Is there any obvious reason that AbiWord would close down every time I try to open my wpd files? It opens Word files and all others fine, but shuts down automatically when i try the wpds…

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks,

Blenk

Thanks for the tip Rob!~

Stephen

worked fine.

Keep this site up!

My law firm converted to Word. I use Word on the PC at work, Word and Pages on the Mac at home, and occasionally I still use Word Perfect on the old clunker PC in the attic. Here is my opinion why some lawyers who use Windows still prefer WordPerfect over Microsoft Word:

* The need to exchange files with others outside their business is lower than in other businesses such as advertising, newspaper publishing, etc. Accordingly, interoperability (the primary advantage of Microsoft Word) is of less importance to many lawyers.
* Ease of learning, also a plus of Word, is of less importance to lawyers. Whatever tool they use, they will master, since words are the lawyer’s only stock in trade. Ease of use is more important than ease of learning, and many feel that WordPerfect has the advantage.
* WordPerfect puts onto the screen exactly what you typed. None of that “helpful” automatic stuff modern word processors provide! If you typed “Plaintiff alleges in paragraph (c) that my client . . . ” then WordPerfect will not transform the (c) into a copyright symbol. Similarly, if you type an asterisk, some text, a hard return, then another asterisk, that is what you get, instead of an automated bulleted list. Word can turn all these “features” off. But each time your Windows PC crashes, they are reset to the default “on” position.
* Lawyers often indent. Indent is one keystroke in WordPerfect. Fast and simple! In Word, you can indent by fiddling and futzing styles or other mousey tools.
* WordPerfect provided precise control, entered from your keyboard. Word uses styles (much like CSS in web pages). The Word approach is wonderful for standard formats to be re-used over and over. The WordPerfect method is wonderful for one-off editing.
* WordPerfect’s Reveal Codes is easier to use than Word’s Reveal Formatting. But Word’s approach is easier to learn, and is more consistent with the way modern applications work. Since the written document is the lawyer’s stock in trade, lawyers will often prefer ease and speed of use, over ease of learning.
* WordPerfect uses the same file format even though versions change over time. If one person in your firm upgrades to the latest and greatest, all the others can inter-operate without being forced to upgrade.
-Dan Ashley

My late friend Andy Cemelli was the last great hope for WordPerfect on the Mac; alas, WordPerfect dropped the mac and he moved on to other projects before moving on…