PC TAP Consumer Report: Evaluation of WordPerfect Version 51

Consumer Report Evaluation of WordPerfect Version 51 from 6 February 1990. The
evaluation of proposed upgrades to standard items on EPA PC procurement contracts
is a new assignment for PC TAP, and the assessment of WordPerfect 51 is the
first project we have undertaken since we were given that responsibility. We're
pleased with our expanded technology assessment role, and we look forward to the
new challenges it represents. However, our product testing philosophy hasn't
changed, and as you'll see when read the report, neither has our methodology.

More people were involved in the WordPerfect 51 assessment than in any previous
PC TAP project. We're pleased about this, since user participation is a
fundamental aspect of the PC TAP approach to product assessment. We are convinced
that the best test environment is in the workplace under "live" conditions. It's
in the hands of end users doing real work that the meritsand the flawsof a
product are sure to emerge.

WORDPERFECT
Introduction
Over the past several years organisations within EPA have adopted a variety of
word processing software. Usually a product was selected that seemed to fit a
particular group's unique needs, or perhaps because it was recommended by a
respected colleague. Although on the surface it may seem that mis select-your-own
practice would put the most suitable tool in the hands of each user, or at least
in each office, a number of problems are inherent in the proliferation of many
diverse products within the agency, all of which were designed to perform the
same fundamental function. Not the least of these is the transmittal of
machine-readable text to someone in the next room, in the next building, or
across the country. The difficulties of editing and otherwise processing a text
file in a foreign environmentthat is, using an editor other than the one with
which it was createdbecame more obvious with the proliferation of file-sharing
throughout EPA. It became dear that standardisation of word processing software
was a desirable goal for the Agency.

Although a mandatory standard has not been imposed, WordPerfect has become the
recommended word processing software product for users of personal computers
throughout EPA. Over the past several years, use of WordPerfect has increased
around the Agency. It has been installed as a standalone package in both MS-DOS
machines and in Macintoshes, and in the local area network environment too.

With the increased usage of local area networks, WordPerfect Corporation's LAN
front end, WordPerfect Office, has been gaining in popularity. WP Office provides
a convenient platform for launching user applications, and it provides a number
of convenient office-management features like interoffice messaging, calendaring,
and resource scheduling.

Version 51 of WordPerfect, released in January 1990, is a significant upgrade
over release 50. This means a number of new features not present in earlier
versions have been introduced, and the package is substantially different from
its predecessors. On the Agency's PC procurement contract, an upgrade to
WordPerfect 51 as the standard word processing package has been proposed.
Moreover, a bundled option has been recommended that would offer both WordPerfect
version 51 and WordPerfect Office version 20 for a single price. The purpose
of this PC TAP project was to confirm the advisability of upgrading to
WordPerfect 51 as the contract standard word processing package, and to ensure
that the WordPerfect 51/WordPerfect Office 20 interface is stable.
Why Upgrade to 51?

You may be asking yourself what's behind all the hype about WordPerfect 51.
WordPerfect is acknowledged to be a frontrunner among word processing packages,
and it's well known for the vast array of features it provides. Nevertheless,
with Version 51 an impressive list of new features and enhancements appeared.
The more significant among the recent additions are a graphical mathematics
equation editor, pull-down menus, mouse support, an improved table
creation/editing function, and a capability to import external spreadsheet data
into WordPerfect tables. A number of other, less dramatic, enhancements were also
made in 51. The increased flexibility, functionality, and ease-of-use the
upgrade represents make a strong case for its implementation. In the following
paragraphs we will look more closely at the new release.

Tables.
The process of creating and editing tables has been significantly improved. In
the new release, the user simply indicates that a table is to be created, and how
many rows and columns are required. WordPerfect presents the table on the screen
in the form of a grid. All that's necessary is to tab through the cells and enter
the data to complete the table. Shading of selected rows or columns is supported,
and calculations can be performed.

Equations.
The graphics function has been expanded to include the capability to build a
formula. A wide range of mathematical symbols and operators are available in the
equation "palette", from which the user can choose elements to create an
equation. The finished product is saved as a WordPerfect graphic image that can
be placed selectively in a document, complete with sub- and superscripts and all
the appropriate symbols in their proper relative positions.

