Use WP for Windows | The WPDtoODT converter | The WPtoWord converter | The WPWinConvertToDocx converter | The WPLO Converter | The WPWinConvertToDOCX converter | The WPtoRTF converter | Windows scripts that use Word to convert WP to DOC or DOCX | A Windows script that uses Word to convert to RTF | A standalone script that uses LibreOffice to convert WP to DOC | Use TextMaker | Frequently-asked question | Home page
This page is about standalone utility programs and Windows scripts that convert WordPerfect files into Word, ODT (Open Document), or PDF format. These programs do not require WordPerfect to be installed on your system. A separate page is devoted to WordPerfect macros that can also be used to convert WP files into RTF, DOC, DOCX, and PDF formats.
However, if you have WordPerfect for Windows, you can convert WPDOS files to DOCX and other formats by opening those files in WPWin and saving them from WPWin to the format you want. See also the WPWinConvertToDocx converter on this page, which automates the process of converting WP files to DOCX using WordPerfect for Windows.
You may want to experiment with the programs on this page to see which produces the best results with your documents. For example, some of these programs will correctly convert font colors from WPDOS to Word or PDF, and some will produce the wrong colors.
The vDosWP and DOSBoxWP systems both include WP macros that convert WP files to Word and PDF format. You may not need these separate utilities if you use those systems.
Note: A different page provides information on the reverse conversion: converting Microsoft Word files into WordPerfect for DOS formats.
For other methods of creating PDF files directly from WPDOS, see a separate page about "printing" PDF files from WPDOS. The methods on that page will produce more accurate results than the methods described on the page you are reading now, because the methods on the other page "print" a PDF file directly from WordPerfect instead of using Microsoft Word or LibreOffice to convert the file first.
The WPDtoODT converter converts WP documents into the Open Document format used by LibreOffice and openable in recent versions of Microsoft Word. It does not require LibreOffice or Word or anything else to be installed on your sysytem.
The WPtoWord converter and the WPtoDOCX converter both require Microsoft Word to be installed on your system. The WPtoWord Converter requires Word 2007 or later; the WPtoDOCX converter requires Word 2003 or later.
The WPWinConvertToDocx application requires WordPerfect Office 2020 or later to be installed on your system.
The WPLO Converter application is self-contained, and does not require Microsoft Word to be installed on your system.
The two Windows scripts that convert WP files to DOC or RTF formats, WP2MSW.VBS and WP2RTF.VBS, both require Microsoft Word 2003 or later to be installed on your system.
The script that uses LibreOffice to convert WP files to DOC format, WP-LO.VBS, requires LibreOffice to be installed on your system, but you will get better results with the standalone WPDtoODT converter or the WPLO Converter , which do not require a separate copy of Libre Office to be installed on your system.
Save a WPDOS file from WPWin in DOCX format: If Word will not open your WPDOS file (or will not open it correctly), you can open the file in WordPerfect for Windows and save it in DOC or (starting with WPWin X4) DOCX format.
WPDOS 5.1 files with paragraph numbering, etc.: Dan Meek also reports that WPDOS 5.1 files with paragraph and outline numbering often lose the correct numbering and formatting when opened directly in WPWin or Word. For the best possible results, you will need WPDOS 5.1+ (not the original 5.1), WordPerfect for Windows, and also SoftMaker TextMaker, using the method described below.
This site provids a WPDtoODT.exe application that converts WP documents to the ODT format used natively by LibreOffice and openable in recent versions of Microsoft Word. It produces some of the best available results, and requires no other software to be installed on your system.
Download the WpdToOdt.zip archive and extract the application. Because it is written in the AutoIt scripting language, your malware program may flag it as dangerous. If you don't trust it, don't use it; don't waste your valuable time telling me that your malware program has flagged it.
