Wordperfect or microsoft word

What is better WordPerfect Office X8 or Microsoft Word? To successfully purchase the most helpful and productive Grammar Checker Software for your firm, you should compare products available on the market. For instance, here it is possible to match WordPerfect Office X8’s overall score of 8.3 against Microsoft Word’s score of 8.5. You can even review their general user satisfaction: WordPerfect Office X8 (100%) vs. Microsoft Word (97%).

Moreover, you can compare their pros and cons feature by feature, including their offered terms and rates. By comparing products you are more likely to select the right software for your needs. It’s clear you should know your particular requirements to realize which service matches those needs.

Currently, the best solutions in our Office Software category are: Office 365, G Suite, Microsoft Office Professional 2016.

WordPerfect Office X8 logo

NOAWARDS
YET

Pricing:

Starting from

$84.99

Pricing Model

Pricing Model

Free

Monthly payment

One-time payment

Annual Subscription

Quote-based

List of Features

List of Features

  • Reveal Codes
  • Template Viewer
  • Function Key Template
  • Microsoft Office Compatibility
  • Favorites
  • Multiple Formats
  • PDF Form
  • PDF Import & Export
  • PDF Security & Archiving
  • Formatting
  • eBook Publisher
  • Macro Manager
  • AfterShot 2
  • Mail Merge
  • Publish to HTML
  • Keystroke Menu
  • Microsoft SharePoint Support
  • Multiple Monitor Support
  • Paradox Database Management System
  • File Previewing
  • Project Templates
  • Reference Center
  • Integrations
  • Table of Authorities
  • Redaction
  • Metadata Removal
  • Bates Numbering
  • Legal Toolbar

Pricing Info

Pricing Info

WordPerfect Office X8 offers three SMB and enterprise pricing plans for users to choose from. Give the details a look, and select the best plan for your business:

Standard Edition – $179.00/one-time payment

  • Document Creation
  • Built-In PDF Forms
  • eBook Publishing
  • Extensive Compatibility

Professional Edition – $319.00/one-time payment

  • Document Creation
  • Built-In PDF Forms
  • eBook Publishing
  • File-Based Paradox Database Management

Home & Student Edition – $84.99/one-time payment

  • Learning Resources
  • Free Templates, Photos, Graphics
  • Intuitive Tools
  • Extensive Compatibility

Volume licensing and education pricing are also available. To learn more about the software, contact sales through web form or chat.

Integrations

Integrations

No information available.

Languages Supported

English

Chinese

German

Hindi

Japanese

Spanish

French

Russian

Italian

Dutch

Portugese

Polish

Turkish

Swedish

Arabic

Prominent Clients

Available Devices

Windows

Linux

Android

iPhone/iPad

Mac

Web-based

Windows Mobile

Company Size

Small Business

Large Enterprises

Medium Business

Freelancers

Available Support

email

phone

live support

training

tickets

General Info

WordPerfect offers a leading office suite for business professionals, academics, and other users. With this Corel-made product, businesses can streamline and smoothen their workflows and avoid bottlenecks as the office suite comes with templates and support for assorted file types.

Company Email

Contact No.

Company’s Address

1600 Carling Avenue
Ottawa ON K1Z 8R7
Canada

WordPerfect Office X8 Comparisons

Popular WordPerfect Office X8 Alternatives

Microsoft Word logo

NOAWARDS
YET

Pricing:

Starting from

$6.99

Pricing Model

Free

Monthly payment

One-time payment

Annual Subscription

Quote-based

List of Features

  • Search Content, Information, or Material
  • Bing Search
  • Access Credible Sources
  • Add Citations
  • Proofing Tools
  • Create More Impactful Documents
  • Improve Writing Skills
  • Design Documents Using Formatting Tools
  • Edit PDF Files and Contents
  • Mail Merge
  • Find A Feature
  • Templates
  • Customized Application Workspace Toolbar Layouts
  • Integrated Graphics Drawing and Image Manipulation
  • Macro Scripting Support
  • Retina Display Support
  • Full-Screen Mode
  • Task Pane
  • Smart Lookup
  • Collaboration Tools and Features
  • Co-Authoring Capabilties
  • Track Changes
  •  Commenting and Reply System
  • Skype Integration
  • Word Mobile App

