[Telemakhos]

Attorneys and architects loved Word Perfect because it did line numbers better than any other software. I'm really surprised that MS didn't pick up on that and improve Word's line numbering: it's a vital feature for a number of professions.

[dctoedt]

> Attorneys and architects loved Word Perfect because it did line numbers better than any other software.

Lawyer here: I loved WordPerfect (for DOS) because of Reveal Codes and its easy keystroke macros, which let me write an Emacs keyboard emulator for it. (Yes, I eventually did one for Microsoft Word for Windows, which I use to this day.)

[Tallain]

That sounds really cool. Have you ever shared it?

[dctoedt]

I posted the DOS version on CompuServe (!) probably 30 or 35 years ago. I don't think I ever posted the Word for Windows version. I switched to a MacBook a dozen years ago; I think I remapped some of its keys to emulate Emacs. (But in recent years I've used mostly Emacs itself and org-mode, because these days I'm mostly a law professor and use Word mainly in the occasional client contract-negotiation project.)

Related: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10383691