The WordPerfect Quick Reference Handbook consists of four major parts. The first part contains a simple listing of all commands, ordered both by function key assignment and alphabetically. All the entries in the first section contain references to pages later in the book, where the reader can obtain more detail. Section 2, comprising the bulk of this small book, is called the “Reference Guide,” and contains more detail on each operation. This section is followed by a 12-page appendix (six pages of which list differences between versions 4.2 and 4.1) and a 15-page index.
This book does not use any advanced page layout concepts. It has no reproductions of screen displays and does not use color. Bold headings, minimal indentation, and use of white space are all the artistry here. There is no tutorial section, so the title “reference” is apt. This book will be of no use to the new user. And it gives few tips or tricks, such as may be found, for example, in Alfieri’s book [1]. In fact, I prefer the original manual that accompanies the software to this book. Especially in light of the May 1988 release of version 5.0, and the substantial changes it brings from 4.2, this handbook has very limited utility.