Pricing Info

Microsoft Word 2016, the latest version of the software, can be availed by subscribing to any Office 365 pricing plan. Office 365 is a suite of applications which includes Microsoft Word. Give the details a look, and select the best home/enterprise pricing plan for your needs:

For Home

Office 365 Home

  • $9.99/mo. – billed monthly
  • $99.99/yr. – billed annually
  • Best for households. Includes Office applications for up to 5 users.
  • Office Applications Included:
    • Word
    • Excel
    • PowerPoint
    • OneNote
    • Outlook
    • Publisher (PC Only)
    • Access (PC Only)
  • Services Included:
    • OneDrive
    • Skype
  • Office Applications Included:
    • Word
    • Excel
    • PowerPoint
    • OneNote
    • Outlook
    • Publisher (PC Only)
    • Access (PC Only)
  • Services Included:
    • OneDrive
    • Skype
  • Office Applications Included:
    • Word
    • Excel
    • PowerPoint
    • OneNote
  • No Services Included

For Business

Office 365 Business

  • $10/user/mo. – billed monthly
  • $8.25/user/mo. – billed annually
  • Best for businesses that need Office applications plus cloud file storage and sharing. Business-class email not included.
  • Office Applications Included:
    • Word
    • Excel
    • PowerPoint
    • OneNote
    • Outlook
    • Access (PC Only)
  • Services Included:
    • OneDrive

Office 365 Business Essentials

  • $6/user/mo. – billed monthly
  • $5/user/mo. – billed annually
  • Best for businesses that need business-class email and other business services. Office applications not included.
  • No Office Applications Included
  • Services Included:
    • OneDrive
    • Exchange
    • SharePoint
    • Skype For Business
    • Microsoft Teams
    • Yammer

Office 365 Business Premium

  • $15/user/mo. – billed monthly
  • $12.50/user/mo. – billed annually
  • Best for businesses that need business-class email, Office applications, and other business services.
  • Office Applications Included:
    • Word
    • Excel
    • PowerPoint
    • OneNote
    • Outlook
    • Access (PC Only)
  • Services Included:
    • OneDrive
    • Exchange
    • SharePoint
    • Skype For Business
    • Microsoft Teams
    • Yammer

Integrations

Microsoft Word supports integrations with the other programs from Microsoft, and it can also work third-party applications, software solutions, and systems. Here are some examples:

  • Microsoft Office 365
  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM
  • Lucidchart
  • Microsoft Planner
  • Microsoft Teams
  • The Mortgage Office
  • eFileCabinet
  • bpm’online CRM
  • Zola Suite
  • GuestTracker
  • Skype
  • LinkedIn
  • Sage 50c
  • Windward Solution
  • APE Mobile
  • Microsoft Dynamics NAV
  • Abacus Private Cloud
  • Skyware PMS
  • Hub
  • OCM™ Contract Management
  • Aderant Expert Sierra
  • Blueprint OneWorld

Languages Supported

English

Chinese

German

Hindi

Japanese

Spanish

French

Russian

Italian

Dutch

Portugese

Polish

Turkish

Swedish

Arabic

Prominent Clients

NASCAR, Sage, HP

Available Devices

Windows

Linux

Android

iPhone/iPad

Mac

Web-based

Windows Mobile

Company Size

Small Business

Large Enterprises

Medium Business

Freelancers

Available Support

email

phone

live support

training

tickets

General Info

An industry-standard and widely-used word processing application developed for personal and business use, and equipped with robust formatting tools and collaboration features.

Company Email

Contact No.

