SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Apr 21, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, today announced that Autodesk(R) DWF(TM) Composer will be available this week. Autodesk DWF Composer is the powerful new application that fully leverages the capabilities of the Autodesk Design Web Format(TM) (DWF(TM)) to enable members of extended project teams to communicate design data generated in building, manufacturing and infrastructure projects. As the only product capable of providing a completely digital process for viewing and marking up design files and integrating changes directly into the AutoCAD(R) 2005 family of products, Autodesk DWF Composer is an essential component of the design lifecycle and helps improve the design review process to lower costs and reduce errors.

"The design industry has long needed a solution that creates an efficient design review workflow," said Gisela Wilson, director of product lifecycle management, IDC. "Autodesk DWF Composer addresses this need by offering a productive process for completing design reviews."

Autodesk DWF Composer was built for design professionals who are part of the design review process and need to contribute feedback, but have no need for complex design authoring software. With easy-to-use tools to review, mark up and revise sheet sets, Autodesk DWF Composer provides a better way to communicate changes to the design team and integrate extended team member's updates into the design review process. These team members are often spread across multiple locations, and have traditionally relied on costly and inefficient paper-based review processes or viewing and markup applications not specifically built for sharing design and engineering data.

Autodesk DWF Composer was developed for design professionals in the building, manufacturing and infrastructure industries who need to collaborate more effectively to deliver projects on time and on budget. Building industry professionals can use Autodesk DWF Composer to quickly and easily share drawings and sheet sets with all members of the design and construction process. Manufacturing professionals can rely on Autodesk DWF Composer to accurately communicate information about models from the design room to the shop floor. Map managers, civil engineers, land planners and other professionals who deliver services in the utilities, communications, building, and government industries can use Autodesk DWF Composer to efficiently manage location-based information throughout all phases of the workflow. Within these industries, Autodesk DWF Composer addresses the challenge of speeding design reviews by leveraging the DWF file format to help eliminate inefficiencies and increase productivity.

"Autodesk DWF Composer fits a very well-defined need in the design community," said Patrick Noonan of PJN Consulting, a consultant to the City of Charlotte / Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. "With even the simplest building or infrastructure projects here in Charlotte, we have at least three or four entities reviewing and revising designs. DWF Composer went a long way toward helping us in this area by digitizing and streamlining the review process. Still, many designers wanted the ability to round-trip mark-ups directly back into AutoCAD. Autodesk delivers just that."

"For the first time, design professionals in any industry have a product that provides a single platform on which to manage the entire design review and mark up process," said Tony Peach, director of DWF strategy for Autodesk. "Autodesk DWF Composer fundamentally alters the design review process because it leverages DWF to support the efficient distribution and communication of rich design data and eliminates the inefficiencies associated with the analog review process."

Unlike review applications that rely on PDF or graphic file formats, Autodesk DWF Composer allows for the complete round-tripping of markups directly back into AutoCAD 2005 family of software products which includes AutoCAD 2005, AutoCAD(R) LT 2005, Autodesk(R) Architectural Desktop 2005, Autodesk(R) Building Systems 2005, AutoCAD(R) Mechanical 2005, Autodesk(R) Mechanical Desktop 2005, AutoCAD(R) Electrical 2005, Autodesk(R) Land Desktop 2005, Autodesk(R) Survey 2005, Autodesk(R) Raster Design 2005, Autodesk(R) Civil Design 2005 and Autodesk(R) Map(TM) 3D 2005. And while the product is built specifically for design professionals, it delivers value across the entire enterprise because it allows all members of the extended team to review, mark up and revise sheet sets. Ideal for sharing building designs, engineering drawings, maps and models, Autodesk DWF Composer has a wealth of features that deliver value from design conception through execution and beyond.

Review

Autodesk DWF Composer lets the user view DWF and DWG files with high fidelity, displaying designs exactly as the author intended, including rich details such as layers, views and measurements. With the Sheet Set Navigator feature, users can select from thumbnail, list, bookmark, and markup views to browse multisheet sheet sets faster and more easily. A hyperlinks feature makes it easy to jump between sheets and views, just like on a website. And, because it uses the same plot capabilities as AutoCAD, Autodesk DWF Composer enables the user to perform accurate measurements using the Dimension Tool.

Mark Up

Autodesk DWF Composer has a full array of markup tools that make it easy for team members to share feedback through redlines, annotations and comments right within the design sheet sets. For instance, the user can annotate drawings and add text, shapes and stamps. As markups are made, they are automatically recorded in the Mark Up tab of the Sheet Set Navigator, where they can also be viewed by status. Autodesk DWF Composer also makes it possible to work with multiple document types in one workspace, so that the user can add images, sketches, project timelines, specifications, bills of materials and other relevant information to sheet set.

Revise

Preserving design integrity and controlling or eliminating errors have long been major concerns with digital design review. Autodesk DWF Composer is a major step forward in both these areas because it allows users to track changes made by individual team members, and navigate from one mark up to the next using the Mark Up tab in the application's Navigator window. Moreover, once markups have been made in DWF Composer, the republished DWF file can be sent back to the original designer and opened directly into AutoCAD 2005 and the AutoCAD 2005 family of products with all markups intact. From there, the design creator can quickly review and respond to changes from across the team. Not only can the extended team finalize sheet sets faster, but the security and integrity of the original design work is preserved every step of the way.

The Design Review Application Specifically for DWF

Autodesk DWF Composer is the viewing and markup application specifically designed for the DWF file format. DWF files are more compact than native CAD files or even PDFs, so they take up far less storage space, place less demand on system resources and transmit faster across networks. DWF files also maintain intelligent design data, ensuring that the user sees the design exactly as it was intended. As a view-, web-, and print-ready format, DWF is an easy and cost-effective way to share rich design information with the extended design team. DWF is also integrated into AutoCAD 2005 software, enabling designers, engineers and their colleagues to quickly and easily communicate design information electronically to anyone needing to view, mark up, review, or print the design information. DWF is rapidly becoming the preferred file format for design professionals as evidenced by the 2.5 million customers who have already downloaded Autodesk(R) DWF(TM) Viewer, a free lightweight application that enables anyone on the project team to easily view and print DWF drawings.

Product Availability

Autodesk DWF Composer is available from Autodesk resellers, distributors, retailers and online at the Autodesk store at www.autodesk.com/store. Autodesk DWF Composer will be initially priced at $199.00. An introductory price of $99.00 is currently being offered for a limited time. More information about Autodesk DWF Composer can be found at www.autodesk.com/dwfcomposer.

About Autodesk

Autodesk is the world's leading design software and digital content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. Autodesk helps customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their entire project lifecycle management processes. For more information about the company, see http://www.autodesk.com .

Occasionally, Autodesk makes statements regarding planned or future development efforts for our existing or new products and services. These statements are not intended to be a promise or guarantee of future delivery of products, services, or features but merely reflect our current plans, which may change. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect any change in circumstances, after the statements are made.

NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Design Web Format, and DWF are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and certain other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

     Contact:  Brian Baker, 415-507-6411
       Email:  brian.baker@autodesk.com

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.

Brian Baker of Autodesk, Inc., +1-415-507-6411, or
brian.baker@autodesk.com

http://www.autodesk.com