MOVED OVER PR NEWSWIRE AT 11:30 AM, EST, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 1993.
Contact:
Cindy McCaffrey
Apple Computer, Inc.
(408) 974-1578
Apple Ships Translation Manager Software to Developers
Macintosh Easy Open Simplifies Opening Files from Other Programs, Platforms
CUPERTINO, California—January 4, 1993—-Apple Computer, Inc. today announced the immediate availability of the Macintosh® Easy Open Developer’s Kit, an extension to System 7 and a translation manager application programming interface (API) that provides Apple® developers with the ability to enhance their applications or translation systems to open and convert documents on Macintosh personal computers, regardless of the availability of the applications that created the files.
Designed to simplify access to information from a variety of applications and across computing platforms, Macintosh Easy Open makes opening and converting documents as easy as any other basic Macintosh task. Once incorporated into third-party applications or file translation systems, Macintosh Easy Open provides users with options for accessing and manipulating documents quickly and easily. Apple developers and their customers will appreciate that their applications require no modifications to take advantage of most Macintosh Easy Open features.
“Macintosh Easy Open is a powerful tool for getting to information regardless of where it came from,” said Charlie Oppenheimer, director of marketing for Apple’s Macintosh Software Architecture division. “This new extension has what it takes to make the Macintosh the preferred platform for sharing and exchanging data among disparate applications and across multiple computing platforms. With products like Macintosh Easy Open and our popular Macintosh PC Exchange, Apple continues to provide customers with entirely new levels of sophistication and ease of use in cross-platform computing.”
Macintosh Easy Open provides users with a number of ways to access Macintosh and non-Macintosh files. For example, when a user double-clicks on a document that normally couldn’t be opened because the application that created it is unavailable, Macintosh Easy Open intercedes and searches for applications and file translation systems that are capable of opening the document, and lists them for the user. Once the user selects an alternate application, Macintosh Easy Open transparently manages the conversion of the document using the application’s internal translation capabilities or by using specialized translation software.
“DataViz has adapted its entire MacLinkPlus library of file translators, so Macintosh Easy Open will always offer users an application to open ‘foreign’ documents—whether they came from a Macintosh or a personal computer,” said Dick Fontana, president of DataViz, Inc. of Trumbull, Conn. “Incorporating Macintosh Easy Open into all our MacLinkPlus packages vastly improves the ability of our customers to access information easily. We’re proud to be among the first to bring this exciting Macintosh technology to users.”
By incorporating a standard API, Macintosh Easy Open provides Apple developers with unique translation-management services. These services can be integrated into their applications or translation systems to provide transparent data conversion whenever opening, copying, pasting, or publishing data from one format to another. While Macintosh Easy Open does not perform any data translation itself, it effectively manages access to third-party translation systems and applications, which perform the actual translation.
Apple developers that are working on integrating Macintosh Easy Open support into their products include the following: DataViz, Inc., makers of MacLinkPlus; Mastersoft, Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., makers of Word for Word/Macintosh; Equilibrium Technologies of Sausalito, Calif., makers of DeBabelizer; Aladdin Systems, Inc. of Watsonville, Calif., makers of StuffIt; and Kandu Software Corp. of Arlington, Va., makers of CADMover. Apple also plans to incorporate Macintosh Easy Open software into a number of current Apple software products in 1993.
The Macintosh Easy Open extension also features added descriptive information about documents, including non-Macintosh files, and color icons in the Open and Save windows, making it easier for users to determine document types at the Finder level.
The Macintosh Easy Open Document Converter, which comes with Macintosh Easy Open, is a system utility that works with third-party translators to allow users to convert a document from one file format to another, without opening the document. With this feature, files can be converted easily and quickly by simply dragging file icons to the Document Converter icon.
Availability
The Macintosh Easy Open 1.0 Developer’s Kit is available to developers for $150 U.S. by contacting the Apple Programmers & Developers Association (APDA®), Apple’s mail-order service for developers, at 1-800-282-2732 in the United States, or 1-800-637-0029 in Canada. From other international locations call 1-716-871-6555, or contact the country APDA representative. APDA may be contacted electronically through the following addresses:
AppleLink: APDA
America Online: APDA
CompuServe: 76666,2405
Internet: APDA@applelink.apple.com
Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Apple Computer, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets personal computer systems for use in business, education, science, engineering and government. A recognized pioneer and innovator in the personal computer industry, Apple does business in more than 120 countries. Apple has been named first in customer satisfaction among business computer users in the United States for the past two years by J.D. Powers and Associates.
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EDITORS’ NOTE: Macintosh Easy Open will be shown at a MACWORLD San Francisco press-only preview of Macintosh System Software Wednesday, Jan. 6 from 5-9 p.m. at the Moscone Center, Ballroom H, in San Francisco. Contact Carrie Score at (408) 862-0012 for more information.
Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh and APDA are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
