Papers and Word Processing (WordPerfect, Word, and Writer)

WordPerfect X5

It is easy for others to ditch one tool for the other, but not for teachers. Many of us when trained to one product tend to stick to it until we retire. I for one was introduced to many other word processors. My first introduction was WordStar 6 when I was in high school, it is a great tool I told myself then amazed with WordPerfect 5.1. The menu system and shortcuts of WordPerfect won me over and used it for all my works and papers that time.

Then came college and now a professional, I used Microsoft Word almost every time and had seen its development. I missed the straightforward way of the two DOS-based word processors and had to find a fix of the outlines, styles, footnotes that do not stay on their places and crazy tables of Microsoft Word. Many will agree with me that when they are corrupted they seem unfixable. It is really annoying. (More problematic in 2007 since I have a bad time importing them and fixing them in another product). Then came word count, totally stressful. It is reporting the wrong number and you have to remember to always use your own macro and not the crazy built-in count feature. But you have to live with it since it was the only choice, for us, in the market. No one really thought that WordPerfect was alive by that time.

Then came a time that while browsing for Word fixes on the internet, a user suggested WordPerfect 11. He said just import the document in WordPerfect, hunt the errors in reveal codes, fix those codes and save. I then looked for it and yes, WordPerfect was indeed alive and in fact reached its twelfth version. I tried to find a store that sells the product, but alas, no one. Two workers in a store even made a quizzical look stating that WordPerfect is ancient and said I am lost. They were showing me Microsoft Office 2003 box instead as if stating that I am a novice. I told them that it could be ancient but it’s still alive. To prove my point I asked them to search for WordPerfect Office 12 on the internet and see for it themselves. One indeed tried and soon both apologized.

Luckily I stopped to a newly-opened shop and a box of WordPerfect 11 was on sale. Maybe on-SALE since no one knows it. Hence, I bought it  very cheap.

I used it and glad that I can switch to the old look and at the same time retrain for the newer GUI. It’s a godsend, no more crazy footnotes, tables, and outlines. It is great, straightforward and useful Grammatik. Everyone in the office I work treats Word's Grammar useless anyway. I installed it at home and well also at work. Anyway, I think it abides with the license since I can't use the two computers at the same time.

Time passed, I don't know if it’s the first one or I am using a superior word processor. I tend to work with it until the time ends. I cannot upgrade to the newer version since, it’s no longer available. No store in our place is selling it. I cannot also buy online since, I had a bad experience with credit cards and swore not to ever use one again.

The need to upgrade for security as they say is driving everyone mad. WordPerfect Office 11 seems not much stable in Windows Seven. And since our office is now shifting to Linux, as they said, we had to learn a new program, OpenOffice. Its menu layout is similar to WordPerfect, so with some of the tools, its not as bad as Word in the things I mentioned. Who would want to use the mouse every time you need a tool? And who cares about the new ribbon if it’s only the new thing that is there (bugs are still there though not as prone as older versions). True you can customize your keys, but not as good as WordPerfect or OpenOffice. One really nifty feature, we in the office were surprised is WordPerfect’s tables. It is like having your spreadsheet built-in and not rely on Quattro Pro or Excel.

OpenOffice Writer is good, really good and the best thing it's free. It is, however, slow in older machines.

But as of this time, I as an educator, swore, the best still for word processing especially on academic projects is WordPerfect (and yes still stuck with version 11 comparing to 2010 as they let me tried for a month), followed by OpenOffice Writer. Word in writing papers is still (and could be forever) a joke.

Yes, fellow educators, those errors you usually have in the above-mentioned areas are not your doing. It’s MS Word’s.

Programs and Links Mentioned in this blog:
Corel WordPerfect
OpenOffice.org's Writer