Company’s Address

Microsoft Headquarters
One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052
USA

Microsoft Word Comparisons

Popular Microsoft Word Alternatives

Please note that while both WordPerfect Office X8 and Microsoft Word may provide a top quality set of features each solution might be aimed at a different business size. If you are analyzing various solutions you should focus on a business size they are meant for. Specific functionalities may scale up effectively for big enterprises but if you run a small or mid-sized business it’s frequently better to refrain paying for complex features that you may never use.

Page last modified
2023-02-28

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Microsoft Word is a perennial favorite among word processing software applications. It is everywhere — from school homework to legal case files. However, not that long ago there was also WordPerfect — another essential word processing tool that was popular during the 1980s-1990s. Now it remains alive in legal, which is especially evident in occasional social media wars in comments to posts about WordPerfect vs MS Word case. But even among lawyers, Word has outcompeted WordPerfect. Why?

The Rise and Fall of WordPerfect

Back at the peak of its popularity, WordPerfect was one of the pioneering word processing software along with WordStar and ClarisWorks (now AppleWorks). WordPerfect was widely used in various professions but, in the end, it has survived in the legal industry.

Many lawyers love WordPerfect for the Reveal Code and Make It Fit features that may seem to lack in MS Word. The Reveal Code feature divides documents into blocks that are easy to edit independently, which is especially handy if you’re composing a contract or a litigation document. 

The Make It Fit feature helps fix the document formatting without ruining its whole structure — a killer feature for a nitpicky drafter.

Although similar results can be achieved in Word using different instruments, some lawyers are reluctant to move to Microsoft’s tools. “Older paralegals grew up with WordPerfect, and many still prefer to use it,” said Jackie Van Dyke, Certified Paralegal, Owner/Writing Coach at The Paralegal Writer™, and Paralegal Studies Professor. “If you are familiar with the original codes and adept at the macros, why switch?” Still, even with these lawyer-friendly tools, WordPerfect failed to overpower MS Word in legal.

So What Exactly Made MS Word Stand Out?

Ultimately, Word is compatible with most business software applications and formats. Word is supported on multiple devices, and most other software tools work with Word documents. Furthermore, unlike WordPerfect, MS Word can be installed and run both on Windows and macOS. In the 2020 Bloomberg Law research, 73% of the surveyed lawyers shared that in law firms compatibility with already installed technology is the key factor when adopting legal tech. Although the latest version of WordPerfect includes many features for lawyers, at this point it cannot be easily integrated with the workflow of lawyers and their clients. 

“In every law office setting that I have worked in, I have never been introduced to any other word editor, other than Microsoft Word,” shared Berlinda Bernard, a paralegal, writer, and blogger for Quintessential Pillar. “The few times WordPerfect has been mentioned is when legal professionals are reminiscing and making comparisons. However, I have never heard anyone say they want to go back.” 

Since MS Word is a default Windows software that is designed by Microsoft, Word has become universal. It is able to fit the needs of every user, and it does not require much additional learning. “Microsoft Word is the leading word editor because it is most favored and used in almost every setting, from home, academia to the professional office,” Berlinda Bernard told Loio. 

In addition to universality, MS Word allows users to install add-ins (extensions) that can give an extra edge at industry-specific tasks. The add-in feature is new, it is being updated, and it enables MS Word to be even more accessible for all — no matter what your specialization is. “Word is instinctively easy to use. There are so many shortcuts to make writing and editing easier, too,” concluded Jackie Van Dyke.

The success of Microsoft Word stands on the three pillars of compatibility, universality, and accessibility. It is thanks to these pillars that MS Word has outplayed WordPerfect in the modern world of tech. The story of Word vs WordPerfect carries a valuable lesson for all tech vendors. Whenever you are deciding between killer features and integration with other software applications, go for integration. Otherwise, no unique software features can save it from the ever-expanding tech market.

Microsoft Word vs Google Docs

Also read:Microsoft Word vs Google Docs: Is it likely that MS Word will meet the same fate as WordPerfect among lawyers?

