Apart from the numbering systems, it is probably true that Word 5.1 and Wordperfect 3.5 for the Mac (and their PC equivalents) were/are the best for writers. The later versions -- there hasn't been one in Wordperfect for the Mac, though one is coming (I fear the worst) -- have many more features, but they are also (a) bloated; and (b) have these so-called "simplifying" features that are actually very confusing, because they mess up the mental picture one often needs to sort out which level of the system you might be on. This is a particular problem in Windows because there are already layers upon layers of "simplifying" frames. Also, it is worth saying that, in spite of the rhetoric, neither Word nor Wordperfect have ever been tested on ordinary users. I know this because a friend of mine has been doing research on the history of these two systems, and their proliferation. They are designed in house by "experts", i.e. computer people who like nifty new things. Word was originally designed to be for report writing (which is why its formatting instructions are the way they are), and to complement spreadsheets, etc. Wordperfect was designed for writers (which is why it tends to "edit forward" as you go).

The irony is that the later Word has two features that, if they were on an earlier Wordperfect I would not switch over ever: but they are incredibly useful. The first is that you cannot get a horizontal and vertical page rule (picas, etc.) for layout in earlier Wordperfect, so it is useless for reports of any printing quality (more recent Wordperfects for PC seem to have this). The second is that Word has the draft/edit function which is terrific (I don't know if more recent Wordperfects for the MAC do this).
It is also worth saying that ALL WORD PROCESSING PROGRAMMES OF MY KNOWLEDGE STINK WHEN IT COMES TO DOING GRAPHICS. They are hopeless.
Concerning getting documents sent in Word by e-mail easily out into Wordperfect, I have basically despaired. I believe it is not a problem with Word, but everyone sends them in Windows Word, which screws things up. I get people to "Save As" either Word MS-DOS or RTF. That always works. I have tried translation software that works on disk material, but doesn't work on e-mail. One nice macro that you used to be able to get from COREL, and is still available on some Wordperfect user sites solved the problem of the damned hard return formatting that you get when you download or cut and paste stuff into Wordperfect. It kills the unnecessary HRs and reformat.

yours, Peter T.