The version with the best font handling is version 2.2.11, anything later has known font rendering issues.

The main download page no longer features Mac files, however you can still get it from their file server:
http://www.abisource.com/downloads/abiword/2.2.11/MacOSX/

I find this a great tool to open .doc files for reading, it's quicker than AppleWorks and way quicker NeoOffice. I don't like writing in it as much as there are some text rendering glitches. The kerning is a bit messed up and the characters sort of get cut off in random places, it's wierd. I expect this will be fixed eventually. Hoping to see a GNOME Dia port as well!

The last time I needed to open a .wpd file, it was easy enough to download the free last version of WordPerfect for Mac from here: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/wordperfectmac/. I can't see using that old WP version for anything else, but if you really need to open .wpd's, perhaps it might be better than installing AbW just for that.

Why is the text resolution so terrible?? I mean, it is awful, horrendous... unbearable to use. Otherwise it would be good, but I like to be able to read what I have written. Pass on it.

This is the only program I could find, other than MacLinkPlus, that can open WordPerfect (wpd) documents.

a nice oportunity for me to dump microsoft offie of my machines with this replacing word.

I found AbiWord to be quite slow at times; and the text resolution left a lot to be desired.
Thankfully I don't need a word processor that much.

Excellent alternative to MS Word. Can't wait for the universal binary.