Do you remember a time when attorneys swore by WordPerfect? Well, what we’ve learned is that moving to better collaboration tools is j…

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Word Perfect VS Microsoft Word

Word vs. WordPerfect  

A few weeks ago the Word vs. WordPerfect issue came up again on the LStech listserv. The question of which word processing program best serves the legal aid community has been discussed regularly on the list. Although legal aid still has some strong WordPerfect adherents, it seems that most legal aid techies now favor Word (or even Open Office or Google). We thought we’d summarize the discussion (with a little bit of added information) by comparing the two programs and discussing some additional considerations.
 

Corel WordPerfect

Advantages:

  • Formatting fixes: The reveal codes feature allows for quick formatting fixes for users comfortable with WordPerfect code conventions. This is especially helpful when collaborating with other users who may not be formatting documents correctly.
  • Specialization: The legal profession is the largest retained market share for WordPefect, and Corel caters to legal professionals with specific tools such as options for pleading numbering, redaction, and a pleading editor.
  • Document formatting: Headers and footers are easy to manipulate, and page numbering is independent of footers. This can be especially useful for pleading papers.
  • Format conversions: WordPerfect allows for easy conversion to other file types such as PDF. (Although the professional versions of Word 2007 and 2010 allow for easy PDF conversions as well.)

Disadvantages:

  • Fewer users: Although WordPerfect retains many users in the legal community, the majority of law firms now use Word. WordPerfect use outside of the legal profession is rare.
  • Support costs: WordPerfect adds to support and training overhead. IT staff will likely need to support WordPerfect along with Word and the rest of the Microsoft Office suite. Programs may also have to plan to train new staff who have not been using WordPerfect — or let them use Word instead. Additional support requires additional time and money.
  • Technical bent: Reveal codes are clearly designed for users familiar with software coding, a concept with which many lawyers and staff may not be comfortable.
  • File corruption risk: File conversion can be problematic. Converting regularly between WordPerfect files and other formats raises the chances of file corruption.
  • Corel’s business problems: Corel has struggled to compete with Microsoft (and now Google) and has been losing market share for well over a decade. As a result, technology commentators believe WordPerfect is on its last leg. (Corel Saves Itself, WordPerfect, and CorelDraw from Brink, PC World, November 24, 2009)

Microsoft Word

Advantages:

  • Inexpensive: Nonprofits can obtain Word for practically free through TechSoup. Although Corel apparently offers nonprofit pricing, the terms of the discount are less clear.
  • Trainings are readily available: NTAP offers many low-cost Word trainings targeted to the legal aid community. Unfortunately, NTAP likely won’t be offering the same sessions for WordPerfect.
  • Familiarity: Most young lawyers and staff have grown up using Word and are most comfortable with that application. Some may come to legal aid with previous training on Styles and other advanced Word features.
  • Better collaborative editing: Word features a track changes feature with visual cues that clearly display edits. In contrast, WordPerfect only allows users to compare differences between documents.
  • Templates: Word offers extensive templates that deliver pre-formatted documents.
  • Integration with other products: Word works effectively with other applications used in the legal aid community, including HotDocs and Windows Speech Recognition software. WordPerfect does feature robust integrate with Dragon Naturally Speaking though.
  • File protection: Word offers ore options for protecting files. Authors can prevent users from altering any part of the document or the document’s format

Disadvantages:

  • Add-ins: Many legal-specific features require locating and installing Microsoft add-ins. For instance, Redaction is a Microsoft add-in rather than a built-in function.
  • The “Ribbon”: WordPerfect has a static menubar, while Word’s menubar (the “ribbon”) regularly changes depending on whether you are editing text, a picture, or a table. This can frustrate users.
  • Automatic Formatting: Word comes with preset document formatting that many users may find cumbersome and annoying. A key skill in Word is figuring how to undo a lot of the standard Word configuration.

