EBT announces FIGleaf Inline, a multi-format Web graphics viewer plug-in for Netscape Navigator 2.0; FIGleaf Inline enables viewing of virtually any graphic type, inline within Web browsers.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 12, 1995--Electronic Book Technologies, Inc. (EBT) today announced FIGleaf(tm) Inline, the next-generation solution for publishing and viewing graphics on the Web, at the World-Wide Web Conference in Boston in booth # 21.

FIGleaf Inline is a Netscape API- compliant graphics module that operates as a plug-in to Netscape Navigator(tm) 2.0. FIGleaf Inline directly supports inline viewing, zooming, and panning of a wide variety of popular vector and raster graphic file formats within the new Navigator browser, due in early 1996.

With FIGleaf Inline, publishers are now able to deliver all major graphics file formats on the Web without the need to convert into GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) or JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) formats. The Beta 1 version of FIGleaf Inline can be downloaded from www.ct.ebt.com/figinline. FIGleaf inline is free for non-commercial use.

FIGleaf Inline, developed by EBT's Carberry Technology graphics division, provides a major contribution to the Web through its support for Computer Graphic Metafile (CGM) vector graphics within the Navigator 2.0 Web browser. CGM, the pending vector graphic standard for the Web, enables highly detailed illustrations to be displayed as vectors (line-art), instead of as raster bitmaps. In addition to CGM, FIGleaf Inline supports the following file formats: Tagged Image File Format (TIFF); Encapsulated PostScript (EPSI/EPSF); CCITT Group 4 Type 1 (G4) and Type 2 (TG4); Microsoft(R) Windows(tm) Bitmap (BMP) and Metafile (WMF); Portable Pixmap (PPM); Portable Greymap (PGM); Portable Bitmap (PBM); Sun Raster files (SUN); GIF; and JPEG.

"FIGleaf Inline demonstrates the first step in our commitment to modularize existing CADleaf technology for the new Web-publishing marketplace," said Bryan DiAntonio, Senior Product Manager for EBT's Carberry Technology graphics division. "By developing technology in component form, publishers will benefit by not having to be concerned with how their graphics will look and behave in different browsers such as DynaText and Navigator 2.0."

FIGleaf Inline demonstrates how using the powerful CSL (CADleaf Scripting Language) technology enables EBT with a single module code-base for supporting multiple browsers, including EBT's DynaText(tm) and Netscape Navigator. FIGleaf Inline will support additional browsers as their APIs become available.

FIGleaf Inline Beta 1 is available today for download for Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT platforms at http://www.ct.ebt.com/figinline. Beta 2 will be available within the next few weeks and general availability of FIGleaf Inline is timed coincident with Netscape Navigator 2.0. Pricing has not yet been determined. Additionally, for Web end-users not using Netscape Navigator 2.0, a freely available "helper application" version of FIGleaf can be downloaded from the Carberry Web site at www.ct.ebt.com.

When used in conjunction with EBT's DynaWeb(tm) server software, FIGleaf Inline enables EBT's Web publishing customers to maintain graphics in the same formats utilized within their DynaText CD-ROM publications. DynaWeb is commercial grade Web server software that, in addition to standard HTTPD Web server features, converts DynaText electronic books stored in indexed SGML into HTML on-the-fly for rapid navigating and searching by any Web browser.

FIGleaf Inline uses the same graphics engine and supports the same graphics formats as EBT's forthcoming DynaText version 3.0. DynaText 3.0, code named Matterhorn, is the next-generation of the industry leading, SGML- based online publishing system and is capable of integrated CD-ROM and Web browsing.

FIGleaf was developed for the Web by EBT's Carberry Technology division from its CADleaf(tm) family of products. CADleaf has been an industry standard for high-end graphics viewing, markup, and conversion since 1991. The CADleaf family includes CADleaf Viewer, CADleaf REDlining, CADleaf Batch, CADleaf Integrators Toolkit and CADleaf Raster to Vector. CADleaf enables companies to adopt an enterprise wide automation strategy as part of engineering, publishing, and manufacturing. CADleaf has become an integral part of product data management due to its ability to convert from proprietary graphics formats into open systems standards.

Electronic Book Technologies, Inc. (EBT) provides corporate and commercial publishers with the industry's most comprehensive standards-based online publishing solution. EBT, a founding member of SGML Open and the MIT World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C), develops and markets a product suite engineered from the ground up around SGML. EBT's cross-platform software tools enable customers to manage and publish information to CD- ROM, World-Wide Web, LAN, and print from a single, standards-based source. Carberry Technology, a division of EBT based in Lowell, MA, provides engineering, manufacturing, and publishing solutions for product data management. Carberry Technology information can be accessed on the Web at www.ct.ebt.com. EBT information can be accessed on the Web at www.ebt.com.

EBT is privately held and headquartered in Providence, RI, USA. -0-

Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is the international ISO standard (8879) for document markup. SGML has been adopted by industries with large volumes of in-house publishing including aircraft, airlines, automotive, computer, defense, electronics, pharmaceuticals, securities, telecommunications and transportation, as well as government systems integrators, publishing companies, and academic research centers.

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a simple application of SGML used for marking up and rendering documents within the World-Wide Web environment on the Internet. -0-

DynaText, DynaWeb, CADleaf, FIGleaf and EBT are trademarks of Electronic Book Technologies, Inc. Netscape and Netscape Navigator are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, exclusively licensed through X/Open Company Ltd. All other company, product, or service names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of respective holders.

CONTACT: Paul Lamoureux([e-mail])

EBT

[phone] x241

or

Aly Reynders, Craig Librett

Miller/Shandwick Technologies

[phone]