History of Computers - Word Perfect
--Kduncombesmith 09:29, 1 September 2009 (CDT)
Word Perfect
Word Perfect is a word processing program. Version 1.0 was first released for DOS in 1982. Later versions were released for Apple II, Atari ST, Amiga, VAX/VMS, Macintosh, NeXT, Windows, Unix, Linux, and finally Java. It was originally released for data general minicomputers and it was later ported to DOS.
Overview
Word Perfect first took off with version 4.2 in 1986 that had automatic paragraph numbering and could split a long foot note between the first page and put the overflow on the bottom of the next page. Both of these additions were helpful for law offices and the foot notes were helpful for academics as well. The Word Perfect version 4.2 became the first program to overtake Wordstar, the original microcomputer word processor market leader, on the DOS platform.
Word Perfect became even more successful when version 5.1 was released in 1989 as the first version to have Macintosh like pull-down menus and support for table and spreadsheet features. For years its data format was the most portable in the world.
Word Perfect has continued to evolve over the years, to the program that exists today. What sets Word Perfect apart is its streaming code architecture, reveal codes feature, and PerfectScript, a user friendly macro/scripting language.
Significance
One of the first word processing programs, Word Perfect overtook the existing competitor Wordstar and has remained popular. Word Perfect still remains popular today. Also, the original concept created in Wordstar and Word Perfect is still used today whether in Word Perfect, Microsoft Word, or another word processing program. The concept implemented with Word Perfect has had a lasting effect on the way people present their work and how they transfer data, now almost all written works are typed in a word processor and sent in an email or printed out and handed in.