To use it, simply drop one or more WP files on it, and it will export ODT documents with the same names as the WP files and an .odt extension, and in the same folder. You can add any of the following strings to the name of the application to make it behave in specific ways:
Command-line usage: you can run the application from the command line, using one or more of the same four strings listed above as command-line parameters, like this:
WpdToOdt.exe open c:\path\to\file c:\path\to\another\file
This site provides a WPtoWord.exe application that produces some of the best available results when converting WP documents to DOCX (Word 2007 or later) format. It requires Word 2007 or later on your system, but it does not use (and therefore does not require) WordPerfect, and works equally well whether or not WPDOS is installed. It may be used to convert one or more WP documents into DOCX format. (Another program that produces excellent results when converting WP documents is TextMaker, described below.)
Download WPtoWord.exe and move it to any convenient directory. You may use it in two different ways: either drop one or more WPs file on the application (or a shortcut to it) or run the application and select a WP file when prompted. The application will create DOCX-format files with the same name as the original, but with a .DOCX extension added. Of course your original file will not be changed in any way. (If the original file has a .WPD extension, the converted output file will have only a .DOCX extension, not both.) The converted file will open in Word when the conversion is complete.
The converter uses Word's conversion filters - the best available - for converting WP files to DOCX format. Since these filters produce best results when opening WPDOS 5.1 files, the converter uses Corel's old DOS-based ConvertPerfect application to convert WPDOS 6.x files into 5.1 format before opening them in Word.
Word's conversions are not perfect. If you want Word to run a macro that automatically makes formatting or other changes in imported WP files, record such a macro and name it WPtoWordMacro. The converter will automatically run any macro with that name when it converts a WP file.
If you rename the application to include the string "PDF" in the filename (e.g. WPtoWordPDF.exe), it will create a PDF file, not a DOCX file. The converted file will open in your system's default PDF viewer.
if you rename the application to include the string "silent" in its name, then it will not open the converted document and give no visible indication that the conversion is complete. If you rename it to include "ask" in its name, it will prompt you before opening the converted file.
You may use one or more command-line parameters when running this file from the Windows command prompt, or you may add one or more paramaters to the Program field in a Windows shortcut. The parameter "pdf" will cause the application to output PDF files. The parameter "silent" will prevent the application from opening the converted file.
Word may not succeed in opening large or complicated WP files. If the application reports that Word could not open a file, try a different converter from the choices on this page.
The WPWinConvertToDocx converter application uses WordPerfect for Windows to convert WordPerfect files to DOCX format. WordPerfect Office 2020 or later is required. Microsoft Word is not required.
Download WPWinConvertToDocx.exe and move it to any convenient directory. Drop one or more files on to the application and it will use WPWin (very slowly) to convert them into DOCX files in the same folder with the originals. You may also drop a folder on to the application, and it will convert all the WordPerfect files in the folder (but not in subfolders) to DOCX format. You may also run the application from the command line, using the path of one or more WP files as parameters.
This application uses a modified version of a WordPerfect for Windows macro written by Kenneth Hobson, and published in this thread at wpuniverse.com. The application could not exist without Kenneth Hobson's work.
The WPLO Converter uses a reduced copy of LibreOffice to convert WP files into DOC or PDF formats; the resulting file will automatically open in your default application for DOC files or PDF files. The results will not be as satisfactory as those produced by the WPtoWord converter described above, but the WPLO Converter has this advantage: unlike the WPtoWord converter, it does not require Word (or LibreOffice) to be installed on your system.
One advantage of the WPLO Converter is that it converts WP files created by WordPerfect for the Macintosh 3.x and 3.5e as well as files created by WPDOS 5.x and 6.x in addition to files created by any version of WordPerfect for Windows.
Download and run the WPLO Converter Setup installer. It will install the WPLO Converter program and (optionally) create a desktop shortcut for it. Then either drop one or more WordPerfect files on the WPLO Converter desktop shortcut (or on the application itself) to produce a DOC file in the same folder with the original file, or double-click on the application or its shortcut and select a file. Alternatively, run the application from the Windows command prompt, with the name of a WP file as a command-line parameter.
The installer offers the option of creating a second desktop shortcut that will create PDF files instead of DOC files. You can also make the program create PDF files by adding the string "PDF" to the name of the application itself (e.g., something like WPLO PDF Converter.exe) or by using "PDF" as a command-line parameter when launching the program (you can use a filename and "PDF" as a parameter in any order).
