randy,
i use both corel and microsoft and can assure you that if you know one, you can use the other. word functions pretty much the same, but corel has some features that make more sense. they used to be able to read and save either file, but as i've had both for the past ...well, let's not go there! in any case, i'm not sure if they can still read the other file. (obviously not if she couldn't open the file.) but if you have a problem in the future, i can convert a file for you.
kdt