This page provides an application that runs WordPerfect X3 for Windows (from the WordPerfect Office X3 suite) on any modern Macintosh computer. It uses Wineskin Winery to create a "wrapper" for WordPerfect, making it possible to run WPWin in a window on the Mac desktop. You can print from the app to your Mac printers and you can save files in Word's .DOC and other formats. Unlike emulation software like Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion, it does not require you to install Windows itself.
As far as I can tell, macros cannot be run or recorded in this system, but ordinary editing should work exactly as it does under Windows.
The app requires macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later and runs on Intel machines and (via Apple's Rosetta 2 translation software) on Apple Silicon machines. It comes with no support. However, if you find it useful, please feel free to visit this page.
To unlock this program, you must have a WordPerfect Office X3 installation CD (or a disk image of a CD). You can find WordPerfect Office X3 CDs on eBay, Amazon.com, and other sources of obsolete software, or you may be able to find a disk image by searching online. You must use the installer disk (or CD image) for an English-language version of WPO X3.
Please don't wate your time demanding a system that runs a more recent version of WordPerfect. The X3 version is the most recent WordPerfect version that runs on a Mac under the Wine-based software that is used by this system. If you want to run a more recent version of WordPerfect, install Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion, then install Windows inside Parallels or Fusion, then install WordPerfect Office. Note that more recent versions of WordPerfect can save in .DOCX format, while the app provided by this page saves only in the older .DOC format.
Download the app here. When the download completes, move the application to your desktop or any other convenient folder. On a single-user system (and only on a single-user system), you can move it to your Applications folder. Then follow the steps described below to unlock it. (The app was updated 8 October 2022 so that it can open files with spaces in their names.)
Ctrl-click on the app and choose Open. You will see a message telling you to move it to the Trash. Choose Cancel. Then Ctrl-click on the app again, and again choose Open. You should see a menu with an option to Open the app. Click on it.
If, after performing the steps above, macOS persists in telling you that the app is broken, then open a terminal and type in this command, followed by a space (do not forget the space):
xattr -rc
Then drag the app into the terminal window. Press enter. The app should now run correctly.
When the app runs for the first time, it will tell you that you need to unlock it, by following the instructions on this site. Here are the instructions.
On your WordPerfect Office X3 installation CD (or disk image), find the setup.exe program file. It may be in the root directory of the disk or in a WPOX3 folder. Copy that program file to a convenient location and drop it on the WordPerfect for Windows app. The app should tell you that it has been unlocked. If the app does not accept the file that you dropped, send me a copy of the seup.exe file at this address: emendelson-at-mac-dot-com.
The first time you run the app, it will take a long time to open, and will ask for permission to access your desktop and documents folders. It will open more quickly the next time you run it.
On an Apple Silicon Mac, this app requires the Rosetta 2 translation software to be installed. If Rosetta 2 is not installed on your system, the app will prompt you with the command that you must use to install it.
You can run the app by double-clicking on it, or you can open a file in WordPerfect for Windows by dropping the file on the app.
When WordPerfect for Windows opens, use it exactly as you have always used it. The default directory for opening and saving files is your Mac's Documents folder, mapped to drive D: in WordPerfect for Windows. You can also use your Desktop folder, which is mapped to drive E:. (Drive C: is the emulated Windows system hidden many layers deep inside the application itself. Don't use it for your documents unless you want to make life very difficult for yourself.)
When you drop a file on the app from your Documents, Desktop, or Download folders, it will open normally in WPWin, but the path of the file will be listed in WPWin as starting with drive Y:. You will be able to figure out what this means by looking at the full path in the title bar. If you drop a file from any other folder, the app will display a message explaining that the file will open in the WPWin, with its surrounding folder be mapped to drive Y: in WPWin. If you don't want to see this message in the future, you can hide it by clicking one of the buttons on the message.
If you drop a .WPG graphics file on the app, it will open in Presentations.
You can also drop a folder on the app, and that folder will be mapped to drive Y: when WordPerfect for Windows opens. You can also map any other folders on your Mac to drive letters of your choice, using the Wineskin app included deep inside the WordPerfect for Windows app. If you can't figure out how to do this, send me a substantial contribution here (minimum US$50, preferably more), and then ask me for help.
Saving to .DOC format: You can save files from WorPerfect for Window to Microsoft's .DOC format (listed in the Save As dialog as "MS Word 97/2000/2002/2003"), and then open the resulting files in Word or other applications. From Word or other applications, you can then save these exported files, if you wish, in Word's current .DOCX format.
You can make WPWin the default application for .WPD files. Ctrl-click a .WPD file, choose Get Info, and assign WordPerfect for Windows as the default application for opening files of this type.
Feedback page. Edward Mendelson. Mailing address: edward dot mendelson at columbia dot edu.