Versions of WordPerfect for Linux other than 8.1
Revision 7.2
April 2026
Contents
The versions
WordPerfect 6 for Linux
WordPerfect 7 for Linux
WordPerfect 8.2 for Linux
WordPerfect 9 for Linux (contained in WordPerfect Office 2000 for Linux)
Server Editions
WordPerfect for Linux 8.1, which was released in 1999, appears to be a development of WordPerfect for DOS rather than WordPerfect for Windows.
Other versions of WordPerfect for Linux are:
- version 6, released in 1996.
- version 7, released in 1998.
- version 8.0, released in 1998. See the WordPerfect 8.0 page.
- version 9, released in 2000.
- version 8.2, released in 2003-04.
There were also server editions of WordPerfect for Unix, in versions 6, 7 and 8. These may conveniently be referred to as WordPerfect 6u, 7u, and 8u. They were released respectively in 1996, 1997, and 1998. These included both graphical and character-based versions of WordPerfect. The character-based version in WordPerfect 8u may conveniently be referred to a WordPerfect 8c.
For practical purposes, only WordPerfect 8.0 and 8.1, and WordPerfect 8c, appear to have current significance for anyone wishing to install and run a native version of WordPerfect on a Linux distro.
A native version of WordPerfect 6 for Linux, not being a Unix version working on Linux via an iBCS module, was released by Caldera in 1996, as part of its Internet Office Suite. It can be installed on a current distro, such as Mint 22.2, and will then run successfully, apart perhaps from printing. But such installation requires great effort.
The necessary installation procedure involves, first, the extraction of the WordPerfect code from an RPM package, named wp-6.0-1.i386.rpm, which is in RPM version 1 format.
The following procedure for extraction works:
(1) Use "7z x wp-6.0-1.i386.rpm" to extract "wp-6.0-1.i386", which will in fact be a cpio (uncompressed) archive.
(2) Then rename "wp-6.0-1.i386" to "wp-6.0-1.i386.rpm.cpio".
(3) Then use "ark" to extract the WordPerfect code from "wp-6.0-1.i386.rpm.cpio".
After extraction of the WordPerfect code, one needs to retrieve from the Office Suite a library, "libXm.so.1.2.4", and install it in "/etc/flexlm/licenses", and create a link to it as "libXm.so.1.2". One must also retrieve the keycode from the Office Suite and install it in "/etc/flexlm/licenses".
One must also install the same support libraries as are needed for WordPerfect 8.0. They are contained in my wp-utils package. See the WordPerfect 8.0 page.
Although an RPM of the graphical version of WordPerfect 7 for Linux was released on the third CD for Redhat 5.1, a keycode is needed to run it beyond a short period, and such keycodes are not now available.
Version 8.2 (as it may conveniently be called) appears to be a re-release in 2003 of version 8.1, with a new script-based installer and a new printing facility. It will not be considered in detail on this site. It had limited availability. It cannot be installed on a current distro using its installer script.
But an installation on an earlier distro (such as Mepis 3.4-3) is possible, and from such an installation one can copy over the "/usr/wplinux" and "~/.wprc" directories onto a current distro (such as Mint 22), on which one has installed the appropriate support packages. The relevant support packages are the same as are needed in connection with WordPerfect 8.0. These support packages are contained in my "wp-utils" package.
Installation in this way will enable WordPerfect 8.2 to run, and usefully to print with the automatically installed Passthru Postscript driver to a new WPSpool destination.
WordPerfect 9 for Linux (contained in WordPerfect Office 2000 for Linux)
This is addressed on a separate page.
WordPerfect 6u and 7u
The SCO variant contained in WordPerfect 6 for Unix can be installed and run using the iBCS compatibility module on Caldera OpenLinux 1.3 in a Qemu guest. But the necessary iBCS kernel-module is incompatible with distros current in 2025.
The Linux variant contained in WordPerfect 7 for Unix can be installed and run on Caldera OpenLinux 1.3 in a Qemu guest. The WordPerfect code, thus installed, can be copied into a current distro, such as Mint 22, and run there.
WordPerfect 8c
There is a character-based version of the Linux variant in WordPerfect 8 for Unix. This resembles WordPerfect 5.1+ for MSDOS. It may usefully be referred to as WordPerfect 8c.
Recent excellent work by Tavis Ormandy has enabled WordPerfect 8c to be easily installed and successfully run on current versions of Linux. This is helpfully explained on the Unix page at Edward Mendelson's wpdos website.
Other available possibilities for running WordPerfect on a Linux installation include:
- installing a version of WordPerfect for Windows (such as WordPerfect 12 or X3) on a Linux distro via the Crossover or Wine compatibility layers;
- installing WordPerfect for MSDOS via the DOSemu or DOSBox packages; or
- installing Windows 3.1 and WordPerfect 6.1 via the DOSBox package.
These possibilities are addressed on the emulation page on this site.
Last updated in April 2026.
(c) Peter Stone, 2026.