Different Approaches to Using Each Word-Processor

A post to the LSTech list in January emphasized that there are different approaches to using each word processor. Learning how to use the application you have correctly — whether it is Word or WordPerfect — makes you a significantly more effective user: I’m here to tell you that 95% of [the problems users have with Microsoft Word] is in using the program the way that the developers intended.  [Word and WordPerfect] are very different. Wordperfect was clearly designed by programmers; you program documents in it, using codes to format.  It gives you a high level of control, once you’ve made the investment of learning the programming language (reveal codes).  There is nothing easy about WordPerfect/DOS, but it is very flexible and powerful. Word is designed like a paint program, and anyone who approaches it in a “format as you go» fashion will suffer.  The correct way to use Word is to type in all of your text, finalize the wording, and then format.  If you add the numbering and headings while you’re still making major revisions to the text, you’ll have problems.The WordPerfect fans who hate Word the most are the ones who tried to use it the same way they used WordPerfect.  If you can relearn word processing, it’s really not all that bad.

Peter Campbell, IT Director at Earthjustice

Further Reading:

  • WordPerfect Universe — an online community of WordPerfect users documenting known issues and providing support.
  • How Word Differs from WordPerfect – an article offering advice for WordPerfect users trying to adapt to Word.
  • WordPerfect versus Word – a worthwhile blog post providing a critical perspective on WordPerfect holdouts in the legal community.

Last updated on January 08, 2022.

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Although Microsoft Word has a significant share of the word processor market, other options are available, including the Corel WordPerfect suite, which is far from gone, and Sun’s StarOffice, which is gaining steam. But which one is right for your organization? This article will look at the word processing components of three office suites. We’ll compare and contrast Microsoft Word XP, Corel WordPerfect 9, and the beta version of the word processing component of Sun StarOffice 6.0 in such areas as system requirements, supported platforms, cost, interfaces, and more.

System requirements and supported platforms
Before we delve into specifics, let’s look at the system requirements and supported platforms of each product. All three programs will run under Microsoft Windows 98 or later. StarOffice Writer also requires the installation of a Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which is included with the distribution.

For Linux users, both WordPerfect 9 and StarOffice are readily available for kernel versions greater than 2.2.13. Microsoft Word is unable to run natively under Linux, and people have had mixed results using emulators, such as Wine, to get it to run.

For the Solaris users, both WordPerfect and StarOffice are available if you’re running Solaris 7 or later.

As far as your system requirements, you must have a somewhat recent machine with at least 64 MB of RAM, although I would recommend that you have at least 128 MB. Be aware that Microsoft recommends a minimum of 128 MB of RAM for Windows XP with an additional 8-MB minimum for Word XP. Each package claims that a Pentium 133 or 166 or better is adequate, but I would be hesitant to run any of these packages on a machine that slow. For a reasonable installation, you should consider a processor that is 300 MHz or faster.

As with most software installations today, make sure that you have plenty of disk space. For Word XP, some users will need to have close to a whopping 500 MB available, depending on options chosen and which OS you are running; for the other packages, plan on having 150 to 300 MB available.

How much do you want to spend?
Cost is always a consideration when choosing an office suite, and neither Word nor WordPerfect is cheap. A single, standard copy of Microsoft Office XP, which includes Word XP, can run upwards of $200 to upgrade from a previous version and more than $350 to buy the product new. Corel WordPerfect Suite runs between $120 and $150 for an upgrade and $310 to $340 for a full version. StarOffice Writer, on the other hand, has a much lower price tag: It’s available as a free download from Sun’s Web site, and there are no licensing fees associated with it. However, Sun is planning to temporarily discontinue downloads of the beta version of Office 6 while it completes development on the product.

Please note that the pricing above is “street” pricing. You can generally get better pricing deals from Microsoft or Corel if you take part in one of their licensing programs.

Similar interfaces
Figures A, B, and C show each product’s main screen. All three interfaces are very similar to one another on the surface. Each contains a menu bar at the top of the screen followed by a general toolbar with file controls options, printing options, and the like. A toolbar comes next, containing a plethora of document formatting options.

