US Department of Justice using WordPerfect 2008.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.1|An example from 2008 of a U.S. Department of Justice court ruling that can be downloaded in WordPerfect format – but not in Word format]]
Among the remaining avid users of WordPerfect were many [[law firms]] and government offices,<ref name=Brinkley.NYT2K/> which favored WordPerfect features such as macros, reveal codes, and the ability to access a large range of formatting options such as left-right block indent directly with key combinations rather than having to click through several layers of submenus as Microsoft Word often requires. Fast typists appreciated the ability to keep their hands on the keyboard, rather than reaching for the mouse as often as would be required if they were using Microsoft Word.  WordPerfect users may also define any key or key combination to do what they want, such as typing phrases they often use or executing macros.  The user interface stayed almost identical from WPWin 6 through at least WP X5 (2010) and file formats did not change, as incompatible new formats would require keeping both obsolete software versions and obsolete hardware around just to access old documents.

Corel catered to these markets, with, for example, a major sale to the [[United States Department of Justice]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Corel3/Section/Display&sid=1047022946165&cid=1047024657698&gid=1047022985433 |title = Corel Graphics, Digital Media & Productivity Software |website = www.corel.com }}</ref> A related factor is that WordPerfect Corporation was particularly responsive to feature requests from the legal profession, incorporating many features particularly useful to that niche market; those features have been continued in subsequent versions, usually directly accessible with key combinations. WordPerfect still had a level of presence among such users into the 2020s.<ref name="pcmag-2021-review"/> Similarly, as of 2024, the [[French judiciary]] continues to use WordPerfect,<ref>{{Cite web |first1 = Cyril |last1 = Jeanningros |last2 = Tardy-Joubert |first2 =  Sophie |date = January 2, 2022 |title = On parle de la dématérialisation de la justice, mais la réalité est qu'on travaille sur Word perfect, un logiciel créé en 1996 ! |trans-title = We speak about the dematerialization of justice, but the reality is that we work on WordPerfect, software created in 1996! |url = https://www.actu-juridique.fr/juridictions/on-parle-de-la-dematerialisation-de-la-justice-mais-la-realite-est-quon-travaille-sur-word-perfect-un-logiciel-cree-en-1996/ |access-date = March 16, 2024 |website = Actu-Juridique |language = fr }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Le confinement, crash test de la transformation numérique de la justice - Administratif {{!}} Dalloz Actualité |url=https://www.dalloz-actualite.fr/flash/confinement-crash-test-de-transformation-numerique-de-justice |access-date=March 16, 2024 |website=www.dalloz-actualite.fr |language=fr}}</ref> and continues to offer training for its use.<ref>{{Cite web |title = e-formation |url = https://formation.enm.justice.fr/Pages/e-learning.aspx |access-date = March 16, 2024 |website = formation.enm.justice.fr }}</ref> 

===''Novell v. Microsoft'' antitrust lawsuit===
In November 2004, Novell filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft for alleged anti-competitive behavior (such as tying Word to sales of Windows and withdrawal of support for APIs<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brodkin |first=Jon |date=2012-07-16 |title=Antitrust ruling says Microsoft didn't kill WordPerfect—Novell did |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/antitrust-ruling-says-microsoft-didnt-kill-wordperfect-novell-did/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref>) that Novell claims led to loss of WordPerfect market share.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.novell.com/news/press/archive/2004/11/pr04077_pdf.html |title = Novell Files WordPerfect Antitrust Lawsuit against Microsoft |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20041228141816/http://www.novell.com/news/press/archive/2004/11/pr04077_pdf.html |archive-date = December 28, 2004 |url-status = dead }}</ref> That lawsuit,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20041115070558892 |title = Groklaw&nbsp;— Novell v. MS Antitrust Timeline |website = www.groklaw.net }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-11-21/bill-gates-novell-microsoft-lawsuit/51329388/1 |title = Gates: Microsoft Word was better than WordPerfect |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111204020658/http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-11-21/bill-gates-novell-microsoft-lawsuit/51329388/1 |archive-date = December 4, 2011 |website = USA Today |agency = Associated Press |date = November 21, 2011 }}</ref> after several delays, was dismissed in July 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://allthingsd.com/20120716/novell-antitrust-suit-against-microsoft-sputters-to-a-close/ |title = Novell Antitrust Suit Against Microsoft Sputters to a Close |website = AllThingsD |date = July 16, 2012 |access-date = December 4, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last = Whittaker |first = Zack |date = July 17, 2012 |url = http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57473780-75/judge-dismisses-novells-antitrust-suit-against-microsoft/ |title = Judge dismisses Novell's antitrust suit against Microsoft |website = CNET News |access-date = July 17, 2013 }}</ref> Novell filed an appeal from the judgment in November 2012, but the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed.<ref>{{cite news |title = Novell Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 731 F.3d 1064 (10th Cir. 2013) |url = https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-10th-circuit/1645057.html |access-date = March 23, 2023 |language = en }}</ref> Novell sought review in the [[US Supreme Court]], but in 2014 that court declined to hear the case, ending the legal action almost a decade after it had begun.<ref>{{cite web |title = Groklaw – Novell Files its Opening Appeal Brief in WordPerfect Antitrust Litigation v. Microsoft ~pj Updated |url = http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20121123221716522 |website = www.groklaw.net |access-date = March 21, 2022 |date = November 26, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1 = Khaw |first1 = Cassandra |title = Microsoft wins antitrust lawsuit brought by Novell |url = https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/29/5663960/novell-antitrust-rejected-supreme-court |access-date = March 21, 2022 |work = The Verge |date = April 29, 2014 |language = en }}</ref>

