- Comparison of word processors
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Contents
General information
This table provides general information about selected word processors.
Word Processor Screenshot Creator Latest Stable Version First Release License AbiWord 
SourceGear Corporation 2.8.6 (June 13, 2010) May 19, 1999 Open source (GPL) AppleWorks Apple Inc. 6.2.9 January 4, 2004 1984 Commercial, Proprietary Applix Word Vistasource Inc. 6.0 1992 Commercial, Proprietary Atlantis Nova Rising Sun Solutions, Inc 1.0.0.70 Earliest copyright date in the About Window is from 2000 Freeware Atlantis Word Processor Rising Sun Solutions, Inc 1.6.5.0 (Jan 2010) Earliest copyright date in the About Window is from 2000 Commercial, Proprietary Bean James Hoover 2.4.4 (July 12, 2011) May 1, 2007 Open source (GPL) CopyDesk Quark, Inc. 7 (2007) 1991 Commercial, Proprietary EZ Word The Andrew Consortium 7.5 (1996) 1985 Open source (BSD license) FrameMaker Adobe Systems Incorporated 9.0 1986 Commercial, Proprietary Gobe Productive Gobe Software 3 Aug 1998 Commercial, Proprietary Han/Gul (HWP) Haansoft 7.0.2.226(2007) 1989 Commercial, Proprietary Ichitaro JustSystems 20 / Ichitaro 2010 1983 Commercial, Proprietary InCopy Adobe Systems Incorporated 5.0 (2007) 1999 Commercial, Proprietary Jarte (Free and Pro) 
Carolina Road Software, LLC 4.1 (March 29, 2010) July 2001 Freeware or Commercial, Proprietary KWord 
KDE 2.2 (May 28, 2010) 1998 Open source (LGPL) LibreOffice Writer 
The Document Foundation 3.4.2 (August 1, 2011) January 25, 2011 Open source (LGPL) Lotus Symphony Lotus Software 3.0 2008 Freeware (Registerware) Lotus Word Pro Lotus Software 9.8.5 (2007) 1989 (Originally Samna Ami Pro) Commercial, Proprietary LyX 
The LyX Project 2.0 (May 8, 2011) 1995 Open source (GPL) Mariner Write Mariner software 3.7.2 1996 Commercial, Proprietary Mellel RedleX 2.6.1 2002 Commercial, Proprietary Microsoft Word Microsoft Corporation March 24, 2010 May 2, 1983 Commercial, Proprietary Microsoft Works Microsoft Corporation 9.0 October, 1987 (MS Works for DOS) Commercial, Proprietary NeoOffice Writer 
Planamesa Software 3.2.1 (August 30, 2011) June 22, 2003 Open source (GPL) Nisus Writer Nisus Software 7.0 (Express) 1989 Commercial, Proprietary OpenOffice.org Writer 
Sun Microsystems 3.3.0 (January 25, 2011) April 30, 2002 Open source (LGPL) Pages 
Apple Inc. 4.1 (July 20, 2011) January 11, 2005 Commercial, Proprietary PolyEdit PolySoft Solutions 5.2 1998 Commercial, Proprietary SSuite WordGraph Van Loo Software 8.2 2002 Freeware StarOffice Sun Microsystems 9 1994 Commercial, Proprietary - LGPL Version is released as Open Office StarOffice Writer
from Google PackSun Microsystems 8 1994 Commercial, Proprietary - LGPL Version is released as Open Office Ted 
Mark de Does 2.21 (October 2009) 1999 Open source (GPL) TextEdit 
Apple Inc. 1.7 (289.3) (October 12, 2011) Around 1993? as part of NeXT's OPENSTEP OS which later became part of Mac OS X Open source (BSD license) TextMaker SoftMaker Software GmbH 2010 1987[1][2] Freeware or Commercial, Proprietary
Freeware - SoftMaker Office 2006,
Commercial - SoftMaker Office 2008 and later versionsWordFile4ME Byron Software 4.55.21 Earliest copyright date in the Readme File is 1999 Commercial, Proprietary WordPad Microsoft Corporation 6.1.7600.16385 1995 Commercial, Proprietary WordPerfect Corel Corporation X5 (March 23, 2010) 1980 Commercial, Proprietary Word Processor Screenshot Creator Latest Stable Version First Release License Characteristics
This table gives characteristics of each word processor.
