Chrystal Software Ships New Version of Astoria, Leading XML Content Management System.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 2001

Astoria 3.6 Provides Improvements in Productivity and Functionality;

Improved Customer Support Resources Now Available

Chrystal Software, a leading XML content management system provider to the enterprise, announced today the availability of Astoria version 3.6, along with improved customer support resources.

The new version of the Astoria platform provides significant customer benefits in productivity and functionality in this free upgrade for customers with current maintenance agreements. The new customer support resources enable Chrystal customers to get the right information through the medium of their choice: self-service over the Internet, by email, or by phone.

Astoria is Chrystal Software's flagship XML content management system, which enables companies to realize more value from their corporate information assets through rich, component level management. Astoria's new version 3.6 adds a host of new enhancements, including new platform support of Microsoft Windows 2000(TM) and Sun Microsystems' Solaris 8(TM), improvements in managing and scaling custom attributes, support of XML-styled linked graphics, and easier client installation and configuration.

"With this release of Astoria 3.6, Chrystal Software is solidifying its leadership in providing native XML content management solutions to the enterprise," said David Garnett, president and CEO of Chrystal Software. "Our ability to manage information at a very granular level provides our customers with unique value in e-learning, technical publications, and personalized Web publishing applications."

Astoria 3.6 goes beyond traditional management of documents by managing the content of a document itself as a series of components that are independent from the document. These pieces, such as a chapter, paragraph, sentence, or even a single word, can be independently managed, reused, and searched upon.

Astoria 3.6 includes several changes of interest to Chrystal customers, partners, integrators, and custom application developers:

-- Upgraded support for Windows 2000 and Sun Microsystems' Solaris 8. Chrystal
customers can take advantage of the improved security, performance, and
reliability provided by these underlying operating systems.

-- Improved capability, functionality, and scalability in handling custom
attributes. Astoria's custom attributes enable users to attribute metadata to
content at any level, including documents, sections of documents, even
individual paragraphs or words. This metadata enables other users or business
processes to more intelligently find or process information. Improvements in
performance and scalability of custom attributes make this functionality even
more valuable with larger enterprise-sized applications.

-- New and improved support and management for XML-styled linked graphics,
including the reuse and sharing of graphics for multiple documents. Improved
XML linking capabilities enable customers to manage Web-style XML content
within the Astoria repository, including links to content stored elsewhere
across the Internet. This enhancement is an example of the continued
improvements being made within Astoria to address evolving XML standards.

-- Easier client installation and configuration. The installation and setup of
the client bridges to authoring tools, including SoftQuad's XMetaL(TM),
Arbortext's Epic Editor(TM), and Adobe's FrameMaker+SGML(TM), have been made
dramatically easier.

Chrystal's improved customer support resources make it faster and easier for customers to get the information they need. The new Support Hotline at 866/CHRYSTL (866-247-9785) puts customers directly in touch with support engineers. The Support area (http://www.chrystal.com/support) of Chrystal's Web site now includes secure Web-based forms for sending detailed information to customer support and for requesting software licenses. In addition, the Chrystal Software knowledgebase will provide an interactive support database driven by Eclipse(TM), which will allow customers with maintenance contracts to search our complete support resources online.

About Chrystal Software

Chrystal Software is a leading vendor in enterprise XML content management solutions. Originally spun out of Xerox (NYSE:XRX) research labs, Chrystal Software has a rich tradition in SGML, the parent language of HTML and XML. Astoria(TM) is the flagship content management system that enables enterprises to realize more value from their content through component level reuse. Eclipse(TM) provides personalized Web content delivery based on dynamic user profiles. Chrystal Software targets manufacturing, publishing, high technology, and financial industries for technical publications, e-learning, and Web publishing applications. Chrystal Software customers include: Lexis-Nexis, Sun Microsystems, Open Learning Agency, Jaguar, Lockheed Martin, Saturn, US Army, and Daimler Chrysler. For more information, visit www.chrystal.com.

Chrystal Software, Astoria, Astoria 3.6 and Eclipse are registered trademarks of the Chrystal Software Corp. Windows 2000 is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corp. Solaris 8 is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc. XMetaL is a registered trademark of SoftQuad Software Ltd. Epic Editor is a registered trademark of Arbortext Inc. FrameMaker+SGML is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Inc.