For Immediate Release
Adobe Broadens ePaper Solutions Offerings
New Acrobat Business Tools Delivers Collaboration and Digital Signature Tools
San Jose (October 6, 1999) (NASDAQ: ADBE)-Building on the widespread
success of its Acrobat product line, Adobe Systems Incorporated today
announced Adobe Acrobat Business Tools software, designed to fulfill the
needs of business users who require enhanced tools for interacting with
Portable Document Format (PDF) documents beyond the view and print
capabilities of Acrobat Reader software. Adobe developed the product to
give enterprise users additional tools for interacting with Adobe PDF
documents, and expects the product to expand the use and benefits of Adobe
PDF. Acrobat Business Tools will be sold through the volume licensing
program, ISV/OEM's, and electronic software download at the Adobe.com
website by Q1 2000.
Business Tools joins the Adobe ePaper Solutions product family, which is
built around Adobe Acrobat 4.0, and provides essential building blocks for
the integration of paper and digital document workflows. The addition of
Acrobat Business Tools targets business users who require business document
collaboration tools such as review and mark-up, digital signatures
workflows, review of web content offline and content archiving, and
electronic forms, but who do not need the complete Adobe PDF creation tools
of the full Acrobat software.
"Acrobat Business Tools gives the Acrobat Reader user a broader
functionality application within the Acrobat family line," said Joe
Eschbach, vice president, ePaper Solutions Group, Adobe Systems
Incorporated. "Whether filling out benefits forms, capturing websites,
editing advertising copy or authorizing expense reports, Acrobat Business
Tools provides more ways for customers to interact with Adobe PDF
documents. Many of the more than 110 million Acrobat Reader users will view
this as a welcome opportunity to expand their use of Adobe PDF."
About Acrobat Business Tools
Acrobat Business Tools software includes many of the award-winning
Web and collaboration features found in the full Acrobat 4.0 product.
* Review and annotate documents-The software allows business users
to efficiently annotate Adobe PDF files with electronic notes,
highlighting, underlining, circling, and strike-through capabilities
or make handwritten marks with the mouse-controlled Pencil tool.
* Digitally sign and authorize documents-Acrobat Business Tools
support digital signatures enabling users to authenticate and
safeguard information by allowing authors and key personnel to "sign"
electronic documents. A digital signature can also verify that a
document has not been altered since it was sent.
* Capture and download fully formatted Web pages-Users can download,
annotate, scale, reliably print and easily distribute fully formatted
Web pages within one application. Acrobat Business Tools includes the
Web Capture tool from Acrobat 4.0, allowing users to convert live Web
pages into Adobe PDF files that preserve the pages' graphics, fonts,
colors and active hyperlinks.
* Send mail - It allows you to automatically send Adobe PDF files
anywhere via e-mail with a click of the mouse.
* Search important documents for keywords-Acrobat Business Tools
incorporates search capabilities that allows you to find exactly the
information you're looking for.
* Re-use information within tables-For Windows users, the Table
Picker feature within Acrobat Business Tools enables users to copy
and paste text and tables between Adobe PDF files, preserving the
structure of Microsoft Word and Excel files.
* Compare document versions-Acrobat Business Tools includes the
Compare Pages feature that allows for two or more Adobe PDF files to
be presented for automatic, side by side, on screen comparison of
different versions of the same document.
Organizations worldwide are using the Web to realize efficiencies and drive
new electronic business models. Since electronic documents are often at the
heart of these new models, businesses must learn to integrate their
existing paper-based information with the speed, flexibility, and
accessibility of electronic workflows. In developing this product, Adobe is
providing a much needed intermediate step in the Acrobat family that
facilitates collaborative workflows, streamlines distribution and provides
needed Adobe PDF interactivity.
Availability
Customers will be able to license Acrobat Business Tools via volume
licensing or from Adobe's web site in the first quarter of 2000. Acrobat
Business Tools will initially be available in English on both the Windows
and Macintosh platforms.
About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems builds award-winning software solutions for
Web and print publishing. Its graphic design, imaging, dynamic media, and
authoring tools enable customers to create, publish and deliver
visually-rich content for various types of media. The company's products
are used by Web and graphic designers, professional publishers,
document-intensive organizations, business users, and consumers. Adobe is
the fourth largest U.S.-based personal software company, with annual
revenues approaching $1 billion. It employs over 2,400 employees worldwide
and has operations in North America, Europe, the Pacific Rim, Japan and
Latin America. Adobe's worldwide headquarters are in San Jose, California
and its web site is located at www.adobe.com.
