Most MTs are moving to Word (over WordPerfect) for administrative reasons--i.e. someone told them they had to :-). Word is becoming the "universal" word processor. Medical management programs, transcription management programs and other administrative software packages are incorporating Word into their overall system. MS Word has many development tools available for programmers so it is possible to integrate many different processes, such as documents, billing, tracking, and other "business office tasks.” Word is also part of the "Office Suite" of software products and is designed to work with these other programs including Excel, Access, Outlook, and Power Point. All of these factors work in Word's favor when a large company needs to make software decisions. I haven't worked with WordPerfect extensively, but my overall impression is that Word offers more features, both as a user and as a programmer/software developer; although I’m sure those veteran WP 5.1 users would beg to differ with me! There are a tremendous number of features available in Word that an MT would probably never need, but then again, there are TONS of features that are available to the MT to make transcribing faster, easier and more efficient. The longer I use Word, the more "tricks" I learn. I am constantly learning new ways to automate documents, use fields, document properties, macros, AutoText, AutoCorrect, and more.

My impression from talking to many MTs from "east to west" is that they would prefer to use WordPerfect. Many MTs have recently migrated from WP5.1 (or soon will) and the learning curve from 5.1 to Word can be daunting! To make matters worse, moving macros and other shortcuts between these programs is not simple. Many MTs are overworked to begin with, and finding the time to learn a new program and re-create shortcuts is just too overwhelming in an already hectic day.

Because Word and WP have a different programming "architecture," they "think" differently which requires the transcriptionist to change their approach. Often, MTs will be frustrated with Word because their "tried and true" methods from WP simply don't work or cause them grief. Keep in mind that Word can do anything that WordPerfect can do, it's just a matter of using the right feature or technique.

If you are faced with the “switch,” take heart. The automatic features that do more to frustrate you than help can be turned off. What seem like errors, inconsistencies, and limitations can all be set straight once you have a better understanding of how Word operates, and then the sky is the limit! If Word is shutting down or locking up, you don’t have to accept it as normal behavior—there is a solution (and often it is not a problem with Word itself). Also know that you can operate Windows and Word without the mouse (both are actually very keyboard friendly). While this article does not offer any specific answers, it is intended to give you some hope in knowing that there are solutions to your problems and you don’t have to fight the battle alone. We’re here to help.