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This page contains brief notes on compatibility, updates, and links for miscellaneous DOS applications in the WordPerfect family. I have not included a separate section on LetterPerfect 1.0, which is a reduced version of WordPerfect 5.1 and uses the same printer drivers as WPDOS 5.1.
For information on the WP Shell, Editor, and other WordPerfect Office programs, see a separate page on this site.
This relational database was released by Novell for free public download, and was maintained afterward by its author, Lew Bastian. The last version released with a printed manual seems to have been DataPerfect 2.3. The latest version (2.6y) is available from the DataPerfect User Discussion Group. Some sample databases may be downloaded from Corel's FTP site. The program runs on modern Windows computers under vDos.
An Envoy version of the DataPerfect 2.3 manual was distributed by WordPerfect Corporation to subscribers to its Customer Advantage Program. A PDF created from that Envoy file may be downloaded here.
WordPerfect Presentations runs correctly on modern computers under the DOSBox-X-App or the DOSBoxWP Plain DOS option in DOSBoxWP. Install the the newly-written WPDOS 5.1 VESA graphics driver by Michal Necasek. (See the note on the linked page about minor problems caused by bugs in DrawPerfect.)
On older Windows systems (Windows XP and older), the WPDOS 5.x-compatible presentation and graphics program DrawPerfect 1.1 (and perhaps 1.0) can display high-resolution graphics with most current video cards if you install the newly-written WPDOS 5.1 VESA graphics driver by Michal Necasek. (See the note on the linked page about minor problems with DrawPerfect.) DrawPerfect can also use the newly written WPDOS 5.1 printer drivers found elsewhere on this site. A few inessential downloads may be found on Corel's FTP site.
PlanPerfect 5.1 can be used on modern Windows computers by installing the vDosWP system.
On older Windows systems (Windows XP and older), the WPDOS 5.x-compatible spreadsheet program PlanPerfect 5.1 (and perhaps 5.0) can display high-resolution graphics with most current video cards if you install the newly-written WPDOS 5.1 VESA graphics driver by Michal Necasek. PlanPerfect 5.1 can also use the newly-written WPDOS 5.1 printer drivers found elsewhere on this site. A few downloads may be found on Corel's FTP site.
PlanPerfect file conversion: You can use your PlanPerfect worksheets in other spreadsheet programs by exporting them to another format either from PlanPerfect itself, from WordPerfect 6.x or later for DOS or Windows, or by importing them into the Gnumeric spreadsheet and using them in Gnumeric, or by exporting from Gnumeric to another format. Details are as follows:
If you have a copy of PlanPerfect, you can use Ctrl-F5 to export a worksheet to Lotus 1-2-3, dBase, or WordPerfect 5.x (table or text file) formats. Lotus 1-2-3 and dBase files are easily imported into Excel, Quattro Pro, or any other modern spreadsheet program.
If you have WordPerfect 6.x or later for DOS or Windows, you can use your old PlanPerfect worksheets by importing them into WordPerfect 6.x or later for DOS or Windows. You can then save the resulting file to any standard spreadsheet format. With WordPerfect for DOS, simply retrieve the PlanPerfect file into a new file window, then export by the file by using F7, and selecting a spreadsheet format from the Format dropdown list. With WordPerfect for Windows, use the Insert/File menu to import the file, and File/Save as... to export the file (choose a spreadsheet format from the File Type listing.)
If you prefer to open your PlanPerfect files in another spreadsheet program: A visitor to this site reports that the Gnumeric spreadsheet (available for Linux and Windows) can open PlanPerfect files (although non-ASCII characters in text strings are dropped); I have not tested this. I know of no other current spreadsheet that can open PlanPerfect files. The Quattro Pro spreadsheet included in WordPerfect Office cannot open PlanPerfect files, although WordPerfect 6.x or later for DOS or Windows can open such files.
Note about dates in exported PlanPerfect worksheets: PlanPerfect's date handling is correct at least for dates in the next million years. If your worksheet, for some reason, includes dates in the first two months of the twentieth century (before 1 March 1900 - that's 1900, more than 100 years ago), then the dates that import into other spreadsheet programs will be incorrect, but that is because of a bug in Lotus 1-2-3 that was faithfully reproduced by other spreadsheet software. Lotus 1-2-3 incorrectly includes the nonexistent date 29 February 1900 because the Lotus programmers ignored the detailed rules for leap years that coincide with new centuries. If the dates in your PlanPerfect worksheet are on or after 1 March 1900 (more than 100 years ago) then your files will import correctly into other programs. (Information from Brian Perrin.)
WordPerfect Presentations runs correctly on modern computers under the DOSBox-X-App or the DOSBoxWP Plain DOS option in DOSBoxWP. Install the newly-written WPDOS 5.1 VESA graphics driver by Michal Necasek.
The DOS-based, WPDOS 6.x-compatible, presentations and graphics program Presentations was shipped in two versions, 2.0 and 2.1.
Presentations 2.0 uses its own printer drivers, and apparently can not use drivers from any other WP product; the original drivers may be downloaded from a directory named "old" on Corel's FTP site.
In contrast, Presentations 2.1 can use either the Presentations 2.0 printer drivers or any WPDOS 6.x printer driver (except a very few text-only drivers), including the newly-written WPDOS 6.x printer drivers found elsewhere on this site. The drivers that shipped with Presentations 2.1 are available from a directory named "prdos" on Corel's FTP site.
A few other downloads related to Presentations 2.x may be found on Corel's FTP site; note that the index pages list some incorrect names for the available files; download from the file list itself.
The VESA graphics driver that shipped with Presentations 2.0 and 2.1 probably will not work with modern video cards, but you will probably be able to use the original VESA.VRS file that shipped with WPDOS 6.x or, if for some reason the original driver does not work, the patched WPDOS 6.x VESA VBE driver available elsewhere on this site.
WordPerfect Works (a miniature application suite based on reduced versions of WPDOS 5.1 and PlanPerfect 5.1) probably runs on modern computers under vDosWP or DOSBox-X. It also runs under Windows versions older than Windows 7, except Windows Me. A workaround is available, however, as follows: In order to run WP Works under Windows Me, first download Shell 3.1 from a link elsewhere on this site and install it into its own directory. Run the Shell program; choose Setup/Options/Colors; make any changes you want; and write down the code letters of your color scheme on a piece of paper. Now copy Shell.exe and Shell.ovl into your WP Works directory; run Shell, and you will see your WP Works menu displayed in black and white. Choose Setup/Options/Colors to restore the color scheme you want. You will now have all the same functions you had earlier under WP Works. Remember: this workaround is necessary only for Windows Me.
For further information on the programs included in WP Works, see the notes the WP Shell elsewhere on this site.