You can prevent the application from automatically opening a converted output file by adding the string "silent" to the name of the application; or you can cause it to prompt you before opening an output file by adding the string "ask" to the name of the application. You can also use "silent" as a command-line parameter to prevent the output file from opening.
Note: If you drop a Word or other document file (instead of a WP file) on the converter, it will convert in the reverse direction, creating a WP document. This procedure is documented on a separate page.
This site provides a WPtoDOCX.exe application that effectively converts WP documents into DOCX (Word 2007 and later) format. It requires Word 2003 or later on your system, but it does not use (and therefore does not require) WordPerfect, and works equally well whether or not WPDOS is installed. In general, it produces different and less effective results than the WPtoWord converter described above, but may be preferable with some WP documents. Unlike some other methods on this page, this application converts only one document at a time, not multiple documents.
Download WPtoDOCX.exe and move it to any convenient directory. You may use it in two different ways: either drop a WP file on the application (or a shortcut to it) or run the application and select a WP file when prompted. The application will create a DOCX-format file with the same name as the original, but with a .DOCX extension added. Of course your original file will not be changed in any way. (If the original file has a .WPD extension, the converted output file will have only a .DOCX extension, not both.)
If Word 2003 is installed on your system, instead of Word 2007 or later, the converted file will be in .DOC format and have a .DOC extension.
This application uses the old Word for Word conversion filters to convert from WP to RTF format, and then uses the open-source DocTo.exe to automate a conversion from RTF to DOCX format; the DocTo.exe program uses your installed copy of Word to perform the actual conversion.
An alternate version of this application uses the old ConvertPerfect program (instead of Word for Word) to perform the initial conversion from WP to RTF format. The results will probably be less satisfactory than the Word-for-Word-based conversion, but you may want to experiment with both programs to see which works best with your documents. For this alternate version, download WPtoDOCX-CV.exe.
This WPtoRTF.exe program uses the old WordPerfect ConvertPerfect utility to convert WordPerfect files into RTF files that can opened in any modern word processor, including Word. Copy it to any convenient directory.
The RFT files created by this program should be identical to the RTF files produced when you save a WordPerfect document in WPDOS 6.x and specify the format as RTF. The output file is the same as the input file, with the extension ".rtf" appended to the existing filename (and the existing extension if present.)
Warning (2024): Microsoft is removing support for VisualBasic (.VBS) scripts in newer versions of Windows. These scripts may or may not run on your system.
In order to use these script, you must have Microsoft Word installed on your system.
The first of these scripts, WP2MSW.VBS, uses Word to convert WP files to DOC or PDF format. The second, WP2DOCX.VBS, uses Word to convert to DOCX format.
The WP to DOC-or-PDF script is available via this link to WP2MSW.VBS (right-click and choose Save Link Location or Download Link, or some similar item). Save the script in any convenient location.
The WP to DOCX script is available via this link to WP2DOCX.VBS (right-click and choose Save Link Location or Download Link, or some similar item). Save the script in any convenient location.
Before proceeding, you may want to make a desktop shortcut of the script file that you installed when you followed the instructions above, although this step is not essential. (See Help! What's a shortcut? and read the instructions for creating a shortcut for any Windows program or any other file.)
If you have the WordPerfect for Windows fonts installed on your system, and, after using either of these scripts to convert a file, you find that you cannot search for apostrophes and dashes in converted files, that means that Word has used WPTypographicSymbols and other WP fonts instead of standard Windows fonts. This can only cause trouble. You can prevent Word from using WP fonts in a number of ways:
You can open the script files in Windows Notepad or any similar text editor and edit their many options. For example, you can suppress some of the prompts that the scripts ordinarily offer; whether (in WP2MSW.VBS) to use .DOC or .PDF as the default output; and (in both scripts) whether and how to use advanced font-substitution and formatting options.
