Arch:
It's a good question and I don't know the answer. I did not follow that case at the time.
Off the top of my head, file compatibility would seem the least hurdle, followed by menu, then the macro language.
Re: menu. MS encourages Windows developers to implement many common menu structures across various program types. That is: one should look for print in the file menu and copy should be found under edit. This commonality extends to most basic commands, and could be stretched a bit. At some point, though, I think MS would be just itching to file lawsuits.
Re: macro language. I think this is pretty much a no-no and would be a pain to achieve across the entire suite in any case. Too much intellectual property is involved.
Pretty cool if WP could transparently read and write all the MS file formats though. (The MS Suite can't even do that.) Would help a lot for most who use both programs.
Some of the things MS does get pretty frustrating. Awhile back in Excel I put some lengthy tables together for a computer illiterate friend. Took the floppy out to his place where he had MS Works installed. (He's not all that illiterate.) Works read the .xls files beautifully and allowed us to make a bunch of revisions. However Works would not save in the original Excel format, and Excel would not read the Works file. How many proprietary spreadsheet formats does MS need anyway?
As I think through this whole topic, I begin to believe that taking a path toward increased compatibility with MS Office would open too many cans of worms which are best left sealed. The WP Suite is the better product right now (IMO), and Corel should focus on keeping the lead in future versions. Meanwhile if the next version includes more file translation capabilities which can be selected as defaults, I will applaud.
Regards
Leo
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