BCL Takes Magellan Technology to a New Level.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2000

BCL Computers will soon be making one of its most popular document conversion tools available to a wider market with the release of Magellan(R) 4.2. A plug-in for Adobe(R) Acrobat(R), Magellan(R) converts PDF files into HTML for online browsing, using a unique process that preserves original document layout -- complete with graphics, lines, hyperlinks and bookmarks -- while also transforming it into a useable and searchable document on the web.

Unlike previous versions, Magellan(R) 4.2 also makes PDF documents accessible on the smallest of display devices -- ebooks such as the RocketBook(R) and SoftBook(R), and PDAs such as the Palm(R). Because of the small size of the displays of these handhelds, users often have to settle for fragmented or minuscule content when browsing the web. Magellan(R) 4.2 reflows -- rather than shrinks -- content, so that documents can be displayed on these smaller screens with the original document "flow" intact.

To do this, version 4.2 uses the tagging capabilities and reflow technology of HTML 3.2 to separate a document's structure into zones, then automatically sequences these zones into a natural reading order, rather than simply shrinking the document's content or displaying fragments of a page. As with previous versions, Magellan(R) 4.2 provides HTML output for standard desktop displays using Cascading Style Sheets and Netscape(R)'s Layers technology to provide page structures that match the original's with the highest accuracy.

Regardless of the targeted display device, Magellan(R) 4.2's other features include:

-- MetaTagging, offering users the option of adding description and keyword
MetaTags to files prior to the conversion process; and

-- Simplified navigation by generating the Acrobat(R)-style bookmark and page
index navigation bar.

-- Various zoom levels that allow users to increase or decrease the

size of their documents once they are converted to HTML, making

small print PDF documents more readable in HTML by increasing

output size, and decreasing the output size if the document is too

big to fit the target monitor screen;

-- MetaTagging, offering users the option of adding description and keyword
MetaTags to files prior to the conversion process; and

-- Simplified navigation by generating the Acrobat(R)-style bookmark and page
index navigation bar.

Magellan(R) 4.2 is an ideal solution for the content provider looking for efficient ways to disseminate content in a market where getting a message out means getting it out everywhere. Not only can it help publishers who are repurposing material from the print format to overcome the disadvantages of PDF files (lengthy download times because of their file sizes, and, more problematic, the inability to be indexed by major search engines on the web), but it can also help them reach the wider audience of the handheld market, by providing content in a format that makes visual sense on an ebook or PDA.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., BCL Computers is a software company conducting research in, and developing products for, computer-based document management and computer command and control systems. Areas of expertise include neural networks, fuzzy logic, document analysis, information retrieval, database technologies, natural language processing and knowledge representation. BCL has been successfully working with companies to improve their workflow efficiency since 1994 with products such as JADE(R), CheckMate(R), and GoHTM(R). The company's policy has always been not only to give an immediate solution to meet its clients' needs, but also to help companies grow in their respective fields.

For more information about Magellan(R) 4.2, contact [e-mail] or call 408/225-2679.