Figure A
Here is an example of a Microsoft Word XP main screen.
Figure B
WordPerfect 9’s main screen doesn’t bring up the ruler bar by default.
Figure C
This is a sample main screen for the beta version of StarOffice Writer 6.0.

The primary differences become apparent a little farther down. Both Word and StarOffice Writer make use of a ruler bar by default, while WordPerfect 9 does not. StarOffice Writer also includes some shortcuts along the left-hand side of the screen. All three programs use the bottom of the window for various types of information.

Of the three interfaces, I’d say Word is the “cleanest” option, although WordPerfect and StarOffice Writer have excellent interfaces.

New and improved or old and inferior?
All three of the word processors do their job very well, even the newcomer, StarOffice Writer. The creators of StarOffice Writer stayed close to the form of Microsoft Word, and with good reason. Word currently owns a huge market share in comparison to any other word processing product, and many people are very comfortable with its interface and inner workings. However, you’ll find that all three programs use the same shortcut keys and operate very much like one another for general word processing tasks.

I have found very useful some of the features that have been added into Word and WordPerfect over the past few versions, such as the automatic underlining typographical errors. I was also pleased to see that this particular feature also made its way into StarOffice Writer, although it still needs some work: It didn’t recognize contracted words like “doesn’t,” so it underlined them as if they were spelled wrong. StarOffice Writer also includes a feature whereby it guesses at what word you are trying to type. While I first found this slightly annoying, I got used to it very quickly.

A common task in many offices is the creation of a form letter. Word and WordPerfect have been doing this for years, and both have streamlined the process. StarOffice Writer is still behind the curve on this, though. There isn’t a straightforward process to create such letters, which could hinder the product’s acceptance into some enterprises.

Sharing files between different offices or companies can sometimes be a daunting task due to the differences in file formats between programs and sometimes even between different versions of the same program. Sadly, even with these word processing products, sharing files is no easier than it was before. WordPerfect 9 is capable of both reading and writing to files saved in Word 97 format, while Word XP is capable of reading and writing to files from versions up to WordPerfect 6. Neither product can read or write to native StarOffice Writer files. However, StarOffice Writer can read and write to native Word files for any version but can only read WordPerfect files and not write to them. Luckily, all three packages support RTF! If one were to place these three programs in a contest for importing files from other packages, StarOffice Writer would win this battle hands down. It’s support for importing from older software and from alternative systems is very impressive.

Online help is a feature that no program should be without. For Word XP and WordPerfect, the help systems are useable and comprehensive. The same cannot be said for StarOffice Writer, however. The help system in the beta release is both incomplete and incorrect in some areas. I would hope that this would be fixed by the time the product actually goes into production, though.

Summary
Overall, all three programs are excellent choices. I would say it’s mostly up to personal preference, budgetary guidelines, or organizational history to dictate which package your enterprise will use. With many IT departments looking at ways to cut costs, evaluating StarOffice 6.0 would be beneficial, unless you have hundreds of macros in your current suite, you have a strong need for a simple, easy-to-use mail merge facility, or you cannot take on the training that such a move would require.

I have only recently started using StarOffice Writer; I wrote this entire article using it. I’ve taught courses in both Microsoft Word and WordPerfect and use both of these programs on a daily basis. However, I’m quite impressed by what I see in StarOffice Writer, and I look forward to its final release. I found it to be as easy to use as either Microsoft Word or WordPerfect, and it supported all of the functions that I needed for basic word processing.


Share your opinion

Which word processor is your favorite and why? Have you recently switched word processors? Would you trust your documents to a relative newcomer like Sun’s StarOffice Writer? Post a comment to this article and let your voice be heard.


 

In another thread, we travel down history about MS in the 90’s. I had stated that MS fed contracts changed the market and Wordperfect was hit hard. John Cline stated that I had a confused understanding of that time, but the fact is I had mega $$ dealing with the feds during that time and we were forced to convert all documents, research notes, communications, contracts,etc,, over 4.5 million internal documents… from Wordperfect to Word for electronic transmission and that was not in our contract but an Executive Order closed that debated. Of course, databases where «fitted» with converters for text in the beginning. Picture processing was a nightmare.