===Corel buys WordPerfect from Novell===
Novell stated in November 1995 that it was putting its personal productivity product line up for sale.<ref name="AR_1995">{{cite book |title = 1995 Annual Report |publisher = Novell, Inc. |location = Orem, Utah |date = 1995 |pages = 6, 22, back cover }}</ref>  In January 1996 it announced that the sale of these products, primarily WordPerfect and Quattro Pro, would be made to [[Corel]] for $186 million, a large loss from what it had originally paid to acquire WordPerfect.<ref name="WaPo_WordPerfect_1996">{{cite news |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1996/02/01/novell-sells-wordperfect-division/6bc86c5a-5b95-41cc-bde3-cff5cebed1fd/ |title = Novell Sells WordPerfect |first = Elizabeth |last = Corcoran |newspaper = The Washington Post |date = February 1, 1996 }}</ref>  Novell did hold onto a few pieces that it had acquired from WordPerfect, most importantly the [[GroupWise]] collaboration product.<ref name="WaPo_WordPerfect_1996"/><ref name="BW_Knell_1996">{{cite news |url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/1996-03-24/microsoft-may-sound-the-death-knell-for-novell |title = Microsoft May Sound 'The Death Knell For Novell' |last = Cortese |first = Amy |magazine = Business Week |date = March 25, 1996 }}</ref> 

The sale to Corel, which was headquartered in [[Ottawa, Ontario]], was completed in March 1996.<ref name="AR_1996">{{cite book |title = 1996 Annual Report |publisher = Novell, Inc. |location = Orem, Utah |date = 1996 |pages = 15, 18 }}</ref> The head of Corel, [[Michael Cowpland]], initially expressed optimism that Corel WordPerfect could compete effectively against Microsoft Word among business users, somewhat akin to a [[Cola wars|Coke versus Pepsi battle]].<ref name="DN_Orem_1998"/> The optimism was wrong; many new computers came loaded with Word along with Windows.<ref name=financialpost>{{cite news |url = http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/08/blackberry-ltd-isnt-the-first-canadian-tech-company-to-go-from-rockstar-to-near-ruin/?__lsa=2ab0-85d5 |title = BlackBerry Ltd isn't the first Canadian tech company to go from rockstar to (near) ruin |date = November 8, 2013 |newspaper = Financial Post }}</ref> Corel lost over $230 million for 1997.<ref name="DN_Orem_1998"/>  

In 1998, the WordPerfect development offices in Orem were closed, affecting over 500 employees.<ref name="DN_Orem_1998"/> The software engineering for WordPerfect became centred in Corel's home city of Ottawa.<ref name="DN_Orem_1998">{{cite news |url = https://www.deseret.com/1998/6/25/19387830/corel-closing-orem-offices |title = Corel closing Orem offices |first = Dennis |last = Romboy |newspaper = Deseret News |date = June 25, 1998 }}</ref>

===Corel WordPerfect===
[[Image:Unopened boxes of Microsoft Windows Me and Corel WordPerfect 8.jpg|thumb|right|Boxes of Corel WordPerfect 8]]
Since its acquisition by [[Corel]] in 1996, WordPerfect for Windows was officially been known as '''Corel WordPerfect'''. 

On January 17, 2006, Corel announced '''WordPerfect X3'''. Corel is an original member of the [[OASIS (organization)|OASIS]] Technical Committee on the [[OpenDocument]] Format, and Paul Langille, a senior Corel developer, is one of the original four authors of the OpenDocument specification.

In January 2006, subscribers to Corel's electronic newsletter were informed that WordPerfect 13 was scheduled for release later in 2006. The subsequent release of X3 (identified as "13" internally and in registry entries) has been met with generally positive reviews, due to new features including a unique [[PDF]] import capability, [[metadata removal tool]]s, integrated search and online resources and other features.

