Novell Announces WordPerfect 3.5 For The Macintosh

Press Release

Offers New Innovations and Technologies for Internet Publishing, Greater Performance and Ease of Use

OREM, Utah -- July 17, 1995 -- Novell, Inc. today announced WordPerfect 3.5 for the Macintosh, the first word processor to provide Internet publishing and editing capabilities for Macintosh users. WordPerfect 3.5 for the Macintosh, the fastest, most "Mac-compatible" word processor available, enables users to create and edit Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) documents and use the included Netscape Navigator browser to navigate the World Wide Web. Other innovative technologies in the product include text-to-speech and new automation features that make the product simpler and easier to use.

WordPerfect 3.5 for the Macintosh continues to offer greater support for Apple technologies than other Macintosh word processors, allowing Macintosh users to maximize the strengths of the Macintosh operating system. New in WordPerfect 3.5 are speed enhancements, the ability to "speak" text using MacinTalk, Bookmarks with "hot links," Make it Fit, Easy Envelopes and more than 85 document templates.

"WordPerfect 3.5 for the Macintosh offers the best price/performance value of any word processor on the market and we are finding more and more Microsoft Word users are choosing WordPerfect," said Mark Calkins, vice president and general manager of Novell's Business Applications. "WordPerfect 3.5 takes advantage of the strategy and tools we have developed for bringing Internet publishing and document interchange into the mainstream--WordPerfect 3.5 is more than just a word processor, it's now a communication tool."

First Macintosh Word Processor with Complete Internet Publishing Tools

WordPerfect 3.5 is the first Macintosh word processor to make Internet publishing as easy for users as simple word processing. With the new Internet publishing tools, building and maintaining a Home Page is a snap, as users can import and export documents from the Internet without having to use a separate difficult-to-use HTML editor. Users can convert WordPerfect documents to the HTML format or view any Internet document (with the appropriate Internet connectivity software) using the included Netscape Navigator browser. In addition, any combination of graphics, video and fonts can be viewed using the included Novell Envoy viewer.

Bookmarks Simplify Information Management in Documents

Bookmarks enable users to create "hot links," which link parts of a document to other places in the same document or to specific locations in completely different documents. For example, a report on population growth could contain a bookmark linked to a second document containing U.S. Census data. By clicking on the bookmark, the user is brought directly to the linked census information. Bookmarks can link to Internet Uniform Resource Locator (URL) addresses on the World Wide Web or to non-Internet documents.

Ability to "Speak" Text

WordPerfect 3.5 is also the first word processor to integrate MacinTalk, the text-to-speech capabilities developed by Apple. MacinTalk allows users to select a document or block of text and have it spoken by their Macintosh for easy proofreading or to bring presentations or demonstrations to life.

Automatic Page Adjustment with Make It Fit

To eliminate users' frustrations with manually adjusting documents to fit on a specific number of pages using trial and error, WordPerfect 3.5 includes the Make It Fit tool. To fit text onto the required number of pages, Make It Fit automatically adjusts the margins, font size, line height and spacing. Make It Fit is ideal for projects such as a letter, which must fit on one page of company stationary, or for any other document where there are space restrictions.

"I used to be a Microsoft Word user until I switched to WordPerfect 3.5," said Peter Weil, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin, who worked with the beta version of WordPerfect 3.5. "WordPerfect 3.5 surpasses the competition with more advanced performance features and speed. Currently, I am writing my Ph.D. dissertation and some of the new functions in WordPerfect 3.5 such as Bookmarks, Hyperlinks, Make It Fit and various templates helped me considerably in preparing my thesis."

Other New Features for Greater Ease of Use

The new ruler interface in WordPerfect 3.5 is now more streamlined, improving the visual impact and usability of the ruler. Envelopes are now simple and easy to print. The new Easy Envelope function provides an on-screen picture of the envelope, making placement of information simple. Also, users can now merge files for bulk printing of envelopes. More than 85 new templates are also included with WordPerfect 3.5, which automate functions and make them easier to perform.

Pricing and Availability

WordPerfect 3.5 for the Macintosh is available on disk and CD-ROM at a much lower price than previous versions of the product. The new deluxe CD-ROM version includes "extras" not included in the disk version such as Envoy 1.0a, the portable document publisher and viewer; AppWare 1.2, a cross-application integration tool; and additional templates, macros and clip art. The suggested retail price is $189, and a full upgrade package will be available for the suggested retail price of $89. The upgrade price is available to users upgrading from any previous WordPerfect version (any platform), any competing word processor, or any Works or Macintosh suite product. WordPerfect 3.5 will be available in August 1995.