WordPerfect was once a dominant force in the word processing market, but its history is often overlooked. In this article, we will explore WordPerfect's history, from its humble beginnings to its eventual decline. We will also discuss the company that now owns WordPerfect, and why it is still worth using today.
Part 1. The Funding and Early Years of Wordperfect Corporation
WordPerfect Corporation, founded in 1979 by Bruce Bastian and Alan Ashton, initially relied on personal investments. In 1980, they secured a $400,000 investment from Canopy Group. WordPerfect became a bestseller with the release of WordPerfect 2.20 for IBM PCs. Strategic partnerships and an IPO in 1989 further fueled their growth. However, they struggled to adapt to the graphical user interface era, and competition from Microsoft Word led to their acquisition by Novell in 1994.
Part 2. Corel Overview
Corel Corporation was established in 1985 by Michael Cowpland and George Doré. CorelDRAW, a vector graphics editor, was the company's initial product. CorelDRAW soon gained popularity, and Corel Corporation expanded its product range to include other graphics applications, as well as word processing and desktop publishing software, among other things.
Product Direction: The product direction of Corel Corporation is centered on offering high-quality software that is simple to use and economical. The goods of the company are intended for use by enterprises and individuals of all levels of expertise.
Corel Corporation's primary products are as follows:
CorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor that designers, illustrators, and publishers use.
Corel PHOTO-PAINT: Photo editing program for editing, enhancing, and organizing photographs.
Corel WordPerfect: A word processing program for creating documents, letters, and reports.
Corel Painter: A digital painting program used to produce realistic paintings and drawings.
Corel VideoStudio: Video editing program for creating and modifying videos.
Part 3. The Evolution of Wordperfect Software
The word processing program WordPerfect was created by Satellite Software International (SSI), and later by WordPerfect Corporation. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it was one of the most popular word processing software products.
Historical Significance And Impact:
WordPerfect was among the earliest word processing software programs to have a graphical user interface (GUI). This made it easier to use than other text-based word processing software packages at the time, which are now standard in word processing software.
Development of Early Versions:
The first version of WordPerfect for the CP/M operating system was launched in 1979. Later, it was ported to various operating systems such as DOS, Windows, and macOS. In 1995, the final version of WordPerfect for DOS was published.
Key Features and Innovations:
Reveal Codes: WordPerfect's unique feature that displays formatting codes for font attributes and text alignment, allowing for precise control and easy adjustments.
Redaction Capability: A built-in feature that easily hides sensitive information by blacking it out, ensuring confidentiality and security.
Metadata Removal: WordPerfect offers an automatic function to remove metadata, such as undo/redo history and hidden texts, reducing potential risks when sharing documents.
Microsoft Office Compatibility: WordPerfect is compatible with Microsoft Office, allowing users to open, edit, and save files in various Microsoft formats, facilitating seamless collaboration.
Excellent Productivity Functionalities: WordPerfect enhances productivity with quick search functions, mail merge capabilities, and keystroke menus. These features help streamline tasks, locate data, and automate processes.
Flexible and Supportive: WordPerfect allows for code optimizations and customization of components like keystrokes, leading to improved application performance and file stability.
Part 4. Wordperfect Legacy And Influence
In the 1980s and early 1990s, it was the market leader, particularly in the legal and academic disciplines, where it provided fine control over formatting, document management, and legal tools.
WordPerfect's legacy can be seen in the following ways:
Enduring impact on word processing technology: WordPerfect's graphical user interface (GUI) was a big invention that made word processing software easier to use. WordPerfect's functions, such as spell and grammar checking, are now common in word processing software.
Contributions to the software industry: WordPerfect was one of the first word processing software products to be ported to many operating systems, including DOS, Windows, and macOS. This aided in popularizing the usage of word processing software on personal computers
Influence on subsequent word processors: WordPerfect's features and innovations were imitated by other word processing software products, such as Microsoft Word. This contributed to the development of more powerful and user-friendly word processing software.
Part 5. WordPerfect's Lessons for Startups
WordPerfect Corporation, despite its successes and failures, offers valuable lessons for startups and entrepreneurs. Examining the company's journey provides insights into the challenges faced and the lessons learned throughout the course of entrepreneurship.
Successes
WordPerfect was one of the first word processing software applications to offer a graphical user interface (GUI). This made it easier to use than other word processing software applications at the time, which were text-based.