Pull-down Menus.
All the primary WordPerfect functions can be displayed across the top of the PC
screen. Sub-menus are accessible through the typical "pull-down" technique, which
can be activated with a mouse, or you can use the directional arrow keys to move
around within the menus and sub-menus. This option can be turned on and off at the
user's discretion; that is, if you want to leave it on permanently you can, but
if you don't want the basic menu displayed across the top of your screen all the
time you can turn it off.

Mouse Support.
The mouse feature facilitates pulling down menus and subsequently selecting the
desired option. A nice side-benefit of the mouse is the ease with which it can
be employed to highlight text blocks for moving or deletion. However, for the
significant group of users who persist in getting themselves regularly inoculated
against rodent fever, all functions can be performed exclusively with keystrokes.
WordPerfect 51 doesn't even care if you have a mouse attached to your system;
but if you do, the product will support it.

Merge.
The power of the previously-available Merge command has been substantially
increased, while at the same time it has been made easier to understand and use.
Merge commands can now be included in headers and footers, and they can be
incorporated into macros.

Labels.
It's easier to produce mailing labels in the new release. Avery Mailing Label
formats have been pre-defined, so all you have to do is define the label
dimensions you want, and specify how many are to be printed on each page.

Printer Support.
Whereas in previous versions there were limitations on the character sets that
some printer drivers would handle, under 51 all supported printers can print any
character in WordPerfect's 1700-character repertoire.

Install Now, "Upgrade" Later
One of the beauties of this upgrade is that you can install the software now, and
grow into it later. This is possible because you can use WordPerfect 51 in
exactly the same way you've been using Release 50 (that is, not taking advantage
of any of the enhancements), and you probably wouldn't even know you were using
the upgraded product. As you become curious about new features, you can begin
working them into your repertoire. Mix the new with the old, adding new things
as you become comfortable with them.

Moving Between Versions
Usually one of the first questions asked about a new release of any software
product sounds something like "is the new software compatible with my old files,
and vice versa?" In our opinion this is usually more of a theoretical question
than a practical one. When a person moves to a new package, or a new version of
an old one, they tend to stay with the new version. Why would you want to use
Version 50 some of the time and 51 the rest of the time? (That's just a
rhetoric! question, folks; please don't bombard us with reasons why you might want
to do this I)

We are aware of some limitations when you bring WP 51 files into WordPerfect
50. For example, if you create an equation in 51 and then try to use it in a
50 document, don't expect it to work. The 50 software doesn't support the new
features of Version 51. However, you can probably get away with editing routine
51 text files in 50, or with importing routine 51 files into a 50 document.
But it's probably not a good idea. When you want to import from 51 into 50, the
recommended technique is to use the "save as" option (CTRL-F5) from the new
release to save a 51 document in 50 format; then go into WP 50 and retrieve
it. Going the other way-that is, using 50 files in Version 51 should not
present any significant problems. However, there are a couple of things you need
to watch for, most of which relate to fonts and printing. Fonts and point sizes
have been known to change when a WordPerfect 50 document is brought into
WordPerfect 51. Letter- and word-spacing may also change. These minor
inconveniences can be quickly corrected by simply re-selecting the correct
settings.

Another consideration when moving between the two versions is the printer
drivers. WordPerfect recommends using the new drivers, rather than trying to
convert 50 drivers for use under 51. A Bitstream fontware kit was recently
announced for Version 51.

Environmental Considerations
Unlike WordPerfect 50, for which a separate version was available for local area
network installations, Version 51 is networkable. That means the same software
can be installed either as a standalone version in your PC, or as a LAN version
on your network. Of course, the installation procedures are different when the
product is networked, but that's the LAN administrator's problem, not yours.

When you move from standalone to the LAN world, all the compatibility questions
resurface. In the EPA environment, concern focuses on potential compatibility
problems between WordPerfect and it's LAN front end, WordPerfect Office. We
investigated this aspect of the upgrade issue, and ultimately went to the horse's
mouth for the final word. We're pleased to report that, according to WordPerfect
Corporation, both WordPerfect 51 and the LAN version of WordPerfect 50 are
compatible with Office Version 20; and they intend to maintain compatibility
between soon-to-be-released Office Version 30 and both versions of WordPerfect.
In the final analysis, this means that, unless unforeseen problems are
encountered, any combination of these products that is likely to be in use around
the Agency will work OK.

