Editing WordPerfect (section)

===Atari ST===
Like the Macintosh version, development of WordPerfect for the [[Atari ST]] did not run parallel to the DOS versions.  However the Atari ST version number aligned with contemporary DOS releases. In 1987, WordPerfect Corp. released version 4.1. This was the only Atari version ever released, but numerous patches and updates ensured that the Atari version of WordPerfect ran on all Atari ST, [[Atari STe]], [[Atari TT|TT]], and [[Atari Falcon|Falcon]] computers.

WordPerfect ST differs from the DOS version most notably in speed and number of windows a user can open.  On the Atari ST version, a user can open up to four windows (compared to DOS' two) and the application runs three to five times faster than the DOS version (depending on which update or patch is installed).  This was possible because WordPerfect for the Atari ST was designed from the ground up and was optimized for the [[Motorola 68000]] processor as well as Atari's GEM ([[Graphics Environment Manager]]) operating system.<ref name="WordPerfect: Atari Forever">{{cite web |url = http://www.atarimagazines.com/startv2n3/newsnotesandquotes.html?tag= |title = News, Notes & Quotes: Infocom: Atari no more? |first = Frank |last = Hayes |website = STart }}</ref>

WordPerfect for the Atari ST retailed at US$395<ref name="WordPerfect ST: Proving why it's the IBM PC bestseller">{{cite web |url = http://www.atarimagazines.com/v7n1/wordperfectst.html?tag= |title = Wordperfect ST: Proving why it's the IBM PC bestseller (Volume 7, Number 1, May 1988)|first = Gregg |last = Pearlman |website = Antic }}</ref> with registered Atari user groups being offered the program at $155<ref name="ST NEWS: WordPerfect $155">{{cite web |url = https://archive.org/details/ST_Log_Magazine_Issue_26/page/n8/mode/1up |title = ST NEWS: WordPerfect $155 (Issue 26, December 1988, page 9)|author=<!--Not stated--> |website = ST Log }}</ref> along with a student version for US$99.<ref name="WordPerfect ST: Proving why it's the IBM PC bestseller">{{cite web |url = http://www.atarimagazines.com/v7n1/wordperfectst.html?tag= |title = Wordperfect ST: Proving why it's the IBM PC bestseller (Volume 7, Number 1, May 1988)|first = Gregg |last = Pearlman |website = Antic }}</ref>  The price of WordPerfect was significantly higher than most of the other Atari word processors available at the time.  Atari Corporation published a version of [[Microsoft Write]] (the Atari version of Microsoft Word 1.05 for the Macintosh) for US$129.95 (almost 75% off the suggested retail price of WordPerfect), which did not help WordPerfect's campaign to establish itself as the standard word processor on the Atari platform.

Like other versions, WordPerfect for the ST was not [[copy protection|copy-protected]].{{r|pearlman198805}} ''Antic'' magazine wrote "WordPerfect Corp. doesn't need to worry too much about piracy: WordPerfect is almost unusable without its manual of over 600 pages!"<ref name="pearlman198805">{{Cite magazine |last = Pearlman |first = Gregg |date = May 1988 |title = WordPerfect ST / Proving why it's the IBM PC best seller |url = http://www.atarimagazines.com/v7n1/wordperfectst.html |magazine = Antic |volume = 7 |issue = 1 }}</ref> The magazine was mistaken; in 1988 WordPerfect threatened to abandon the Atari market after copies of the word processor were found on several pirate [[bulletin board systems]]. However, support from the Atari community convinced WordPerfect to reconsider and support for the Atari ST continued,<ref name="NEWS, NOTES & QUOTES: Word Perfect Furor">{{cite web |url = https://archive.org/details/STart-Magazine-Issue-12/page/n11/mode/1up |title = NEWS, NOTES & QUOTES: Word Perfect Furor (Volume 3, Number 1, Summer 1988, Page 12|first = Frank |last = Hayes|website = STart | date=1988 }}</ref><ref name="ST USER: More WordPerfect and Piracy">{{cite web |url = https://archive.org/details/ST_Log_Magazine_Issue_20/page/n97/mode/1up |title = ST USER: More WordPerfect and Piracy (Issue 20, June 1988, Page 98|first = Arthur |last = Leyenberger|website = ST Log | date=June 1988 }}</ref> but only a single developer was assigned to the project to fix bugs.{{r|atkin198908}}

Covering the subject of WordPerfect's commitment to the Atari ST market, [[ST-Log]]'s Ian Chadwick writes, "WordPerfect Corp. squashed rumours that they would pull out of the Atari market, due to rampant piracy. WP was found on at least three pirate BBSs, but they are still making the effort to stay with us. That shows a serious commitment on their part. If you want them to remain part of this market, then show them the same amount of respect and don't make or accept any pirate copies of their product."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://archive.org/details/ST_Log_Magazine_Issue_21/page/n83/mode/1up|title=Ian's Quest (Issue 21, July 1988, page 84)|website=ST-Log}}</ref>

Worldwide sales numbers of WordPerfect for Atari ST would eventually help relieve the concerns of the piracy situation with [[Atari ST User]] reporting, "Talk here in the USA points to the fact that Word Perfect Corp. will continue to support the ST derivative of its WP package, currently at version 4.1 (functionally equivalent to MS-DOS version 4.2). There is even talk of further changes and an upgrade adding a few new features to the package. It seems that Word Perfect's ST sales have been good enough, particularly in Europe, to warrant a continued commitment to the product.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.atarimania.com/mags/pdf/atari-st-user-issue-55.pdf|title=World News: WordPerfect stay with the ST (Issue 55, September 1990, page 13)|website=Atari ST User}}</ref>

WordPerfect would go on to fully support version 4.1 for the Atari ST with a number of bug fixes, patches, system compatibility updates with all Atari ST, STe, TT, and Falcon computers, including their renowned excellent customer support from 1987 - 1991."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://mendelson.org/wpdos/chronology.html|title=WPDOS: A Chronology of Versions|website=mendelson.org}}</ref>

A WordPerfect 5.1 version for the Atari ST was planned and in development but was later cancelled.<ref name="WordPerfect ends Atari support">{{cite web |url = http://www.atariarchives.org/cfn/12/05/03/0129.php |title = Atari Explorer, Z*Net, & ST Report: Z*Net: 24-May-91 #9122 |first = Michael |last = Current |website = www.atariarchives.org }}</ref>