CambridgeDocs Announces PDF2Word for Round-trip Editing of PDF Files within Microsoft Word.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 2003

End User Plug-ins for Microsoft Word Allows for Two Way Conversion

of PDF Files To Microsoft RTF And Showcases Power of XML and XSL:FO

CambridgeDocs today announced the upcoming release of a new plug-ins for Microsoft Word: PDF2Word and Word2PDF. These plug-ins, part of the CambridgeDocs XML Content Backbone, showcase the functionality of XML by achieving two-way conversion of PDF files. The PDF2Word plug-in converts existing PDF files into RTF format for easy editing by Microsoft Word.

The plug-ins add menu items to Microsoft word, which include opening PDF files, a feature that is new and hasn't been available to users of PDF files before. The other menu options include the ability to save to XML, and publishing to PDF using XSL:FO (XSL:formatting objects), a new standard for using XML for dynamically generating file formats such as PDF.

PDF2Word is a tool that "unlocks" PDF files, using XML and the CambridgeDocs xDoc Converter as its underlying technology platform. It allows an end user to "open" a PDF file in Microsoft Word for viewing and editing. Behind the scenes, the PDF file is converted into XML, which is converted into Microsoft's Rich Text Format and can be edited freely within the Microsoft Word environment. Microsoft's RTF format is supported not just by Microsoft Word, but by many different desktop applications.

Word2PDF is a plug-in that lets you use the power of XML for publishing to PDF dynamically. This plug-in is appropriate when organizations want to convert word documents into XML, modify the XML, and then using XSL:FO to save the resulting PDF file. This allows for end users to use the power of XML without ever actually seeing XML.

Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) has become a de-facto standard for sharing printed materials electronically. One of its strengths is to position items at specific points on the page. Because of this, content published to PDF files have been difficult to edit and modify. PDF2Word changes this by allowing organizations to "repurpose" content that has been stored in PDF files.

"These plug-ins demonstrate the power of XML and XSL:FO within the enterprise, without ever showing the end user XML," said Irfan Virk, CambridgeDocs President & CEO. "We often find that our customers have end users who want to unlock the information stored in PDF files but can't get access to them directly. They are already familiar with Microsoft Word and don't want to learn any other such items."

"XML provides the neutral formatting that we can use for conversion of any document into any other format," said Rizwan Virk, CambridgeDocs CTO. "XSL:FO is gaining popularity as a standard but is too difficult for many end users. We have considerable effort integrating our own XML format, with XSL:FO, and so can deliver either PDF or RTF versions of documents."

The PDF2Word conversion keeps images, vector graphics, and formatting aspects of the PDF file as close as possible to the original. It works with Microsoft Word 2000 and Word XP.

PDF2Word will be available for download from CambridgeDocs web site (http://www.cambridgedocs.com) immediately. It retails for $199, but is being offered for a special introductory price of $99. Word2PDF will be available during Q3 of this year.

The plug-ins utilize the xDoc Conversion technology from CambridgeDocs and are a part of CambridgeDocs XML Content Backbone.

About CambridgeDocs

CambridgeDocs is a leader in the emerging market for XML-based content integration and publishing. This market deals with the integration of legacy content with new XML-based systems (e.g. Content Management, Enterprise Information Portals, EAI, and Web Services) and standards (e.g. DocBook, HRXML, RIXML, IRXML, FPML, DAS-XML, NewsML, any custom XML schema/DTD's, etc.).

Towards this end, CambridgeDocs provides a technology platform & services for taking existing unstructured and semi-structured internal and external content (e.g. MS Word, HTML, PDF, Quark, etc.), and transforming it into "meaningful XML." Once transformed, the content can be made available for delivery through XML-based Web Services, classified and indexed within Enterprise Information Portals, and aggregated, assembled and published in multiple different formats including support for wireless and mobile devices.

The xDoc Converter is the first step in CambridgeDocs' strategy for providing Content Interoperability via a middleware platform, the CambridgeDocs XML Content BackBone. The CambridgeDocs XML Content Backbone allows for the sharing, indexing, migration, repurposing, republishing and delivery of content between numerous legacy formats and a variety of enterprise content systems.