You may run either script either by double-clicking on its icon, by dropping a file or folder on its icon, or by running it from the Start/Run... command line in Windows. Follow the specific instructions below:
Double-click the script's icon or shortcut. The script will prompt you to enter a filename, a directory name, or a wildcard specification (for example C:\myfiles\wp*.*). The script will then open Word (invisibly), import the matching files into Word, and export copies of the files in Word format. By default, the exported output files will have the same name as the input files, but (depending on which script you use) with a .DOC or .DOCX extension; this extension will be added to any existing filename extension that the original file already had.
Drop a WP file or a folder icon on the script's icon or shortcut. In Windows Explorer, click on a WP file or on a folder that contains WP files, and drop the file or folder on the script's icon or shortcut. The script will export copies of the files to Word format. By default, the exported output files will have the same name as the input files, but (depending on which script you use) with a .DOC or .DOCX extension.
Run the script from the command line. This is by far the most powerful option. The scripts can be run with up to four command-line parameters. These parameters let you specify the output filename (when the script converts a single file) or the output folder; they also let you specify DOC or PDF output (in WP2MSW.VBS only), whether or not the script runs "silently" (without prompts), and whether it also processes subdirectories when you specify a folder of files for conversions. For details of these options, open the script in Windows Notepad or a similar text editor and study the instructions found in the script.
Remember that your original WPDOS files are not changed in this process and remain on your disk with their original names!
Warning (2024): Microsoft is removing support for VisualBasic (.VBS) scripts in newer versions of Windows. This script may or may not run on your system.
In order to use this script, you must have Microsoft Word installed on your system. If you want to use WP macros so that you can use this script from inside WPDOS, you may try to modify the macros described elsewhere on this page for converting from WP to DOC format. If you want me to create the macros for you, be prepared to make a very large contribution to this site.
The script to convert WP to RTF documents is available via this link to WP2RTF.VBS (right-click and choose Save Link Location or Download Link, or some similar item.) After downloading WP2RTF.VBS, copy or move the file to a convenient location on your hard drive. Remember where it is. You may want to make a desktop shortcut of the script file, although this step is not essential. (See Help! What's a shortcut? and read the instructions for creating a shortcut for any Windows program or any other file.)
You can open the script file in Windows Notepad or any similar text editor and edit its many options. These options let you suppress some of the prompts that the script ordinarily offers; including whether and how to use advanced font-substitution and formatting options.
You may run this script either by double-clicking on its icon, by dropping a file or folder on its icon, or by running it from the Start/Run... command line in Windows. Follow the specific instructions below:
Double-click the script's icon or shortcut. The script will prompt you to enter a filename, a directory name, or a wildcard specification (for example C:\myfiles\wp*.*). The script will then open Word (invisibly), import the matching files into Word, and export copies of the files in RTF format. By default, the exported output files will have the same name as the input files, but with a .RTF extension; this .RTF extension will be added to any existing filename extension that the original file already had.
Drop a WP file or a folder icon on the script's icon or shortcut. In Windows Explorer, click on a WP file or on a folder that contains WP files, and drop the file or folder on the script's icon or shortcut. The script will export copies of the files to Word format. By default, the exported output files will have the same name as the input files, but with a .RTF extension.
Run the script from the command line. This is by far the most powerful option. The script can be run with up to four command-line parameters. These parameters let you specify the output filename (when the script converts a single file) or the output folder; they also let you specify whether to export to .RTF or .PDF format, and whether or not the script runs "silently" (without prompts), and whether it also processes subdirectories when you specify a folder of files for conversions. For details of these options, open the script in Windows Notepad or a similar text editor and study the instructions found in the script.
If you have a 64-bit version of Windows and the script produces an error message about a Registry key: Open the WP2RTF.VBS script file in Windows Notepad or some other text editor. Search for the line that reads DisableWPFonts (approx. line 202). Comment out this line by adding a straight apostrophe (') at the start of the line so that it reads: 'DisableWPFonts and save the file. If, after using the script to convert a file, you find that you cannot search for apostrophes and dashes in converted files, then you have the WPTypographicSymbols and other WP fonts installed in your system; remove them from your Windows Fonts folder (you almost certainly do not need them), and run the script again. If you absolutely need to have the WPTypographicSymbols font on your system, and you have 64-bit Windows, use some other method of converting WP files to RTF format.
