Gourt Home::Gourt :: Comparison of word processors
Word processors differ from ordinary text editors. There are certain criteria which text editors must fulfill in order to qualify as a word processor. For instance Microsoft's WordPad (bundled with most versions of MS Windows) would not qualify. The basic criteria include:
- A Graphical User Interface
- Web Design Capability
- Graphic-Editing Capability
- Word Art
- Table (information) creation
- Chart and graph creation
- Layout formatting
- Ease of Use
These criteria make a word processor a preferred choice over a text editor for many people. LyX, for instance, is much preferred when creating documents involving mathematical and scientific notations which are otherwise unavailable or very difficult with other word processors.
The word processor of choice depends on the user's interest; for example, a user might want to produce ready to use HTML documents. Differences among these programs are given in the tables below.
General Information
This table gives the general information of each word processor.
| Word Processor | Creator | Latest Stable Version | First Release | Cost (USD) | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 602PC Suite | Software602 Company | ??? | ??? | Shareware | ??? |
| AbiWord | SourceGear Corporation | 2.4.2 | May 19, 1999 | Free | GPL |
| Ability Write | Ability Software | 4 | 1985 | $29.99 | ??? |
| Apple Works | Apple Computer | 6.2.9 | 1984 | ??? | ??? |
| Applix Word | Applixware | 6.0 | 1992 | ??? | ??? |
| Ashampoo Office | ??? | ??? | ??? | $69.99 | ??? |
| Atlantis Word Processor | |||||
| EasyWord | |||||
| Evermore Integrated Office | |||||
| EZ Word | |||||
| FrameMaker | |||||
| GoBeProducive | |||||
| GNU TeXmacs | |||||
| Groff | |||||
| Han/Gul | |||||
| KWord | LGPL | ||||
| Lotus Word Pro | |||||
| LyX | |||||
| Mellel | |||||
| Microsoft Word | |||||
| Microsoft Works | |||||
| Nisus Writer | |||||
| Nota Bene | |||||
| OpenOffice.org Writer | 2.0.3 | Free | LGPL | ||
| Pages | |||||
| Papyrus | |||||
| PolyEdit | |||||
| RoughDraft | |||||
| StarOffice | |||||
| Ted | |||||
| TextEdit | |||||
| Text Maker | |||||
| WordExpress | |||||
| WordFile4ME | |||||
| WordPerfect | |||||
Characteristics
This table gives characteristics of each word processor.
| Word Processor | Grammar Check | Graphic Editing | Mail Merging | Spell Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 602PC Suite | ||||
| AbiWord | ||||
| Ability Write | ||||
| Apple Works | ||||
| Applix Word | ||||
| Ashampoo Office | ||||
| Atlantis Word Processor | ||||
| EasyWord | ||||
| Evermore Integrated Office | ||||
| EZ Word | ||||
| FrameMaker | ||||
| GoBeProducive | ||||
| GNU TeXmacs | ||||
| Groff | ||||
| Han/Gul | ||||
| KWord | ||||
| Lotus Word Pro | ||||
| LyX | ||||
| Mellel | ||||
| Microsoft Word | ||||
| Microsoft Works | ||||
| Nisus Writer | ||||
| Nota Bene | ||||
| OpenOffice.org Writer | ||||
| Pages | ||||
| Papyrus | ||||
| PolyEdit | ||||
| RoughDraft | ||||
| StarOffice | ||||
| Ted | ||||
| TextEdit | ||||
| Text Maker | ||||
| WordExpress | ||||
| WordFile4ME | ||||
| WordPerfect | ||||
Operating System Compatibility
This table gives a comparison of what operating systems are compatible with each word processor.
| Word Processor | Windows | Mac OS/X | GNU/Linux | BSD | BeOS/Zeta | MorphOS | OpenVMS | ReactOS | SkyOS | UNIX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 602PC Suite | ||||||||||
| AbiWord | ||||||||||
| Ability Write | ||||||||||
| Apple Works | ||||||||||
| Applix Word | ||||||||||
| Ashampoo Office | ||||||||||
| Atlantis Word Processor | ||||||||||
| EasyWord | ||||||||||
| Evermore Integrated Office | ||||||||||
| EZ Word | ||||||||||
| FrameMaker | ||||||||||
| GoBeProducive | ||||||||||
| GNU TeXmacs | ||||||||||
| Groff | ||||||||||
| Han/Gul | ||||||||||
| KWord | ||||||||||
| Lotus Word Pro | ||||||||||
| LyX | ||||||||||
| Mellel | ||||||||||
| Microsoft Word | ||||||||||
| Microsoft Works | ||||||||||
| Nisus Writer | ||||||||||
| Nota Bene | ||||||||||
| OpenOffice.org Writer | ||||||||||
| Pages | ||||||||||
| Papyrus | ||||||||||
| PolyEdit | ||||||||||
| RoughDraft | ||||||||||
| StarOffice | ||||||||||
| Ted | ||||||||||
| TextEdit | ||||||||||
| Text Maker | ||||||||||
| WordExpress | ||||||||||
| WordFile4ME | ||||||||||
| WordPerfect | ||||||||||
See also
"Comparison of word processors"