The Word-WP file conversion problem | If you have both Word and WPWin | The CorelConvert utility | Save files from Word in a WPDOS-readable format | Other conversion methods | Home page
Note: This page is about importing Word files into WordPerfect. See a separate page for information about opening WordPerfect files in Microsoft Word.
WordPerfect for DOS cannot directly open files created in any recent version of Microsoft Word. WPDOS 5.1 entirely lacks conversion filters suitable for Word documents. WPDOS 6.x includes filters that can open documents created in older versions of Word (through Word for Windows 6.0), but not in more recent versions of Word. This page describes methods of converting Word documents into files that WordPerfect for DOS can read.
Documents created in one word processor can be used in other word processors, but the conversion is often imperfect. WordPerfect documents are based on an entirely different organizing principle from that used to organize Word files, and no attempt to use WordPerfect as an editor for files created in Microsoft Word can be completely successful. Word files opened in WP will inevitably show large or small differences in fonts, layout, and many other features. You cannot expect perfect results, but this page offers ways to reduce the difficulty of transferring files from Word to WordPerfect.
Warning: Do not try the following solutions to the problem; they do not work! (1) Do not try to save a file from Word for Windows into Rich-Text Format (RTF) and then try to open the resulting RTF file in WPDOS; WPDOS (and older versions of WP for Windows) cannot open RTF files created by current versions of Word for Windows. (2) Do not try to save a file from Word for Windows into Word for Windows 6.0 format and then try to open the resulting "Word 6.0" file in WPDOS; WPDOS cannot open "Word 6.0" files created by recent versions of Word for Windows.
For an explanation of why it is so difficult to convert between Word and WordPerfect file formats, see this excellent and unbiased article by a Microsoft associate named Hafiz.
If you have a copy of Microsoft Word for Windows and a copy of WordPerfect for Windows on your system, and if the Word file that you want to open in WPDOS is relatively uncomplicated, simply perform the following steps:
(1) Open the Word file in Word for Windows. Press Ctrl-A to select the entire file. Press Ctrl-C to copy the entire file to the Windows clipboard.
(2) Open or switch to WordPerfect for Windows; make sure that the document window is empty. In WordPerfect for Windows, press Ctrl-V to paste the entire Word document into WordPerfect for Windows. Save the resulting document as a file with a short filename (no longer than eight letters for the main filename, followed by the .WPD extension). Close WordPerfect for Windows.
(3) Close Word for Windows; you do not need to save the file unless you made changes to it.
(4) Open WordPerfect for DOS and open the file that you saved in step (2).
You may need to clean up the formatting on the resulting file.
If you do not have copies of both Word for Windows and WordPerfect for Windows on your system, or if you want to convert multiple files at the same time, you can use any of the methods listed on the remainder of this page.
The Convert utilities supplied with WPDOS 5.1 and 6.x are unable to convert files created by Microsoft Word 97 (or by later Word versions) to and from WP format. Corel supplies a free Windows-based CorelConvert conversion utility that can convert files from Word 97, Word 2000, as well as many other older and recent formats, into WP 5.1 and 6.x formats, and can convert WP 5.1 and 6.x files into formats recognizable by Word. (The program may crash when converting Word 2002 and later files, unless those files have been saved within Word to some other format.) Ignore the confusing and irrelevant explanation of the program that appears when you install it.
If you have files in Word for Windows 6.0 format that cannot be opened in WPDOS 6.x, even though WPDOS 6.x has an import filter that is supposed to open Word for Windows 6.0 files, use the CorelConvert utility to convert such files into WPDOS-format files. (You will need to use this workaround because the Word 6.0 import filter in WPDOS 6.x can only open Word 6.0 files that were actually created by Word for Windows 6.0, not files that were saved into "Word 6.0 format" by later versions of Word.)