WordPerfect was also one of the first word processing software applications to offer spell checking and grammar checking. These features helped users to identify and correct errors in their documents.
WordPerfect was ported to multiple operating systems, including DOS, Windows, and macOS. This helped to popularize the use of word processing software on personal computers.
Failures
WordPerfect was slow to adapt to the Windows platform. This gave Microsoft Word a significant advantage, as Word was designed from the ground up for Windows.
WordPerfect's management was not always effective. This led to a decline in the quality of the product and a loss of focus.
Open source word processing software, such as OpenOffice.org and LibreOffice, began to gain popularity. These programs were free and offered many of the same features as WordPerfect.
In addition to the cons mentioned above, here are some other lessons that can be learned from WordPerfect Corp's experience:
Lessons
Focus on Core Customers: Prioritize the needs of your core customer base to avoid diluting your focus.
Listen to Customer Feedback: Actively seek and incorporate customer feedback to develop features that meet their needs.
Embrace Adaptability: Stay open to change and adapt to evolving market dynamics for continued success.
Continuous Innovation: Foster a culture of innovation to meet changing customer needs and outpace competitors.
Strategic Partnerships: Collaborate with industry players to leverage resources, expand market reach, and enhance offerings.
Learn from Mistakes: Reflect on past failures to learn valuable lessons for future decision-making.
Overall, WordPerfect Corp was a successful company that made significant contributions to the word processing software industry. However, the company also made some mistakes that led to its decline. These mistakes can be a valuable learning experience for other entrepreneurs.
Part 6: Alternative Office Suite——WPS Office
Kingsoft's WPS Office is a suite of office productivity tools. It comes with a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, PDF reader, and cloud storage service. WPS Office supports Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
WPS Office is a modernized powerful office tool suite that offers a wide range of features. Some of its key features include:
A modern user interface: WPS Office has a modern user interface that is easy to use and navigate.
A wide range of features: WPS Office offers a wide range of features, including spell checking, grammar checking, and the ability to insert tables and graphics.
Compatibility with Microsoft Office: WPS Office is compatible with Microsoft Office, so you can easily open and save files created in Microsoft Office.
Cloud storage: WPS Office includes a cloud storage service, so you can easily share and collaborate on documents.
Feature | WPS Office | Corel WordPerfect |
|---|---|---|
Price | Free | Paid |
User interface | Modern | Traditional |
Features | Wide range | Limited |
Compatibility | Compatible with Microsoft Office | Not compatible with Microsoft Office |
Cloud storage | Included | Not included |
Collaboration | Real-time collaboration and co-editing features | Collaboration features available but may be less robust |
Mobile Support | Strong support for mobile devices | Limited mobile support |
Overall, WPS Office stands as a competitive alternative to Corel and other office suite applications, providing a modernized and powerful set of tools that cater to the needs of individuals and businesses alike.
FAQs
1. When was WordPerfect Corp founded and who were the founders of WordPerfect Corp?
WordPerfect Corp was founded in 1979 as Satellite Software International (SSI) by Bruce Bastian and Alan Ashton, who were both affiliated with Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah.
2. How Did WordPerfect Go Wrong?
WordPerfect ran into problems because they invested heavily in a new graphical product for OS/2, the operating system Microsoft touted as the future, while Microsoft was hard at work developing a competing product using secret programming interfaces for Windows, the real operating system of the future.
3. Why did Microsoft Word beat out WordPerfect?
These are all valid reasons why Microsoft Word beat out WordPerfect.
Faster GUI Transition: Microsoft Word adapted to GUI faster than WordPerfect, improving the user experience during the transition.
Microsoft Office Suite: Word's inclusion in the Microsoft Office suite made it more appealing as a comprehensive software package.
Printer Compatibility Shift: WordPerfect's printer compatibility advantage declined as printer manufacturers prioritized Windows compatibility.
Summary
This article explored the history of WordPerfect Software and its corporation, highlighting its rise to dominance, struggles, and eventual decline. Corel Corporation now owns WordPerfect, offering high-quality software for enterprises and individuals.
WPS Office emerged as a modern and powerful alternative, providing a wide range of features, compatibility with Microsoft Office, and cloud storage. Overall, the article showcased WordPerfect's legacy, lessons for startups, and presented WPS Office as a competitive option in the office suite market.
