AUTODESK SHIPS AUTOCAD RELEASE 13 FOR WINDOWS 95

Logo-Compliant Version Fully Exploits New 32-bit Operating System

SAN RAFAEL, Calif, January 22, 1996- - Autodesk, Inc., the fourth- largest
PC software company in the world, announced that AutoCAD Release 13
software for Windows 95 is now shipping. With this release, AutoCAD, the
world's leading design software , becomes a 32-bit, Microsoft Windows 95
logo-compliant application. This latest version of AutoCAD, R13c4, also
contains maintenance improvements including feature additions, stability
enhancements, and performance improvements, for all supported PC operating
systems. In addition, this release provides a new generation of
application programming interfaces (APIs), the AutoCAD Runtime Extension
(ARX), that allows developers the ability to create fast and easy-to-use
object-oriented applications.

"Autodesk has worked closely with Microsoft to achieve the Windows 95 logo,
helping to ensure AutoCAD Release 13 takes advantage of the extra power of
the 32-bit, multitasking environment that Windows 95 offers, thus
increasing design professionals' produ ctivity," said Brad Chase, general
manager of the personal systems division at Microsoft.

Bruce Jenkins, a vice president at Daratech, said, "For users seeking the
improved speed and better utilization of computer resources offered by
Windows 95, this new AutoCAD version should be one of the fastest AutoCAD
Windows releases so far, and will be especially welcomed by customers
transitioning from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95."

AutoCAD Release 13 for Windows 95 combines the world's leading design
software, AutoCAD, with Windows 95, a 32-bit operating system that allows
the 32-bit AutoCAD to maximize its performance. AutoCAD R13 software
contains Windows 95 logo-compliant featur es such as OLE 2.0 with drag and
drop capability and support for long filenames, uninstall, Universal
Naming Convention (UNC) pathnames, email, and the Windows 95 user
interface (UI). Another benefit of the 32-bit environment found in Windows
95 is the abi lity to run multiple sessions of AutoCAD R13, which is not
possible in Windows 3.1 or MS-DOS environments. Running AutoCAD R13 on a
32-bit operating system, users should experience a speed increase of 20
percent or more over most Windows 3.1 configuratio ns. Except for the
Windows 95 UI, all of these features are also supported when running
AutoCAD under Windows NT.

ARX: A new generation of developer APIs

Since AutoCAD R13 first shipped in November 1994, it has contained an
object-oriented database. The new ARX development environment provides a
foundation for the next generation of design software from Autodesk and
its partners. Through the new APIs provi ded in AutoCAD R13c4, developers
can access the object-oriented database. ARX provides independent
application developers tighter integration with AutoCAD's core technology,
letting them create significantly faster, more robust and easy-to-use
applicatio ns.

"While our competitors are selling legacy products, we've been busy
rearchitecting our flagship product to deliver the infrastructure for the
next generation of design technology," said Robert Carr, vice president of
Engineering at Autodesk. "I want to sa y this loudly and clearly: Autodesk
is the first design software company to put object- oriented technology in
the hands of our customers. In fact, more customers use AutoCAD R13 today
than any of our competitors' entire installed base."

"ARX really opens up AutoCAD R13 and allows us unprecedented access to all
sorts of data and functionality that we could not get to before," said
Chris Hawkins, software developer at Ansys, Inc., developers of design
optimization and engineering analysis software. "ARX is great for
developers. Now we can define new objects and state how they behave inside
AutoCAD and AutoCAD will manage those objects."

Maintenance Improvements Found in AutoCAD R13c4

As in previous maintenance releases of AutoCAD R13, R13c4 offers stability
enhancements, performance improvements, and feature additions. Some of the
new feature additions for R13c4 include: drawing generation from AutoCAD
ACIS-based solid models; a mor e accessible method for managing text
styles; a new set of LISP functions for accessing external databases; two
new SQL drivers, Informix for DOS and Oracle for Windows 3.1 and NT;
direct distance entry, a very quick method for drawing and editing to a sp
ecified size or distance; and Cue Cards that help users learn how to
quickly apply their drafting skills to AutoCAD one step at a time. In
addition, the internal and external testing efforts for this release have
been increased substantially in order to expand real-world use and
evaluation prior to shipment.

To help AutoCAD users transition to a 32-bit operating system, Autodesk has
made AutoCAD Release 13 available on a multiplatform license that contains
support for Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 3.1 or MS-DOS for one price,
US$3,750 for CD-ROM and US$3,9 95 for diskettes. Autodesk customers can
upgrade from AutoCAD Release 12 to Release 13 for US$495. AutoVision R2
c4, a photorealistic rendering and animation software package designed
specifically for AutoCAD R13, also runs under Windows 95. AutoCAD R13
users can take a free 30- day AutoVision test drive with the AutoVision
software included in the AutoCAD R13 box. AutoVision is priced at US$495
SRP.

The R13c4 maintenance release for UNIX, including Sun SPARCstation,
Hewlett-Packard 9000 Series 700, Silicon Graphics, Inc. workstations, and
IBM RISC System/6000 platforms, and Windows NT on Alpha Systems, will be
available in a few weeks. All UNIX versions and Windows NT on Alpha
Systems will be available for US$3,750 on CD- ROM.

AutoCAD R13c4 will be mailed free in the U.S. to registered AutoCAD R13
sites in February. Dealers, however, may add a nominal charge for
installation or support services.

For more information on Autodesk or upgrades, please call 415-507- 5000,
type GO ADESK on CompuServe, or visit the World Wide Web site at
http://www.autodesk.com

Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of PC and UNIX-based design
software and PC multimedia tools. The company's 2D and 3D products and
data management tools are used in many industries for architectural
design, mechanical design, film-making, videog raphy and geographic
information systems. The fourth largest PC software company in the world,
Autodesk has three million customers in 126 countries. Autodesk products
are sold through Autodesk Systems Centers, Dealers and Distributors
worldwide.
 
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