Similarly, if you have files in Rich-Text Format (RTF) that cannot be opened in WPDOS 6.x, even though WPDOS 6.x has an import filter that is supposed to open RTF files, use the CorelConvert utility to convert such files into WP-format files. (You will need to use this workaround because the RTF import filter in WPDOS 6.x can only open RTF files that created by older versions of Word for Windows and by some other applications, but the WPDOS 6.x import filter cannot open RTF files created by recent versions of Word.)
The utility has no effect on the way WPDOS works, and does not make it possible to open Word 97 or Word 2000 files directly in WPDOS. You must use the utility itself to convert files into WPDOS format, and then open the converted file in WPDOS.
You apparently do not need any version of WordPerfect for Windows on your system in order to install and use the CorelConvert utility, but the two buttons that open lists of folders (these buttons are at the right-hand side of the fields where you can enter a filename) will not work unless you have a copy of the program PFREG.EXE from some version of WordPerfect for Windows that includes that program. To make these buttons work correctly, go the folder that contains the convert utility and double-click on the PFOB80.PFC file. If the folder buttons still do not work, find a copy of PFREG.EXE; copy it into the folder with the conversion utility; run PFREG.EXE, and click on the "Register" button. These two buttons should now work correctly. If you do not have a copy of PFREG.EXE, and you cannot make the folder buttons work, simply type in the names of the input and output files. The conversion process is not affected by whether or not the buttons work correctly.
Note: Microsoft Word XP and 2003 files cannot be converted by the Corel Convert utility, but can be opened in WordPerfect 11 and later versions (12, X3, etc.). The WordPerfectOffice Conversion Utility that ships with WordPerfect Office X3 can convert all Word files (up to and including those created by Word XP and 2003) into formats suitable for WPDOS 5.1 and 6.x Also, if you have a commercial copy of the WordPerfect Office 2002 suite (not an academic copy), you can open Word XP files in the QuickView Plus utility that is included in the suite, copy the content of the Word file from the viewer, and paste it into WordPerfect for Windows. The resulting file can be saved from WP for Windows and then opened in WPDOS. QuickView Plus is available separately from AvantStar.
Note: The original Convert.exe utility that shipped with WordPerfect 5.1 may be downloaded from Corel's FTP site.
With some advance planning and effort, you can open a Word document in Word, and save it in a format that WordPerfect can open. However, to accomplish this you will need to install file converters that save files in WordPerfect-readable formats. Among the converters can accomplish this are those that convert Word for Windows files into Word for DOS files (which can be opened in WPDOS 6.x) and those that convert Word for Windows files into WordPerfect 5.1 format.
To save files from Word to WordPerfect format: Recent versions of Microsoft Word include a WordPerfect import filter (conversion filter) that can open WordPerfect 5.1 files in Word, but no longer includes the ability to save files in WordPerfect 5.1 format. You can restore the older version of the two-way WPDOS conversion filter for Microsoft Word by downloading the file and following the instructions on Graham Mayor's unofficial Word support site. Search the page for "WordPerfect converter for Word" and download the file; instructions for installing the file are given above the download link on the Word support page, in the paragraph that begins "Extract the CNV file". (If you don't understand the instructions for merging the registry file into the Windows registry, here is an expanded version: right-click on the file "Word Perfect Text converter.reg"; on the pop-up menu, click on Merge; a message will tell you that the the data in the file has been imported into the registry.) Note that this older version of the WP import filter is reported to produce more accurate results than the newer version when importing WPDOS 5.x files that include tables.
To save files from Word for Windows to Word for DOS format: Download the Word for DOS import filter from Graham Mayor's unofficial Word support site and follow the instructions there for installing the filter. Search the page for "Word (for DOS) converter for Word" and download the file; instructions for installing the file are given above the download link on the Word support page, in the paragraph that begins "Extract the CNV file". The resulting file can be opened in WPDOS 6.x.
A visitor to this site reports that the commercial software ConversionsPlus from DataViz effectively converts files between Word and WordPerfect formats. (I have not tested this program.)