Another environmental issue is a reported problem with Version 51 running on
PC's with expanded memory boards. Some folks said the computers locked up when
they ran WordPerfect 51 on such machines. After investigating this issue,
WordPerfect Corporation reported that some manufacturers of expanded memory cards
are not following the expanded memory specifications of Lotus/Intel/Microsoft
(LIM) 40, although they say they are. Since WordPerfect 51 expects LIM 40
protocol when it encounters boards that are advertised to be using it, the
resulting incompatibilities cause problems. In the January interim release of WP
51, steps were taken to overcome this problem.

Evaluation Method. For the most part, this study followed the same methodology
that has been successful in previous PC TAP projects. One constraint, however,
was that people who volunteered to participate in the evaluation of WordPerfect
51 had to have access to the software; we weren't able to provide copies of 51
for evaluation purposes. Another element that hadn't been a consideration before
was time. Because WordPerfect is a standard contract item and it takes time to
effect a change to a contract item after the decision to do so has been made, it
was important that the product evaluation be completed as expeditiously as
possible. While we probably didn't finish as soon as some folks would have
preferred, we did it as quickly as we could within what we considered to be a
prudent timetable.

In all, sixteen people contributed to the testing of WordPerfect 51 and its
WordPerfect Office 20 compatibility. A standard questionnaire was sent to those
who were looking at Version 51 as a standalone product. It asked about
installation of the software, and for comparisons with the installation of
previous versions. Participants were also asked to complete several tasks using
the new features: create and edit a formula; build and modify a table; use the
pull-down menus and the mouse. Personal insights and opinions about Version 51
were requested, and the participants responded with lots of good hands-on
experiences that we will pass along to you on the following pages.

The combined input from all the participants in this assessment follows. First
the information gathered from those who tested WordPerfect 51 as a standalone
product will be addressed. Then the results of tests conducted in the local area
network environment are discussed. User Assessment: WordPerfect 51 Evaluators
were asked to describe their experiences with several aspects of WP 51
installation and use, and to rate each task on a 5-point scale where zero
indicated the task was very difficult and 5 denoted a very easy task. First we'll
present the scores and related comments on specific items from our evaluation
questionnaire, then we'll discuss participants' general comments.

Assessments of Specific Tasks
Installation. Our evaluators all agreed that installation of WordPerfect 51 is
easy, easier than installing WP 50. Several people reported having to remove
something else from their hard disk to make room for 51 (it takes almost a
megabyte for the entire program and all the options). Nobody reported any memory
space problems, but one person noted that even though WordPerfect Corporation
says 51 will run in 512K, this is cutting it very close. Consider 640K a more
practical minimum for memory.

One evaluator who is responsible for keeping up a number of PC's found the
installation process painful when you have to repeat it numerous times. This
person said it has been made so "user friendly" that it really slows you down
when you know exactly what you're doingbut there's no way to speed up the
process. Another comment was that, while the flexibility of 51's install allows
you to selectively omit some modules (like the tutorial) to conserve hard disk
space, it also will allow you to leave out parts that you need for WP to run. If
you make this mistake, you have to go back and start all over!  Despite the few
grumbles about specific aspects of the installation process, everyone gave it
either a "4" or "5" score on our scale of 0-5, with 5 being the most favourable.
WordPerfect 51 gets a B+ for ease of installation.

Creating/Manipulating/Editing Tables. Although everyone agreed that creating a
table in WP 51 is a piece of cake, there wasn't complete consensus about the
ease with which one can enhance or modify a table. One person pointed out that
you have to be careful when you delete a row or column from an existing table,
because the data contained in that row or column is lost in the process. Another,
commenting on the ease with which tables can be created, noted that the
discussion of tables in the new manual is very clear and concise. One individual
summed up the table evaluation very simply: "I love it." Others pointed out the
enhanced appearance of 51 tables, and several praised the ability to import
spreadsheet data into WP tables "so they work almost like LOTUS." Finally, one
enthusiastic evaluator commented that the table feature alone is sufficient
reason to upgrade to WP 51; "worth the price of admission," she said.

Several of our participants had problems with shading a row or column, and with
adding a column to an existing table. We could sympathize with these people,
having been temporarily frustrated ourselves over these functions. It seemed to
us, though, that the process is quite simple and easy to perform, once you know
how; the documentation was our stumbling block in this instance.

Our evaluation form had four items related to tables: creating, shading, totaling
a column of numbers, and adding a column. The average score for all participants
for these four items was 4. Tables get a grade of B.

