Advanced word processing software, such as MicroSoft's Word for Windows (MS Word), or Novell's WordPerfect (WP), go far beyond the basic wordprocessing capabilities. It would be more accurate to label both applications as desktop publishing software, as they both produce professional quality documents. Both WP and MS Word enable the user to incorporate all sorts of fancy graphics and layouts into a document. Also, numerous tools are found in both packages including editing tools, table of contents creators, cut and paste facilities, and drawing tools. Both applications even have some audio capabilities.
Because of the extensive features of both MS Word and WP, only these two software packages are compared in this report. There is no attempt to exhaustively examine all their features, just those that are likely to be commonly used by the intended audience. This report is geared towards the business community who might use word-processing software not only for creating letters, memos or reports, but may also use such applications to create overhead slides for presentations, advertising pamphlets, newsletters, or formal documentation specifications.
Testing was performed using WordPerfect6.1 and MS Word6.0. An attempt was made to use as little of the paper help manuals as possible, in order to test the ease of use, as well as to evaluate the on-line help facilities. Tests consisted of performing similar actions (e.g. creating tables, drawing graphics) in both applications, and comparing the results. Tool flexibility, tool complexity, and the unique features of each application were all examined. None of the tasks were overly complex, as there was no desire to "break" the application. We just wanted to see if each tool had a reasonable level of performance. It should be noted that both authors were more familiar with using MS Word prior to writing this report.