Word Processor Grammar checker Cross referencing Bibliography Graphic editing Mail merging Spell checker Smartfont typography [3] Math support AbiWord No ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes AppleWorks ? ? Yes Yes Applix Word ? ? Atlantis Word Processor ? ? Yes Bean No ? ? No No Yes CopyDesk No ? ? No Yes EZ Word ? ? FrameMaker No ? ? Yes Yes No Gobe Productive ? ? GNU TeXmacs No Yes Yes Yes (only own graphics) No Yes No Yes Groff ? ? Han/Gul Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes No Ichitaro Yes (for Japanese) ? ? Yes (for Japanese) No InCopy No ? ? No Yes Jarte No ? ? No No Yes No KWord Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes No LibreOffice Writer Template:Yes with extensions Yes ? Yes Yes Yes ? ? IBM Lotus Symphony No ? ? Yes Yes Yes No Lotus Word Pro Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes No LyX Yes[4] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Mariner Write No ? ? No Yes Yes No Mathematica No ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Mellel Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Microsoft Word Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No[5] Yes[6] Microsoft Works Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes No NeoOffice Writer ? ? Nisus Writer ? ? OpenOffice.org Writer No Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes[7] Pages Yes No Yes[8] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[9] PolyEdit ? ? Yes StarOffice Writer No ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes[10] Ted No ? ? No No Yes TextEdit Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes TextMaker Yes ? ? Yes Yes WordFile4ME ? ? WordPerfect Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Word Processor Grammar checker Cross referencing Bibliography Graphic editing Mail merging Spell checker Smartfont typography [3] Math support Operating System Compatibility
This table gives a comparison of what operating systems are compatible with each word processor in their last version.
Word Processor Windows Mac OS X Linux BSD BeOS/Zeta AmigaOS/MorphOS UNIX other AbiWord Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes (AOS: through X11 engine) Yes SkyOS AppleWorks Yes Yes No No No No No No Applix Word Yes No Yes No No No No No Atlantis Word Processor Yes No No No No No No No Bean No Yes No No No No No No CopyDesk Yes Yes No No No No No No EZ Word No No Yes No No No Yes No FrameMaker Yes No No No No No Yes No Gobe Productive Yes No No No No No No No GNU TeXmacs Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No Groff Yes No Yes Yes No No No No Han/Gul Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Ichitaro Yes No Yes No No No No No InCopy Yes Yes No No No No No No Jarte Yes No No No No No No No KWord Yes (Alpha) No Yes Yes No No Yes No LibreOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No IBM Lotus Symphony Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Lotus Word Pro Yes No No No No No No No LyX Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No Mariner Write No Yes No No No No No No Mathematica Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No Mellel No Yes No No No No No No Microsoft Word Yes Yes No No No No No No Microsoft Works Yes No No No No No No No NeoOffice Writer No Yes No No No No No No Nisus Writer No Yes No No No No No No OpenOffice.org Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes OpenVMS Pages No Yes No No No No No No PolyEdit Yes No No No No No No No SSuite WordGraph Yes No No No No No No No StarOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Ted No No Yes Yes No No Yes Atari ST TextEdit No Yes No No No No No No TextMaker Yes No Yes Yes No No No No WordFile4ME Yes No No No No No No No WordPerfect Yes No No (since 2000) No No No (last : AOS up to WP4.1 in 1987) No (since 1994) OpenVMS1 Word Processor Windows Mac OS X Linux BSD BeOS/Zeta AmigaOS/MorphOS UNIX other 1. can run unsupported Version 5.1
Import or Open capabilities
This table gives a comparison of the file formats each word processor can import or open.
