WordPerfect Office X5 Home and Student

I have been using WordPerfect since version 4.2. Unlike MS, the older versions can still open files created by the newer ones. It is much more intuitive than MS Word, and also easier to set up and configure.

The reveal codes feature has been there forever, which makes formatting a document a breeze.

As a longtime PC user of WP, it's been frustrating to keep it at home; my work uses Microsoft. My PC had only WP installed, while my work ones have only Microsoft. This new version allows compatibility, a feature my old WP lacked. It also integrates Sharepoint and Thunderbird e-mail functions that Microsoft favors; it works with Microsoft Word 2007 also to convert files. (I am not sure how it works with Vista, as I do not have that program, but it does get along with Windows 7 and XP-- but I suspect not lower-level Microsoft versions if these still lurk on your PC.) It can be used on up to three PCs; I assume it can be deactivated from one and put on another if necessary?

The WP update does not look much different than Microsoft Word. A glance at it running looks about the same as its competitor. Yet, I have always favored my older WP for its simpler "feel," and its lack of forcing you into limits that a Microsoft word processor or program seems to do for me. I rely on a computer more for basic functions, so some of those in either WP or Microsoft might elude my awareness. Still, I like wide varieties of fonts (900 True Type, many non-Western), clip art, and the Pocket Oxford Dictionary (on a separate disk here).

The tutorial disk shows you the basics; PDF features for creating compatibly viewed files promise wide application, as does Quatro spreadsheet and editing of presentation slides (Power Point compatible, but somehow these files seem to offer wider variety than PP for options). Similarly, the Lightning feature, although not one I'd personally need, may be welcome for those wanting to work across programs that are Microsoft-based while extending the flexibility that WP provides. A

I welcome competition for Microsoft. I always feel forced into it at work and favor the choices in the marketplace. So, I am happy I can now fit my home documents into my work ones at last. Familiarity should show some more discoveries, and I may enter these into an updated review. Based on a first encounter with the new version of WP, as before I tend to find WP less restrictive and more welcoming than its ubiquitous rival.

Those who programmed WordPerfect have always understood one thing, and that is the point with a wordprocessor on a computer instead of a typewriter in the first place. It goes faster to work with WordPerfect than any other wordprocessors I have used like MS Word and Open Office.

WordPerfect was my favorite software package way back in the DOS days of the late 80's. I used it to run a small law office, before I went to law school myself, and when I got out of school, it was the word processor of choice for the legal publisher that gave me my first job as a legal writer. Formatting documents was much easier for me in WordPerfect than it was in MS Word (except on a mac, which was easiest of all), and I loved the ability to save without all the meta data that explains everything everyone has ever done to a document.

This version of WordPerfect Office recalls all of those good experiences, and, yet, on balance I cannot give it a favorable review for two insurmountable reasons.

The first is that WordPerfect does not perfectly preserve formatting across conversions to and from the MS Office products. While this does not make it unusable, it certainly makes it a lot of work for me to revise documents - especially legal documents with very specific formatting requirements - that have to be generated, saved, and printed in MS Word at work. The WordPerfect suite is no better at preserving formatting than OpenOffice, which is free.

Which brings me to my second problem: price. The WordPerfect Office Home and Student Edition is nearly as expensive as the student version of the Microsoft product, which does preserve all formatting and makes it seamless to work at home on documents created at work. I cannot see formatting, reformatting, and then reformatting again just to save a small amount of money.

Finally, I haven't found a way to have the as-you-go spellcheck and grammar check run at the same time. It's one or the other. That's not a deal-breaker, but it's not super awesome, either.

If I did not have to have MS compatibility, I would like this suite better. The interface is a bit cluttered, BUT it keeps all the tools right where you can see them, which is incredibly helpful when learning new software. The tools are consistent across the suite, and all documents and presentations were professional-looking.

It's a big program, weighing in at nearly 1 gb, and I expected more clip art at that size (silly, I know), but it ran pretty snappily, even on an XP-running old pentium 4 (with hyperthreading and 1 gb of ram).

I was quite used to using my MSword2003 and was a bit afraid of tryng anything new but I was glad I did. Now whenever I download stuff off the internet I can always read it with out it coming up in a mess of random symbols and boxes. This did not happen all the time but now it never happens. Plus writing things for work goes a lot more smoothly. For anyone who thought that MSword was just fine, you must try this to see how much better it can be.

I hadn't used WP for about ten years and all I remember was that it was not user friendly.

Wordperfect x5 was VERY EASY TO USE

My 14 year old son performed the installation without any assistance on Windows XP. After that every member of the household of various ages used the software. From 8 to 40 in the house, I can say the WP Office 5x Home version was a treat to the entire family.

Along with word processors and spreadsheet, WP provided note versions and other programs to assist with all types of home functions and business usage.

As a cherry on top, the applications were all very easy to use and were very user friendly.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R313NYSMWX52QY Recently, I was discussing the merits of softwares that we use whether Windows, Mac or both. The discussion then turned to a company that I've had a surprising change of heart about, namely, Corel.

