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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 (2.6) is available from the DataPerfect User Discussion Group. Some sample databases may be downloaded from Corel's FTP site.
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.
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: Native PlanPerfect files cannot be opened in any other spreadsheet, not even in Quattro Pro. However, if you have a copy of PlanPerfect, you can use Ctrl-F5 to export a spreadsheet in Lotus 1-2-3, dBase, or WordPerfect 5.x (table or text file) format. Lotus 1-2-3 and dBase files are easily imported into Excel, Quattro Pro, or any other modern spreadsheet program.
Note: If your spreadsheet includes dates, remember that PlanPerfect starts the year on the imaginary date "zero January," unlike (apparently) all other spreadsheets, which start the year on 1 January. Therefore you will need to add one day to any date in a spreadsheet imported into other programs from PlanPerfect. (Information from Ruth Sinclair.)
If you do not have a copy of PlanPerfect to use for exporting PlanPerfect spreadsheets, you can use your old PlanPerfect spreadsheets by importing them directly into WordPerfect 6.x or later for DOS or Windows, then save the resulting file in 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.)
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) runs under all Windows versions 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.