Microsoft Office dominates the productivity-suite market and has become the de facto standard in the corporate realm. Yet it has been unable to wipe out Corel’s WordPerfect Office suite, a powerful, less-expensive alternative that has managed to prosper. WordPerfect Office 12.0 retains the package’s core strengths – the venerable WordPerfect word processor, the Quattro Pro spreadsheet app, and the Presentations app – while adding several interface enhancements, including the ability to mimic the interface and keyboard shortcuts of Microsoft Office’s main apps, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
All isn’t perfect, however. WordPerfect Office 12.0 is still dreadful at importing Microsoft Office documents, particularly Excel and PowerPoint files. We’re not saying that WordPerfect Office 12.0 is a poor product – far from it. In many ways, it’s easier to use than Microsoft Office, particularly for users who frequently upload PDF, HTML, and XML documents to the Web.
Corel WordPerfect Office 12.0′s best enhancements are interface related. Topping the list is the clever Workspace Manager, a pick-your-interface menu that pops up when you open WordPerfect, Quattro, or Presentations. Designed to ease the transition from Microsoft Office, Workspace Manager mimics the keystrokes, menus, and toolbars of Microsoft’s suite. Another handy new tool is the Compatibility Toolbar, which allows one-click conversion to HTML, PDF, XML, Excel, PowerPoint, or Word.
In addition to the Workspace Manager’s interface enhancements, the new OfficeReady Browser makes it a breeze to view and select a WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, or Presentations template. OfficeReady, a standalone application, features an Explorer-like tree that organizes template folders by task: Academic, Company Finance, Family & Home, etc.