Word Processor HTML LaTeX ODF .odt RTF Word .doc WordPerfect OOXML .docx SXW UOF AbiWord Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Atlantis Word Processor No No Yes[11] Yes Yes No Yes Bean Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No CopyDesk Yes No No Yes Yes Yes FrameMaker No No No Yes Yes No GNU TeXmacs Yes Yes No No No No No No No Ichitaro Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No InCopy No No No Yes Yes No Jarte No No No Yes Yes No Yes[12] KWord Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[13] Yes No LibreOffice Writer Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes IBM Lotus Symphony Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Lotus Word Pro Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No No LyX Yes Yes Yes Yes with external program No No No No Mariner Write No No No Yes No No Mathematica Yes Yes No Yes No No Microsoft Word Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Microsoft Works Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No NeoOffice Writer Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes OpenOffice.org Writer Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Pages No No No Yes Yes No Yes No PolyEdit No No No Yes Yes Yes RedOffice Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes SSuite WordGraph Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No StarOffice Writer Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Ted No No No Yes No No No No No TextEdit Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes TextMaker Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No WordPerfect Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Word Processor HTML LaTeX ODF .odt RTF Word .doc WordPerfect OOXML .docx SXW UOF Export or Save capabilities
This table gives a comparison of the file formats each word processor can export or save.
Word Processor HTML LaTeX ODF .odt PDF RTF Word .doc WordPerfect OOXML .docx UOF AbiWord Yes Yes Yes Partial (Linux ver.)[14] Yes Yes Yes disabled [2] Yes[15] No Atlantis Word Processor Yes No No No Yes Yes No Yes Bean Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No CopyDesk Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes FrameMaker Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No GNU TeXmacs Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No Ichitaro Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No No InCopy No No No Yes Yes No No Jarte Yes No No Yes[16] Yes Yes No No No KWord Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No LibreOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No IBM Lotus Symphony Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Lotus Word Pro Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes No No LyX Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No Mariner Write No No No Yes Yes No No Mathematica Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Microsoft Word Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Microsoft Works Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes No No NeoOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes OpenOffice.org Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Pages No No No Yes Yes Yes No No PolyEdit Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes RedOffice Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes SSuite WordGraph Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No No StarOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Ted Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No TextEdit Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No TextMaker Yes No Yes Yes (ver 2008) Yes Yes No Yes No WordPerfect Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Word Processor HTML LaTeX ODF .odt PDF RTF Word .doc WordPerfect OOXML .docx UOF See also
- List of word processors
- Comparison of spreadsheets
- Comparison of text editors
- Comparison of TeX editors
- Comparison of office suites
- Office suite
- Online office suite
References
- ^ Andy Updegrove (2006-07-05). "The Emerging ODF Environment, Part IV: Spotlight on SoftMaker Office 2006". http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=2006070509040463. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
- ^ "SoftMaker". 1997-06-03. Archived from the original on 1997-06-03. http://web.archive.org/web/19970603185546/http://www.softmaker.de/main.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
- ^ a b Advanced typography refers to either support for Apple Advanced Typography or advanced OpenType typography features and all OpenType layout tables or Graphite font technology
- ^ LyX wiki | Tools / LyX Grammar Checker
- ^ Partial support for some OpenType features in MS Word 2010, ie. ligatures, old-style figures, but not true small caps.
- ^ MS Equation and MathType
- ^ Support for Graphite Font Technology from version 3.2
- ^ End notes/bibliography supported with EndNote X2 (third party)
- ^ With third party add-ons: LaTeX or MathType.
- ^ Support for Graphite Font Technology from version 3.2
- ^ Atlantis Word Processor supported file formats [1]
- ^ Requires Microsoft's free Office Compatibility Pack
- ^ http://www.koffice.org/news/koffice-2-2-released/
- ^ http://www.abisource.com/twiki/bin/view/Abiword/FaqCreatingPDFs
- ^ http://www.abisource.com/changelogs/2.6.5.phtml
- ^ Requires presence of a PDF virtual printer.
External links
- Chronology of Events in the History of Microcomputers
- Comparison of Word and LaTeX in scientific writing
- Top 8 Free Online Word Processors
- Online word processors: A hands-on comparison
Word processors Open source AbiWord · Bean · Calligra Words · GNU TeXmacs · LibreOffice Writer · LyX · NeoOffice · OpenOffice.org Writer · TedFreeware Adobe Buzzword · Atlantis Nova · Google Docs · IBM Lotus Symphony · Jarte (standard) · TextMaker (2008)Retail Atlantis Word Processor · IBM Lotus Word Pro · Jarte (enhanced) · Microsoft Works · PolyEdit · Scientific WorkPlace · WordPadCategories:- Software comparisons
- Word processors
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