Corel WordPerfect Suite 8 - Standard and Professional

The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
Corel WordPerfect Suite 8
Standard and Professional
Bernadette Houghton
bernieh@iaccess.com.au

It's barely 12 months since the release of Corel WordPerfect Suite 7, and already version 8 is imminent. The latest incarnation consolidates a tightly integrated set of applications with a common look-and-feel, shared code and built-in Internet support. Last time around (PC Update, July 1996 and February 1997), I didn't see much room for improvement in the integration of the Suite's core applications. Obviously I was wrong because Corel has entwined these applications even more tightly. I looked at an early beta of the Standard and Professional versions of the Suite. Some features were not fully implemented, and the final product may be slightly different from that which I describe here. Keeping this in mind, here are the enhancements you can expect with Corel's newest release.

Both WordPerfect Suite and WordPerfect Suite Professional will include the core applications of

Figure 1. Creating complex tables with WordPerfect. The Application Bar is on the bottom

Figure 2. Displaying partial cell relationships in Quattro Pro's new page view. Cell E7 has been dragged to the Application Bar

Overall improvements

Corel is making a concerted effort to enhance performance this time around. If you have an Intel MMX machine, you should notice an even more significant improvement. The MMX technology being built into the core applications will speed up tasks such as opening and closing files, spreadsheet calculations and screen redraws. Space requirements are being reduced, with further optimisation of shared code; Corel is bandying around a figure of 80 MB for a typical "full" installation.

A sharper interface, with new toolbars, menus, dialog boxes and context-sensitive Property Bars (formerly called Power Bars) will promote a seamless feel across applications. If you work in collaboration with others, the new Corel Versions will track document revisions. You'll be able to move between open documents with a single click, and drag information from one document to another by dropping it on the new Application Bar. While not fully integrated in the beta, the Application Bar will be pretty much a customisable, Suite-wide toolbar, with buttons for currently open documents and general commands such as Printer, Font, Caps Lock and so on.

Internet capabilities are being extended, with each core application having enhanced Web publishing tools. Internet Publisher (in WordPerfect and Presentations) now supports tables (including nested tables), multiple columns and most HTML graphic features. You'll be able to cater for user input on your Web pages, with HTML form support including radio buttons, check boxes, drop down lists and so on. QuickLinks will automatically convert to links any text beginning with standard Internet prefixes such as www and ftp; click the link and your browser will load and connect to the site. You'll also be able to publish Java-based Web documents - full of sound, animations, transitions and so on - with virtually any Windows 95 application, using the new Corel Barista Printer Driver.

PerfectExpert is undergoing a major facelift and will assist with tasks as well as tools. Previously PerfectExpert and QuickTasks were separate features, but the new PerfectExpert will integrate both. While not fully operational in the beta, PerfectExpert will present as a graphical, context-sensitive menu that offers wizard-type help for common tasks. It will offer tips and sample galleries and integrate with other suite applications. Corel envisages that it will continually add new capabilities to PerfectExpert which you'll be able to download from its Web site. Similarly, you'll be able to connect to a PerfectScript Web page to obtain support and download macros and so on. PerfectScript will also include a useful new macro command to browse Internet locations.

Figure 3. The new PerfectExpert (code-named ACE)

Figure 4. Creating a bubble chart using Presentations' new Range

Corel WordPerfect

Apart from the Suite-wide improvements, WordPerfect has its own brag list. You'll be able to customise the appearance of the Shadow Cursor to make it more visible. Grammar-As-You-Go - a companion to Spell-As-You-Go - will check for grammatical errors on the fly and highlight them with wavy blue lines; right click on the error to call up Grammatik for a list of possible replacements.

Not fully implemented in the beta is a new drawing layer which will enable you to draw directly on top of text. All going well, in the final release you'll have access to a range of drawing tools, including the ability to fill objects with colours, patterns and gradients, and group and stack objects.

Hotspots seem to have disappeared, but QuickFonts will still be there, albeit in a different place. You'll be able to view fonts graphically as you move your cursor within the font list - a valuable feature I'm already missing in other applications. Table enhancements include a new QuickFormat which will enable you to pick up formatting attributes and apply them anywhere in a table. You'll also be able to join adjacent cells, or split a single cell into multiple cells.