Version X3 was described by [[CNET]] in January 2006 as a "winner", "a feature-packed productivity suite that's just as easy to use&nbsp;— and in many ways more innovative than&nbsp;— industry-goliath Microsoft Office 2003." CNET went on to describe X3 as "a solid upgrade for long-time users", but that "Die-hard Microsoft fans may want to wait to see what Redmond has up its sleeve with the radical changes expected within the upcoming Microsoft Office 12."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://reviews.cnet.com/office-suites/corel-wordperfect-office-x3/4505-3524_7-31660599.html?tag=return |title = WordPerfect Office X3 review |website = CNET }}</ref>

Although the released version of X3 at the time did not support the [[Office Open XML|OOXML]] or [[OpenDocument]] formats, a beta was released that supported both.<ref name="ODF-OOXML">{{cite web |last = Corel |title = OOXML/ODF beta for WordPerfect Office now available! |year = 2007 |url = http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1191009902786 |access-date = November 15, 2007 }}</ref>

Reports surfaced late in January 2006 that Apple's [[iWork]] had leapfrogged WordPerfect Office as the leading alternative to Microsoft Office. This claim was soon debunked<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1495 |title = iWork has no game against Office or WordPerfect |website = AppleInsider |access-date = February 17, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060202023948/http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1495 |archive-date = February 2, 2006 |url-status = dead }}</ref> after industry analyst Joe Wilcox described JupiterResearch usage surveys that showed WordPerfect as the No. 2 office suite behind Microsoft Office in the consumer, small and medium businesses, and enterprise markets with a roughly 15 percent share in each market.

In April 2008, Corel released its '''WordPerfect Office X4''' [[office suite]] containing the new X4 version of WordPerfect which includes support for [[PDF]] editing, [[OpenDocument]] and [[Office Open XML]]. However, X4 does not include support for editing PDF's containing images in JPEG2000 format, a format used by [[Adobe Acrobat]] 9.

In March 2010, Corel released its '''WordPerfect Office X5''' office suite, which contains the new X5 version of WordPerfect. This version includes improved support for PDF, Microsoft Office 2007, [[OpenDocument]], and [[Office Open XML]]. The new release includes integration with Microsoft SharePoint and other web services geared towards government and business users.

In April 2012, Corel released its '''WordPerfect Office X6''' office suite, which contains the new X6 version of WordPerfect. The new release adds multi-document/monitor support, new macros, Windows 8 preview support, and an eBook publisher.<ref name="Welcome to WordPerfect Office X6">{{cite web |url = https://corelblogs.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/welcome-to-wordperfect-office-x6/ |title = Welcome to WordPerfect Office X6 |first = Peter |last = Hanschke |date = April 26, 2012 |access-date = August 7, 2017 |archive-date = August 8, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170808001337/https://corelblogs.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/welcome-to-wordperfect-office-x6/ |url-status = dead }}</ref>

In May 2021,<ref>{{cite press release |url = https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/05/06/2224653/0/en/WordPerfect-Office-2021-Boosts-Productivity-with-Updates-to-User-Favorite-Features.html |title = WordPerfect Office 2021 Boosts Productivity with Updates to User-Favorite Features |date = May 6, 2021 }}</ref> Corel released its '''WordPerfect Office 2021''' office suite, which superseded versions x7 through x9 and version 2020. New features include creating fillable PDFs, built in [[Bates numbering]] (since X7), saving to opendocument and [[EPUB|ePub]] formats (since v2020), and saving and opening Microsoft Office openXML formats (which did not work in x9).<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.wordperfect.com/en/product/office-suite/#whats-new |title = WordPerfect Office 2021 &#124; Free Trial }}</ref> In a review, ''[[PC Magazine]]'' said that "WordPerfect Office is the one and only Windows office application suite that isn't a workalike for Microsoft Office. ... WordPerfect [is] the only office app that gives you total control over every detail of the documents you produce." The review noted that WordPerfect still had a significant presence in the legal domain, "where it's the only app that offers both advanced legal-formatting features and a document management system that doesn't rely on Microsoft's networking software." However, the magazine noted that the WordPerfect Office 2021 user interface "has an old-school look and feel that won't attract many new users", that it does not support real-time collaboration workflows, and that the product only runs on Windows and not [[Macintosh]] or [[mobile device|mobile]] platforms.<ref name="pcmag-2021-review">{{cite news |url = https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/corel-wordperfect-office |title = Corel WordPerfect Office Review |first = Edward |last = Mendelson |magazine = PC Magazine |date = February 2, 2022 }}</ref>