Using the Equation Editor. Although everyone agrees this is one of the best
features of the upgrade, there also is consensus that it's the hardest to use.
Using the equation editor was characterised as "not very intuitive," by one
person, but another said the only thing that would make it better would be the
capability to actually perform calculations.

Anybody who ever has faced the problem of trying to deal with scientific notation
in a standard word processing environment will appreciate WP 51's equation
editor. But it's one of those things that lots of people will never need. So this
feature will probably always be seen as the ultimate by users who have need for
it, and as an obscure capability to those who don't. With an average score for
our evaluators of 2.9, this enhancement rates a C.

Pull-Down Menus/Mouse/Keystrokes vs. Function Keys. Because most of our study
participants were familiar with WordPerfect from having used 50 for a while, the
majority favored using function keys. After all, nobody likes change; if you have
a method that's become second nature for you, why would you want to change? If
it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? As one evaluator put it, "pull-down menus
won't be used by folks who are already 'power users' of WordPerfect." Another
pointed out that not everyone can afford mice, and "anyway, with the function key
template it's child's play."   Notwithstanding their preference for the old ways,
everyone acknowledged that the pull-down menus and mouse support are a great
enhancement. New WordPerfect users who have the requisite equipment will no doubt
fall very quickly and easily into mouse use. The pull-down menus are convenient,
and you can see the command tree, so you know where you're going next.

On our evaluation form we asked participants to distinguish between "mouse with
pull-down menus", "cursor keys with pull-down menus", and "function keys" with
respect to speed and ease-of-use. Here's the result of their ratings.

User Interface Preferences Mouse with Pull-down menus

Cursor keys, Pull-down menus

Function Keys Easiest 80% 0% 20% Most Fastest Cumbersome Recommended 0% 0% 100% 20% 80% 0% 34% 0% 66% WP 50 Ries with WP 51 Software and Vice-Versa. None of our evaluators reported any problems in Version 51 when using files created in
WordPerfect 50. That's no surprise. The new version can do anything the old one
can do; everything appears to be upwardly compatible.

Several people experienced "problems" when they used Version 51 to create files,
then brought those files into WordPerfect 50. The reported difficulties related
to enhancements or functions in Version 51 that 50 doesn't support. For
example, if you create a table using the new enhanced table feature of Version
51, then try to use that table in a WP 50 document, the formatting codes for
the table get lost in the translation. The text will be there, but no rows or
columns. That really shouldn't surprise anyone either. Similarly, don't bring a
WP 51 file that contains an equation into Version 50 and expect to see the
equation. A good thing to remember when bringing a 51 file into WP 50 is to
turn the "show codes" option on; all WP 51 codes that aren't supported in 50
will be shown as [unknown].

Nobody commented on the occasional, more subtle changes we discussed earlier in
this report, such as font or point-size changes. But if you find yourself having
to move files between WP 50 and Version 51, remember to be on the alert for
those situations too.

Additional Enhancements. The major thrust of our evaluation strategy was to make
sure the 'big' items that were announced for Version 51 worked as advertised,
and to confirm that an upgrade was justified and worthwhile. However, there are
a number of other enhancements that, while not as obvious or dramatic as those
we've highlighted, nevertheless are worthy of mention. Several participants in
our study pointed out some of these features, and we'd like to pass on their
comments along with some of our own.

Multiple Pages Command In Print Function. A new selection can be found among
those listed when you execute the print function: "Multiple Pages." When you
choose 'Multiple Pages, you then can specify the page-range you want to print
from the document (like 3-5, or 51-57). Under WordPerfect 50, this capability
was available only when printing a document from disk, or when selecting a
document to print from the List Files screen.

Spreadsheet Importing and linking with Text In/Out Function. This new function
allows you to import information from a spreadsheet file into your WordPerfect
document. When you import information, the values from the specified spreadsheet
are placed in the WordPerfect document at the point where the cursor was when the
function was executed. When you link a spreadsheet file with a WordPerfect
document, the values in the document are updated in one of several ways. For
example, you can update from the spreadsheet on demand, or you can elect to have
the document updated every time it's retrieved from disk. Currently, files from
these spreadsheet programs can be imported and linked: PlanPerfect (versions 30
through 50), Lotus 1-2-3 (versions 10 through 22), and Microsoft Excel
(versions 2x). In addition, spreadsheets from Lotus 1-2-3 version 3 can be
imported as long as they are in .WK1 format.

