14 DAY TRIAL // The need for more alternatives when it comes to text editing and processing has created a pretty wide palette of options for everyone to pick from. Now you have a range of choices to Microsoft Office and some of them, like Open Office, even come for free. If you are not hopelessly dependent on MS Office, which is actually the best and also the most pricey alternative on the market, there is also Corel's WordPerfect, AbiWord, OpenOffice etc. It's true that the first alternative listed above is not too comfortable financially speaking, but it comes with options unavailable in the following freewares.
Speaking of Corel, they have recently released a companion for WordPerfect, similar to Microsoft Office OneNote, but not quite the same thing. WordPerfect Lightning is also a text organizer and handler tailored to enable the user to easily manage notes and images for later reference.
The application is absolutely free but the downside is that for now, it is in beta stage, meaning that not all the options and functions are fully implemented. So you'd better expect some glitches here and there.
The main application window can be used as a side panel, regardless of the application you have opened as it can be pinned on top of all applications. All the elements available are structured in a tree containing directories of notes. The three elements available by default are Linked Documents, Deleted Items and Notebook.
The toolbar reigning above all the elements available in the interface contains few options allowing you to create new notes, open new WordPerfect document or open one of the supported files: PDF, WPD or DOC files. For now, there is no support for Word 2007 DOCX files but there is still time to implement this as the application still has some time till the final version.
Users can create an unlimited number of notes and store them either on the computer or online if you have a Corel online account (basic Corel online services account is free and includes 200MB of space for file storing). If stored online, you can download and upload the Notebook at any time. You will also have access to it from any Internet connected computer with WordPerfect Lightning installed.
Notes can be organized in folders with ease and little effort. Creating a new note does not require too much work as it is sufficient to access the first element in the toolbar for this. The next instant a new window will pop up allowing you to place the desired text. The options made available include text formatting settings, font type and size selection as well as inserting different elements (table, image, hyperlink and horizontal lines).
Unfortunately, the feature set for this window is not straightened up and there are issues when inserting hyperlinks. Notebook window will format weblinks accordingly but these are not alive, so you will have to use copy/paste for launching them.
At the bottom of Lightning Notes window, there are additional options for your note. You can send it to word Processor (Corel WordPerfect) if you have downloaded it, send it via the default mail client or directly to your online blog.
Application settings window is modest in options but provides the minimum required. Users can set the program to launch at startup, Empty Deleted Items folder on closing, set a maximum number of linked documents, configure the default settings for Notes window (font, font size, background color and image), input details for your online blog (the application supports multiple blogs, but when sending the note the default one will be taken into consideration).
The application is slim when it comes to settings, features and options and is not bug-free yet. During our testing, when sending a note to Corel's word processor we received a message that the action cannot be completed because the other program (WordPerfect) is busy. However, the note was successfully sent to WordPerfect but Lightning pad had to be terminated.
The built-in capture feature allows snapping anything visible on the screen. The option is simple and there is no setting to be made. Just activate the function, define the area to be captured by dragging your mouse and that is it. The image can be saved to a new note, directly to WordPerfect or in Windows Clipboard.
All in all, the application makes a good note manager. There are issues to be resolved but that is why now it is in beta stage. You can create folders to store multiple notes and it is a fast alternative for reading PDF documents. Of course there are no professional options available.
The Good
The application is absolutely free of charge and can survive on your computer without Corel WordPerfect.
It previews the most popular types of documents (PDF and DOC) and besides notes, it can also capture and store images. More than this, it can automatically send the notes via the default email client.
The Bad
Poor support for documents (Office 2007 DOCX files are not supported, and nor is the ODT format). Weblinks are not alive inside the notes.
I wish there was some sort of search option available in the application to quickly find the desired document.
When sending a note to Corel's word processor, Lightning has to stop. If you change your mind and decide to close WordPerfect, then Lightning will continue working normally.
The Truth
There is still a lot of work to be done and by the way, it seems that Lightning has a lot to learn in order to match Microsoft OneNote. However, there is a bright side as opening PDF documents is snappy and it can also preview DOC files. In addition, it is quite handy for gathering text on the web even if the website is protected against copy function.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