This article does not discuss the fed issue but points out the more commonly known issue about MS 95 and word vs. Wordperfect. This may be the view of that time frame John Cline refers too. Either way, MS was aggressive and heavy handed.

—————————————————————————————————————-
Microsoft tries to CTRL-W WordPerfect lawsuit again
Asks Supremes not to save changes

By Austin Modine
Published Monday 21st January 2008 21:55 GMT

Microsoft is asking the Supreme Court to strike-out a multi-billion dollar word processing monopoly lawsuit from Novell.

Centered in court documents is WordPerfect, an ill-fated word processing suite that once controlled about 50 per cent of the market in 1990.

Novell only owned the software title briefly. It purchased WordPerfect in 1994 and sold it to Corel just two years later. But, during that time, the company claims it received a monopolistic squeeze from Microsoft that killed its chances at unleashing office productivity upon workers everywhere.

Microsoft has tried twice to quash the lawsuit since it was filed in US District Court in Maryland in 2004. Microsoft’s first motion to dismiss was denied there, as was its second attempt with the US Court of Appeals.

Microsoft filed a petition for a writ of certiorari (legal latin meaning, «nuts to those lower court jokers») with the US Supreme Court on January 11. The court will be required to respond by February 11.

Novell’s case asserts that Microsoft maliciously withheld technical information about Windows 95 to give Microsoft Office an advantage over rival software. The case is based on the federal antitrust suit in which Microsoft paid out nearly $5bn to settle damages with the likes of Sun and RealNetworks.

But the software giant claims Novell’s particular case is unjustified because Novell wasn’t selling an operating system at the time, and therefore, not in direct competition. Novell counters that because its software was multi-platform, it offered any competing operating systems a popular word processing application to help break the Windows monopoly.

When Novell purchased WordPerfect in June 1994 for $51m, it began the process of integrating the software into its own Novell productivity suite for the upcoming release of Windows 95. The company claims Microsoft deceptively «evangelized» the benefits of using integrated browsing extensions with Explorer in the early stages of WordPerfect and Windows 95 development. Novell said it devoted — with Microsoft’s encouragement — significant resources to make sure browsing extensions were tightly integrated into its software.

But when the public test version of 95 arrived, Microsoft had removed the programming interfaces and withdrew documentation of browsing extensions. Novell claims to have evidence the change was malicious.

http://regmedia.co.uk/2008/01/21/novellwordperfectlawsuit.jpg

As a result of the alleged switcharoo, Novell had to delay the release of WordPerfect for Windows 95. The impact of the change was catastrophic. According to the company «in many instances, a user literally could not open a document he previously created or saved.» Novell said it took another year to provide a workaround with the same functionality. And it claims that Microsoft developers had access to integrated browsing functions all along.

When Microsoft released the retail version of Windows 95 and Office 95, the company «changed course» and again offered documentation of the programing interfaces. This voided the alternatives Novell spent an entire year developing when the company said WordPerfect needed to enter the market. It also made Novell spend more time designing basic functions of WordPerfect all over again.

By 1996, WordPerfect’s share of the market had fallen to about 10 percent. At the same time, Office grew from 20 per cent in 1990 to about 90 per cent.

On the day the lawsuit was filed, Microsoft blamed WordPerfect’s downward spiral on «poor business decisions» and «mismanagement» by Novell. ®
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Plus just recently, MS + SCO was in an major legal war trying to shut down Linux and its shareware apps with IBM,( with Novell in the background). Novell destroyed SCO claims of ownership of Unix…… now SCO is in bankruptcy with illegally collected fees for linux,unix, but MS gain3 years of development time for their servers. Now MS still claims SCO licenses acknowledging and granting MS tech in servers, networks, and in linux is valid——- Fed court is expected to says «Hold on MS» SCO never owned unix or linux to grant MS Unix tech or acknowledged MS tech in Unix or Linux.

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