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Corel Previews WordPerfect Suite 8

Focus is on improved performance, consistency, and application integration.

By Harry McCracken, PCWorld   

The company%squots low-price team of business applications includes the WordPerfect word processor, Quattro Pro spreadsheet, Netscape%squots new Communicator workgroup application and Navigator browser, and Presentations presentation-graphics program.

No sooner than Microsoft and Lotus ripped the shrinkwrap off the latest versions of their business application suites, Corel went public with details about the next version of its suite.

The company says that common tasks, such as launching programs, should be faster than in version 7. Core applications will share the same top level menus. And all applications will have a context sensitive tool bar, similar to the one in CorelDraw 7; click WordPerfect%squots table icon, for example, and you get a strip of tools relating to formatting tables.

PC World%squots reviews of WordPerfect Suite version 7 were critical of the poor integration of some applications, most notably the Sidekick personal information manager, which didn%squott share a common interface or data-exhange features with WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, or Presentations.

In version 8, Sidekick has been jettisoned in favor of Corel Central, a new PIM that Corel says is a more full-fledged, better-integrated member of the suite. Corel also plans to integrate Netscape%squots new Communicator workgroup program, which includes the Navigator browser, Messenger e-mail client, and other tools. However, early purchasers of WordPerfect will get an upgrade coupon for Communicator instead of the software itself.

WordPerfect Suite won%squott follow the lead of Microsoft Office 97%squots Office Assistants (on-screen cartoon characters that watch your work and offer advice) but Corel will introduce a new, as-yet unnamed help feature that%squots a twist on Microsoft%squots wizards. Like wizards, the new feature will steer users through common tasks in each of the applications. But while using a wizard is a one-time, step-by-step process, you%squotll be able to call on the features of Corel%squots helpers in any order, and come back to them to tweak documents at any time, even after a file has been saved and reloaded.

Corel plans to ship WordPerfect Suite 8 in May. The company hasn%squott set pricing yet, but says that it will be similar to the bargain-basement strategy it has followed with version 7: Most users qualify for a $99 competitive upgrade, compared to Office%squots $209 and SmartSuite%squots $149 upgrade prices.

WordPerfect Suite Pro (formerly Corel Office Professional) will be a higher-end version which adds the Paradox database to the standard edition%squots lineup of applications.