Corel, as many of us know, has made a dramatic turn around recently and, like WinZip 14.5, their office suite "WordPerfect X5 for Home & Student" is another dynamic software that, in my opinion, is not one that anyone should overlook. It is a legitimate alternative to Microsoft Office and the "free" alternatives I spoke about when reviewing MS Office 2008.

* Features
** Comparing WordPerfect X5 to MS Office and OpenOffice
***Cost
*** Conclusion

* Corel's WordPerfect X5 office suite for home and students is a tremendous value that is even suitable for most "big" businesses that don't need the accouterments of the professional version. Included are the four basic class of office software:

WORDPERFECT (for word processing, letterheads, brochures, etc.)
QUATTRO (for spreadsheets, home/ business budgets/ personal data entry)
PRESENTATIONS (for slideshows and displays)
LIGHTNING (for digital note taking, misc cut/ paste features, screen-capture)

Plus...
900 True Type Fonts
8000 clip art images
200 templates
175 digital photos
The Pocket Oxford English Dictionary
Address book and contact manager
"WordPerfect Office Ready" browser
Presentation graphics (a drawing application)
Plus training videos on the 3rd cd.

Before I get to comparing similar suites, there's also something that should be noted that is not listed in the brochure but is remarkable about this package.

1. You can not only open Microsoft Office programs like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, but you can MAKE a MS Office Word file, a MS Office Excel file, a MS Office Powerpoint file. You have the choice to create, or open or save a file from Corel's suite, (ie WordPerfect, Quattro, Presentation or Lightning) or MS's suite (Word, Powerpoint, Excel), but you have the option of saving any of those file types in any of 80 different formats including:

AmiPro
Lotus 1-2-3
Word for Windows 1.0 through MS Office 2007 (including 2003)
OfficeWriter
RTF
WordStar
XYWriter

2. Price. This Office suite is more comparable to MS Office Business edition than it is to its "Home and Student" edition. And, we're talking about 1/3 of the price. (We'll get to specifics in a moment)

** Comparisons.
WORDPERFECT X5 (H/S ed.)
WordPerfect
Quattro Pro
Presentations
Lightning
Presentation Graphics
Address Book/ Contact Mgr.
Template Browser
Pocket Oxford Dictionary
8000 clip art images
900 fonts
175 digital photos
200 templates
save to 80 different formats
90-day phone support
Email support

MS OFFICE 2010 (H/S ed.)
Word
Excel
Powerpoint
One Note
90-day phone support
Email support


OPENOFFICE 3.2.1 (standard)
Write
Calc
Presentation
Draw
Formula
Database
Email support

***
WordPerfect X5 H/S $85

MS Office 2010 H/S $125- $150 (w/ Outlook- $217.18)
(w/ Publisher, Acces, 1-yr support- $460)

OpenOffice 3.2 Free


**** There isn't another full-service office suite that offers more than Corel's WordPerfect X5 for Home/ Student. If there's a downside it may be that it is Windows-based only. Unless, of course, you have a virtual software like VMWare Fusion. Considering all that's offered here, with much more tools for the buck,

Corel's WordPerfect X5 for Home or Student is far superior to MS Office 2010 for Home Student. 5 very big stars.

Back in the early 90's the first college class I took was WordPerfect. It seemed poised to take over the world. It didn't end up happening quite that way, but they have an exceptional product that has just become better over the years. Its different from Office in that it is designed more for the professional, designer/writer whatever. It gives you much more control over layout and style. For those of you worried about whether or not it converts to Office so you can share files, the answer is yes.

I like MS Office. But when I format Word documents I usually use the option "Formated like Word Perfect". Because WP makes the spacing inside a line look better, especially for justified margins in a book layout.

And I've never met anyone who had used WP and didn't REALLY like it. So I was glad to see WP for OfficeX5, now fully compatible with WORD and offering its own improvements (for example, a PDF function. And 100 templates for documents/presentations--some, quite nice ones)

I don't often use a spreadsheet, but I was satisfied with the word processing and slideshow software and will experiment more with it. I don't think anything at all seems to be sacrificed from Powerpoint. It takes a while to fully test new software, but...so far, so good. And WPs reputation is a strength as well.

I was prepared not to like this product but was surprised to find that although Corel has been all but left out of the market for the past decade, it has many fine feature. I particularly like Work Perfect and think that in some ways, those interested in writing will find this product more than satisfactory. I like the templates and ability to merge with graphics. Quattro, the Corel challenge to Excel fails to keep up however. I quickly backed out of what I was doing and went back to Microsoft in order to complete my spreadsheet. The presentation software was very adequate.

I love the inclusion of PDF creation -a must for todays user. Another good feature is the ability to save in multiple formats so that one is able to share with non-Corel users.

In short, I think the average home or student user will find this product economical and user friendly but if spreadsheets are important to the user, another choice may need to be made. The price is definitely right and as someone who thinks Microsoft should be challenged, I was impressed.