Corel WordPerfect Office 12 Standard Edition

For example, it has a built-in spreadsheet, which understands formulas, so you can create graphs without switching to Quattro Pro. Changing the colour of a dataset on the legend doesn't do the same on the bars themselves, though, so you're left to make the change a second time. Then there's the JPEG problem discussed above, and the fact that once you've exported your speaker notes to WordPerfect for editing you can't get them back, which points to poor integration across the suite. This is also evident in the WordPerfect group proofing tools, which are blind to the Corel address book. Instead, they rely on Outlook, which you might not have.

Its ability to import a PowerPoint presentation was fair at best. Each of our transitions was converted to a simple left-to-right wipe, a rotated image was straightened and another had its resolution reduced.

The Presentations interface is similarly hit and miss. Transitions, sounds and speaker notes have all been centralised on a unified dialog, which is good, but the menu bars are context-sensitive. Working with images makes the text tools disappear; switching to a graph trims your options to just chart-related features. For the novice, or the switcher, this means that your first few hours with Presentations will be spent learning an ever-changing interface, rather than working on your project.

On the whole, WordPerfect Suite is well put together, but its suitability will depend on which element you'd use most often. If you're into words and slides you'd be better off with OpenOffice or the Microsoft original. If numbers are more your thing, Quattro Pro may well get your work done faster.