Remember that your original WPDOS files are not changed in this process and remain on your disk with their original names!
Warning (2024): Microsoft is removing support for VisualBasic (.VBS) scripts in newer versions of Windows. This script may or may not run on your system.
To use this method, you must have a recent version of LibreOffice installed on your system.
The script (without the accompanying macros) is available via this link; download it to any convenient location.
Note: Before proceeding, you may want to make a desktop shortcut for the WP-LO.VBS script file that you installed when you followed the instructions above, although this step is not essential. (See Help! What's a shortcut? and read the instructions for creating a shortcut for any Windows program or any other file.)
You can open the script file in Windows Notepad or any similar text editor and edit its options. These include options to default to PDF instead of DOC output, and to suppress some of the prompts that the program normally offers.
You may run this script either by by dropping a file on its icon or by running it from the Start/Run... command line.
Drop a WP file on the WP-LO.VBS script's icon or shortcut. In Windows Explorer, drag a WP file and drop it on the script's icon or shortcut. The script will export a copy of the file to Word format. By default, the exported output file will have the same name as the input file, but with a .DOC extension. (But this can be changed by changing in an option in the script itself.)
Run the WP-LO.VBS script from the command line. This is the more flexible option. The script can be run with one or two command-line parameters. The first parameter specifies the input WP file. The optional second parameter specifies the output filename; you can specify a filename with the extension .PDF or .DOC and the script will create a file with the desired format. Alternatively, you can use simply PDF or DOC as the second parameter, and the script will export a file with the same name as the input file but with a .PDF or .DOC extension added.
For details of these options, open the script in Windows Notepad or a similar text editor and study the instructions found in the script.
Remember that your original WPDOS files are not changed in this process and remain on your disk with their original names!
TextMaker (part of the commercial SoftMaker Office and the freeware SoftMaker FreeOffice) performs exceptionally accurate conversions from WordPerfect to other formats, including DOCX. You may open a WPD file in TextMaker and save it to another format, with exceptionally good results.
If you have TextMaker installed, you can use the WPtoTextMaker.exe utility to open any WP file (whatever its extension) in TextMaker so that you can save it in another format.
With WPDOS 5.1 files, TextMaker produces better results if the file is opened in TextMaker only after it has first been converted into the format used by WP 6.x and WordPerfect for Windows. The WPtoTextMaker utility automatically converts a WP 5.1 file into an intermediate WP 6.x file before opening the intermediate file in TextMaker. (It uses WordPerfect's ConvertPerfect utility to create a 6.1 file from a 5.1 file.)
However, Dan Meek writes that you may will get even better results, especially with paragraph numbering and outlining, by including WordPerfect for Windows in the process. You will need to perform these steps by hand:
Q. I was stupid enough to download and use your programs and scripts, and the results aren't as good as I wanted. You have destroyed my files! The fonts are all wrong! The formatting is wrong! Everything is a total disaster! Word uses fonts with weird names like Shruti or Uighur instead of the fonts I carefully chose in WordPerfect! I lost all the work I did over the last fifteen years! This is all your fault!
A. Breathe deeply, make an effort to stay calm, and read the following sentences very slowly until you are absolutely sure that you understand them - and I mean really understand them. First, your original WordPerfect files have not been changed at all. They are still on your disk, exactly where they have always been, with exactly the same content and format that they have always had, and exactly the same names. You are complaining about the mistakes that Microsoft Word, and only Microsoft Word, made when creating copies of your original files in a different format. Remember, it was Microsoft Word and only Microsoft Word that decided which fonts to use in the exported files that it created! My script includes features that let you fix the problems caused by Word, by specifying in the script the fonts that Word should use when converting your file. But you will need to calm yourself and read the instructions in the script file before you can use these features. Also, please complain to Microsoft about the bugs and limitations of its file converters. It does you no good to complain to me.