Item 6715582 93/02/07 23:23 From: CONRAD_GEIGER@NEXT.COM@INET# Internet Gateway Subject: Lighthouse Design Ships Diagram! 2, Information Graphics for NeXTSTEP FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact: Wiley Hodges or Jonathan Schwartz Lighthouse Design, Ltd. 2929 Campus Dr. Suite 250 San Mateo, CA 94403 800/366-2279 415/570-7736 415/570-7787 (fax) Email: wiley@lighthouse.com Lighthouse Design Ships Diagram! 2, Information Graphics for NeXTSTEP 27 January, 1993 San Mateo, CA - Lighthouse Design, Ltd. today announced the shipment of Diagram! version 2.0, its second revision to NeXTSTEP's best- selling graphics tool. The new release includes dozens of completely new features, such as repositionable automated line labels, rotation, a parsable file format and customizable menus, as well as many more incremental enhancements. As NeXTSTEP's best-selling drawing application, Diagram! currently boasts an installed base of some 5,000 users worldwide. It has won acclaim from a variety of users in both technical and business environments, and from NeXT itself: "With Diagram!'s second release, Lighthouse Design brings the same level of innovation and creativity to business graphics as it brought to presentations with its Concurrence product," said Steven P. Jobs, chairman and CEO of NeXT. "Together, Diagram! and Concurrence make a powerful pair, and provide a great example of what is possible in the NeXTSTEP environment. Lighthouse does it again!" Diagram! 2 is a smart, general-purpose drawing tool, designed for business and technical professionals. Based on a revolutionary and much-imitated "drag and drop" drawing metaphor, Diagram! 2 provides users with tools to create and revise graphics far faster than conventional illustration products. Where conventional illustration programs are geared for freehand artwork, Diagram! presents a suite of tools designed instead for information graphics: drawings and diagrams designed to communicate ideas and information. "Our enhancements for version 2.0 were based first and foremost on input from our customers -- using the Suggestion Panel built into all Lighthouse applications, we've collected more than 2,000 suggestions," said Jonathan Schwartz, President of Lighthouse Design. "Deciding on the feature set was simple: we did what our customers told us to do." Lighthouse also delivers technical support free of charge through its electronic mail-based Suggestion Panel. With its first release in 1990, Diagram! introduced the concept of intelligent drawing to NeXT users. By allowing them to concentrate on ideas and structure, rather than the repetitious mechanics of illustration and revision, Diagram! was quickly seen as a big time-saver. Lighthouse Design followed in 1991 with the release of Concurrence, its desktop presentation and outlining application. Often used in conjunction with Diagram!, Concurrence has seen broad acceptance from the NeXT installed base, and is currently that market's best-selling presentation tool. Diagram! 2's features significantly expand upon the original application. Its enhancements include: - Drag and Drop Drawing Palettes Allows users to quickly access basic drawing shapes, and to add symbols and images where desired for inclusion in customizable palettes - Automatic Text Placement Dynamically wraps Rich Text Format (RTF) text inside drawings symbols, even as they're resized, rotated or repositioned - Rubberbanding Lines Automatically redraw when objects they connect are moved-both straight and curved lines, with a variety of arrowheads and styles - Repositionable Smart Line Labels (NEW! in 2.0) Move automatically with lines, can be constrained to slide along line paths - Object Links to Other NeXTSTEP Applications (NEW! in 2.0) Spreadsheets, Reports and Presentations can be Hot Linked to Diagram!, and vice versa - Dynamic Custom Palette Menu (NEW! in 2.0) Displays user created drawing palettes in Diagram! 2's Palettes menu - Documented Text File Format (NEW! in 2.0) Allows technical users to access drawing data through custom applications, scripts, etc. - Smart Rotation (NEW! in 2.0) provides for rotation of symbols, line labels, text, groups and images - Infinite undo and redo (NEW! in 2.0) allows users to retrace their steps and correct mistakes at any time during their drawing session - Button Ribbon (NEW! in 2.0) provides convenient access to Diagram! 2's tools and panels - Text and Graphic Rulers (NEW! in 2.0) provide formatting and placement guides for precision text formatting and drawing Diagram! 2's innovative file linking facility allows users to link drawing objects to files created in other applications. For example, organization charts can be made to reference financial statements, or, for technical users, shell scripts can be executed from within CASE drawings. With just a mouse- click, Diagram! 2 documents become the perfect backbone to multi-media drawings. Diagram! 2.0 is available now for a suggested retail price of $499. A Professional version, retailing for $799, will ship with a substantial collection of Clip Art on Diagram! palettes. As with all Lighthouse products, Diagram! will be available at 80% off to accredited academic institutions and students. For more information, please contact NeXTConnection at 800-800-NeXT, or +1-603-446-3383. Lighthouse Design, Ltd. is a privately held software firm based in San Mateo, CA, dedicated to providing innovative and useful productivity applications for the NeXTSTEP operating environment. Its other products include Concurrence, NeXTSTEP's best-selling presentation program.