Saving 51 File In 50 Format with Text In/Out Function. Another option on the
Text In/Out function is "save as," which allows you to save the current WP 51
file "as" (in the format of) a WP 50 or WP 42 file. This is not a new option,
but it has been updated for WP 51.

Long/Short Display Option with List Files Function. The "long display" is a new
capability with the List Files function. It accommodates "descriptive" file names
in addition to the conventional DOS-format file name (8 characters and a
3-character extension). When "long display" is turned on, only the names of files
created in WordPerfect are displayed, and they are arranged alphabetically by the
descriptive name, not the DOS-format name. Long (descriptive) document names may
be up to 68 characters long; the first 30 characters will appear on the List
Files display. The biggest complaint we've heard about long document names and
the "long display" option is that it slows down the List Files function.

Context-sensitive Help, in WP 51, the help function is context sensitive; that
is, when the Help function key is pressed, WordPerfect presents help screens
related to the function that was being performed at the time help was requested.
For example, if you pressed F7 for "print" and weren't sure which option to
select from the print menu, pressing F3 would bring up help screens related to
printing.

Enhanced Merge Function. The Merge function allows you to insert information from
one file into specified points in a second file. The most common example is
bringing a list of names and addresses into a document, one at a time, to prepare
personalised letters. In WP 51, this capability has been made more powerful by
allowing Merge to be used in conjunction with WordPerfect macros.

Relative Tabs. In prior versions of WordPerfect, tabs were always set relative
to the left margin. In a document with a 1-inch left margin, then, a tab set at
the 1-inch reference would be one inch from the margin, or 2 inches from the left
edge of the paper. In WP 51, you may set relative tabs. Let's illustrate it with
the same example. In a document with a 1-inch left margin and a tab set at the
1-inch reference point, the tab would be 2 inches from the left edge of the
paper, just as with 'hard' tabs. However, if we change the left margin to 1
inches, the relative tab will be adjusted automatically a half-inch to the right
too, to a point 2 inches from the left edge of the page. Thus, relative tabs
'float in order to maintain their relative positions from the left margin,

Performance Issues
Several people reported that, compared with the execution speed of Version 50,
WordPerfect 51 is slow. It was reported in the media (Infoworld, December 18,
1988; Computer Reseller News, January 22, 1990) that 51 is in fact about 10
percent slower in execution. This is attributed to the increase in the size of
the overlay file, which in turn causes more disk I/O, the net result of which is
slower execution.

Because one of our evaluators reported what appeared to be inordinately slower
performance with the spell checker, particularly in the LAN environment, we ran
some independent tests of this feature. Using the same test document in all
cases, the times we recorded for spell-checking in LAN WP 51 were about 12
percent slower than the times in standalone WP 51. However, the difference
between WP 51 and WP 50 was more dramatic: Version 50 was about 35 percent
faster!

These have been the major additions and enhancements advertised by WordPerfect
Corporation for Version 51, and brought to our attention by evaluators of the
new release. No doubt there are more, and if any significant omissions come to
our attention, we will prepare a follow-up report to bring them to your
attention. Running Under WordPerfect Office 20; The PC TAP evaluation of
WordPerfect 51 included tests to be sure of its compatibility with WordPerfect
Office 2.0. WordPerfect Office was installed in a test LAN environment in both
Washington and in Research Triangle Park. For several weeks we ran both Versions
50 and 51 from the same Office platform with a limited number of users. No
significant problems were reported, and nothing was encountered to suggest the
configuration should not be adopted for EPA use.

Summary and Recommendation. The consensus of the participants in this evaluation
project is that WordPerfect 51 represents a significant set of enhancements to
an already powerful, versatile product. Our conclusions are supported by those
of IOC Washington, Inc., an independent software testing/reporting organization,
whose 15 January, 1990 report on WordPerfect 51 said the upgrade represents "an
impressive series of refinements that make an already good product finer yet".
The advanced capabilities and new features have high potential value for the
Agency's WordPerfect users.

Based on the test results reported by all participants, PC TAP has recommended
acceptance of WordPerfect 51 as the contract standard word processing product.
We hope you will enjoy learning and using WordPerfect 51, and that it will
contribute to your word processing efficiency and productivity.