There will be no change in file format, so you can continue to share documents with colleagues using WordPerfect 6 and 7. Additionally, WordPerfect's SGML support will enable you to create structured documents in a non-proprietary document format and view their structure graphically.

Corel Quattro Pro

Quattro Pro will include a new Cell Reference Checker to track cells you move or paste, then suggest corrections for cell references that may no longer be valid. Macros and functions will be more accessible on the Property Bar, and you'll be able to drag any cell to the status bar to see how it changes as you update related values. You'll also be able to display cell relationships graphically, group data into collapsible and expandable sets, and omit irrelevant data (e.g. blank lines and cells meeting specified criteria).

As with WordPerfect, you'll be able to join adjacent cells. Additionally, you'll be able to format each cell with multiple fonts, attributes and sizes, and use subscripts and superscripts. A new, editable, WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) page view will enable you to work with your pages as they'll appear when printed. Sure to be much appreciated is the ability to import Quicken files.

New Experts will include a Database Expert to help you build IDAPI (Integrated Database Application Programming Interface) queries directly in Quattro Pro. There will also be an integrated cross-tabs function to help you summarise complex spreadsheets quickly.

Corel Presentations

Presentations will look radically different, with navigation tabs contributing to a sleeker, easy-to-use interface. There will be new transitions, eye-catching new Bubble Charts, and converters for MS PowerPoint. Show On The Go will help you create a portable, runtime slide show which you can distribute via disk or as an e-mail attachment. If you present slide shows to multiple audiences, you'll be able to cater for them all with a single file, as the new Custom Audience feature will enable you to tag slides for specific audiences.

Figure 5. The enhanced Object Explorer in Paradox

Figure 6. Using Netscape from CorelCENTRAL

Show It! will publish slide shows to the Web, and Resample Bitmap will adjust a bitmap's resolution after you've resized it. If you aren't too keen on the packaged backgrounds and layouts, you'll now be able to create your own. Creating charts will also be much easier as the new Range Highlighter will highlight columns of your datasheet to match elements of your chart.

Corel Paradox

In the past, Paradox has been pretty much a stand-alone application within the Suite. This time around, Corel hopes to do a much better job of integration. While not fully complete in the beta, the final release will hopefully present Paradox with a common interface to the rest of the suite, including similar toolbars, menu structure, Property Bars and dialog boxes.

Reports, Project Viewer and Object Explorer interfaces are being updated. New Wizards and Experts are being added (including Internet publishing Experts), as well as a new Application Explorer which will help you generate applications quickly. ObjectPAL will have new library methods, properties and constant types, and SQL will have a query builder. Borland Database Engine 4.0 is being included, along with support for add-in DLLs and database replication. Java capabilities will enable a runtime version of a Paradox database to run from a corporate server, so you'll no longer need to port applications to multiple platforms. Like the core applications, Paradox will include Web-publishing capabilities, and you can choose to publish data once only or have it regenerated each time a browser requests it.

CorelCENTRAL

CorelCENTRAL, available only in demonstration form in the beta, is a personal information manager with all the usual calendaring, scheduling and to-do lists, as well as an address book and a cardfile. You'll be able to track personal and workgroup tasks, and CorelCENTRAL will integrate with Netscape Communicator, giving you access to e-mail, newsgroups, Web sites and features such as Internet conferencing and Netscape Collabra.

Corel WEB.SiteBuilder

WEB.SiteBuilder is a WYSIWYG Web page creator. You focus on your site as a single entity rather than as a series of pages, and drag and drop backgrounds, sounds, graphics and pre-formatted HTML components from templates. Corel expects the final release to blend into the rest of the Suite, with a common interface and common tools such as Property Bars and the PerfectExpert. SiteBuilder will also enable you to download full web sites and view them offline.

Assessment

WordPerfect Suite (and its previous incarnations) has long been at the forefront of application integration and was also the first to build Internet support into its applications. This latest revision continues to consolidate these efforts. Despite the toolbar and menu changes, you shouldn't encounter a dramatic learning curve with any of the core applications. Most of the value in the Standard upgrade will be in enhanced performance, a slimmer footprint and extended Internet capabilities, with the new PerfectExpert a worthwhile help to novices. Paradox's improvements will also add further functionality and productivity to the Professional edition.

Reprinted from the July 1997 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia