FileNet, Adobe Announce Extensions To Document-Imaging Standards

Common Functionality Across TIFF and PDF to Enable Document-Imaging
Technology to More Easily Integrate with Broader Set of Business
Applications

Costa Mesa, Calif., (April 1, 1996) (Nasdaq: ADBE) -- Adobe Systems
Incorporated and FileNet Corp. (Nasdaq: FILE) today announced that they
will jointly propose common extensions to both the Tagged Image File
Format (TIFF) and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) specifications to
enable seamless use of both file formats across a broad range of
document-imaging, document-management, archiving, and electronic
publishing systems. The proposed extensions would create a common set of
annotations that could be used across all TIFF and PDF viewing and
authoring applications.

The joint proposal is designed to address the problem caused by the growing
number of extensions developed by different vendors to the TIFF format,
which make it difficult for customers to integrate and broadly apply
document-imaging systems in the enterprise.

"This represents a significant boost not only for Adobe's PDF and FileNet's
enterprise users, but more importantly for the entire industry," said
Thomas M. Koulopoulos, president at Delphi Consulting Group, Inc. "TIFF
has long been a nightmare for users of imaging due to its numerous
extensions, making compatibility and transportability a serious problem.
The proposed Adobe/FileNet PDF/ TIFF annotation standard will move the
industry much closer to the ideal of cross platform point of access -- an
absolute must for intra- and inter-enterprise document management. This
may be as important to the future of enterprise imaging as the advent of
CCITT Group 3 fax."

The proposed extensions, called OCALA (Open Common Annotation Language),
will help applications from different document-imaging vendors share image
files more effectively, while allowing customers to better integrate
document imaging with a broader set of corporate information systems. As a
result, customers can more easily deploy applications that provide a
single point of access to a wide range of electronically-created and
paper-based documents.For Immediate Release For more information: Rick
Brown Adobe Systems Incorporated 415 962.6060 ribrown@adobe.com or Robin
Tanchum FileNet Corp. 714 966.3444 rtanchum@filenet.com or Albie Jarvis
Copithorne & Bellows 617 252.0606 albie.jarvis@cbpr.com

FileNet also announced its intention to support the PDF format. Initially,
FileNet and Watermark Software, a FileNet company, plan to incorporate the
new annotation format into future versions of FileNet and Watermark
document-imaging software, while maintaining existing support of TIFF.
Adobe will also add support for the extensions into future releases of
Adobe Acrobat software. As a result, applications supporting the proposed
extensions will be able to seamlessly share both TIFF and PDF files
through common annotation and viewing capabilities.

"Our industry is experiencing a convergence of workflow, document-imaging,
document management, and COLD technologies, creating the need for users to
organize, manage, and share electronic documents in a variety of file
formats," said Ted Smith, president and CEO of FileNet. "By working with
Adobe, a leader in electronic publishing, we can develop a common method
for managing annotations in PDF and TIFF documents, and help customers
further leverage corporate information assets and business processes
across the enterprise."

"We want to enable corporations to standardize on a single data type that
will allow them to easily use information, both electronic and
paper-based, across many business applications, such as document
management, print-on-demand systems, and the Internet," said John Warnock,
CEO of Adobe Systems Incorporated. "By combining our expertise with
FileNet's leadership in document-imaging and workflow, we can advance a
standard to support a broad range of corporate information in one
universally accessible format."

The proposed extensions will be designed to create interoperable annotation
capabilities, allowing users to add comments, sticky notes and highlighter
annotations to electronic documents that cross PDF and TIFF formats. PDF,
the file format created by Adobe Acrobat software, is widely used as a
corporate standard for the electronic distribution of documents across the
Internet, internal networks, and CD-ROM disks. Acrobat Capture software
converts TIFF files to PDF but without carrying over annotations. Through
the proposed extensions, Acrobat software could provide users with
universal viewing capabilities of image and non-image documents.

FileNet and Adobe will work together to advance the specification in the
industry, making it available free of charge. The companies plan to
publish a draft specification on the Internet to solicit comments. After
comments are received, the companies will provide a forum for all
interested parties to finalize and publish the specification for general
adoption.

Rudy Burger, vice president of Business Development at Visioneer, makers of
the leading paper input system, PaperPort Vx, said "Document
communications across LAN-based email and the Internet requires industry
standard file formats. We expect the OCALA initiative to accelerate the
adoption of document imaging by mainstream personal computer users."

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Based in Mountain View, Calif., Adobe Systems Incorporated develops and
supports products to help people express and use information in more
imaginative and meaningful ways, across all print and electronic media.
Founded in 1982, Adobe helped launch the desktop publishing revolution.
Today, the company offers a market-leading line of application software
and type products for creating and distributing visually rich
communication materials; licenses its industry-standard technologies to
major hardware manufacturers, software developers, and service providers;
and offers integrated software solutions to businesses of all sizes. For
more information, see Adobe's home page at http:// www.adobe.com on the
World Wide Web.

About FileNet

FileNet Corp. is a leader in enterprise document management and business
process automation. The company's software products organize, manage, and
store all electronic documents, and make them accessible to individuals
and business processes located anywhere in an organization at any time.
Software from FileNet and FileNet's two business units, Saros and
Watermark, enable document-intensive organizations in many industries and
levels of government worldwide to maximize enterprise productivity.
Headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., FileNet has a sales and support
organization that spans more than 50 countries.

For more information, call (800) FILENET (345-3638) or (714) 966-3400.

Editors: For FileNet corporate and product information, and press releases,
access the FileNet Home Page on the World Wide Web at
http://www.filenet.com. Please use (800) FILENET (345-3638) for reader
inquiries.
 
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