Update – December 4, 2017: According to, will do the trick as will a few smaller utilities. So ignore the rest of this page, and go check it out! Update: Bad news if you’re using OS X 10.7: Bfidlow reports in the comments that Lion it doesn’t like AbiWord, and the feeling’s mutual. I’ve tried OpenOffice, but their WordPress import project seems to be moribund. Let me know if you know of a free solution. A client just sent me a batch of files as background information. And my heart sank as I saw that procession of “.wpd” file extensions.

Microsoft Word for Windows can be used to open Wordperfect documents. And then save them in Word format for later use on your Mac. If you do not have Wordperfect installed on your computer, the file icon. Last Revised:.

Ugh: WordPerfect files. There was a time when was the champion of the word processing world. That time was well over a decade ago, though, and Microsoft Word is now the undisputed leader while WordPerfect languishes in relative obscurity. You're almost done!

Watch your email inbox to confirm your free subscruption. But every once in a while a WordPerfect file rears its head again. And when you try to open it in OS X, you run into trouble. Microsoft Word can’t understand it. Textedit can’t grok it. Pages wants nothing to do it it. There’s always the venerable utility but I don’t own a copy, and I’m reluctant to shell out something like $100 for a program I very rarely need.

Especially if I can solve this problem for free. So I surfed to. In the OS X area turned up only two options.

One utility,, works only on older versions of the WordPerfect format. That’s a pity, because it’s tiny and simple – two things I like in a conversion utility. The winner is, a full-function word processor. (Here’s the.) (Updated: The domain name has changed; I’ve updated the link.) The download is just under 8 MB: hefty, but not onerous on a fast connection. It happily opened every one of those WordPerfect files, and supports a slew of other formats (including Palm database files, of all things). This is your textbook sledgehammer-to-kill-a-flea solution, but it worked flawlessly. Here’s another option: join the Yahoo!

Group, and use their “Links” area to download a free copy of WordPerfect. Be warned: it’s old enough that it runs only in Classic mode (or under OS 8 or 9), and weighs in at 25 MB. For more Apple goodness, check out! Charles Maris asked “Why do lawyers still use WordPerfect?” My law firm converted to Word.

I use Word on the PC at work, Word and Pages on the Mac at home, and occasionally I still use Word Perfect on the old clunker PC in the attic. Here is my opinion why some lawyers who use Windows still prefer WordPerfect over Microsoft Word: * The need to exchange files with others outside their business is lower than in other businesses such as advertising, newspaper publishing, etc. Accordingly, interoperability (the primary advantage of Microsoft Word) is of less importance to many lawyers. * Ease of learning, also a plus of Word, is of less importance to lawyers. Whatever tool they use, they will master, since words are the lawyer’s only stock in trade. Ease of use is more important than ease of learning, and many feel that WordPerfect has the advantage.

* WordPerfect puts onto the screen exactly what you typed. None of that “helpful” automatic stuff modern word processors provide!

If you typed “Plaintiff alleges in paragraph (c) that my client.. ” then WordPerfect will not transform the (c) into a copyright symbol. Similarly, if you type an asterisk, some text, a hard return, then another asterisk, that is what you get, instead of an automated bulleted list. Word can turn all these “features” off.

But each time your Windows PC crashes, they are reset to the default “on” position. * Lawyers often indent.

Indent is one keystroke in WordPerfect. Fast and simple! In Word, you can indent by fiddling and futzing styles or other mousey tools. * WordPerfect provided precise control, entered from your keyboard. Word uses styles (much like CSS in web pages).

The Word approach is wonderful for standard formats to be re-used over and over. The WordPerfect method is wonderful for one-off editing. * WordPerfect’s Reveal Codes is easier to use than Word’s Reveal Formatting. But Word’s approach is easier to learn, and is more consistent with the way modern applications work. Since the written document is the lawyer’s stock in trade, lawyers will often prefer ease and speed of use, over ease of learning. * WordPerfect uses the same file format even though versions change over time.

If one person in your firm upgrades to the latest and greatest, all the others can inter-operate without being forced to upgrade. -Dan Ashley •. Avast.