Astrobyte Releases BeyondPress 3.0
New product provides WYSIWYG Web page creation in QuarkXPress
For Immediate Release — July 11, 1997
Denver – Astrobyte today announced the release of BeyondPress 3.0 for
MacOS, the latest version of its Web authoring XTension for QuarkXPress.
The 3.0 version includes all the document-conversion features of its
predecessor, and adds powerful Web page authoring and management tools.
Previously unannounced features of the new release include integrated
online help, an evaluation version of Netscape Communicator, and a reduced
price, to US$495 worldwide.
WYSIWYG Authoring for Quark Users
With BeyondPress 3.0, designers can create Web pages with the familiar
tools of QuarkXPress, the world’s leading page design software. Using the
Cascading Style Sheet support of Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape
Communicator, plus Bitstream’s TrueDoc font technology, BeyondPress
converts stylized text in a QuarkXPress document to formatted HTML,
retaining the intended fonts, size, and paragraph spacing.
BeyondPress uses HTML tables to approximate the layout of the QuarkXPress
page, so designers can rely on their QuarkXPress skills when building Web
pages, rather than programming in HTML or learning a new application. “With
BeyondPress 3.0 you can duplicate Quarkian layouts, and effortlessly apply
cascading style sheets. I’ve tried the other layout-mimicking html apps,
but, if you know XPress, BeyondPress 3.0 is the only way to go.” says Kip
Shaw, Web Designer with Pageworks in Delhi, NY.
Web designers benefit from QuarkXPress features such as find/change, spell
checking, frames, rotation, libraries, master pages and templates.
BeyondPress uses text and images in every QuarkXPress supported format, and
adds full drag-and-drop capabilities to QuarkXPress, letting designers drag
to import and export images, text, or entire Web pages.
Multimedia Support
BeyondPress 3.0 lets Web authors add any multimedia elements to their
QuarkXPress documents by dragging them in from the Finder or from the
Shared Elements palette. Images and multimedia in the Elements palette are
shared across Web pages for faster downloading. QuickTime movies, Java
applets, and animated GIFs play live in the QuarkXPress document.
Document Conversion
As in previous versions, BeyondPress 3.0 will convert existing QuarkXPress
documents to Web pages without altering the original document. Images can
be cropped, scaled, and converted to JPEG and GIF formats. Optimal color
palettes can be created for individual images, or a specific color palette
can be applied to all images. For example, BeyondPress can convert all
images on a page to the Netscape 216 color palette (the colors that
browsers display best on both Windows and MacOS). Hypertext links,
background colors and images, and complex image maps can be easily added to
a print format document during the conversion process.
Online Help System
The product, which ships on CD-ROM, contains HTML-based documentation that
is hotlinked directly from the software to provide contextual help. The
documentation is fully indexed and cross-referenced, and even includes
links to additional resources on the Astrobyte Web site. A full evaluation
version of Netscape Communicator 4.0.1 is provided on the CD for browsing
the documentation and for previewing Web pages created with BeyondPress.
Pricing and Availability
BeyondPress 3.0 for Macintosh is available today in single and multi-user
versions. BeyondPress 3.0 for Windows will be released in Fall of 1997.
Customers can order the product direct from Astrobyte and from distributors
in North America, Europe, Australia, and South Africa. Customers can
download a timed evaluation version from the Astrobyte Web site,
http://www.astrobyte.com.
Astrobyte also announced that the worldwide retail price for BeyondPress
has been lowered permanently to US$495. Upgrades are available to
BeyondPress 2.0 users for US$149, BeyondPress 1.0 users for US$249 and
users of Extensis Cyberpress for US$399. Customers who purchased
BeyondPress 2.0 after April 14, 1997 will receive a free upgrade to
BeyondPress 3.0 when they register their 2.0 product.
About Astrobyte
Astrobyte is a developer of leading-edge publishing tools for traditional
and new media publishers. Current and future directions include internet
authoring and site management, conversion of print content to HTML, and
automated publishing of cross-media content. Astrobyte is privately held.
Astrobyte
625 East 16th Avenue, Suite 200
Denver, Colorado 80203
Toll Free: 1 (888) 278-7629
Tel: +1 303-861-4861 (Outside US and Canada)
Fax: +1 303-861-4876
Web: http://www.astrobyte.com
Email: Info@astrobyte.com
Astrobyte Europe, Ltd.
Research House, Suite N8
Fraser Road
Perivale, Middx
UB6 7AQ, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 181 991 1123
Fax: +44 (0) 181 991 1221
Email: Info.Europe@astrobyte.com