No Hands Software Unveils Common Ground for Windows

Belmont, CA--October 21, 1993--No Hands Software today released specifics
about the Windows version of Common Ground, the company's popular
electronic document distribution software. Common Ground 1.0 for Windows
will offer full PostScript support, JPEG compression, the PANOSE Typeface
Matching System and a variety of Mastersoft filters -- important features
which will let users distribute electronic documents that are high
quality, small in size and can be edited in a variety of applications.
Common Ground can also act as an OLE 2.0 server, providing seamless
integration into other applications such as electronic mail and
databases.

"We're raising the electronic document standard by giving publishing
customers the PostScript support and JPEG compression they need; and
giving business people the ability to save and edit formatted documents in
their favorite applications by using the Mastersoft filters and PANOSE
fonts, and OLE 2.0 server capability to easily integrate Common Ground
documents with other applications in their existing environment," said
Tony Stayner, vice president of marketing at No Hands Software.

Full PostScript "Distiller" Support Using ZScript 

No Hands has incorporated Zenographics' highly-acclaimed ZScript technology
and Pipeline's PowerPage interpreter in Common Ground 1.0 for Windows to
provide full PostScript support through its CG PostScript Extension
feature. This advanced PostScript support gives users a reliable, fast way
to convert PostScript documents to Common Ground, preserving the exact
look of the original document for viewing and printing, and important
information on the text that allows the text to be copied and pasted. To
get this capability, Adobe Acrobat users must purchase Adobe's $695
Acrobat Distiller--a separate application which requires additional
installation, set up time, hard disk space, and requires a two step
process to create a portable electronic document.

Without the benefits of a full PostScript interpreter at the time of
creating a portable electronic document, applications that are designed
primarily to produce PostScript output, such as Aldus PageMaker,
QuarkXPress, and Adobe Illustrator, provide no PostScript information to
the portable electronic document. This is also true for EPS images
embedded in documents in any application. For example, an EPS file
embedded in a document is represented either by an empty box or by a
screen-resolution bitmap. Fonts transformed from Windows-based
applications of this kind to a portable electronic document are
represented only by a screen resolution bitmap. These bitmaps print poorly
and produce text which users cannot search, copy or paste, and may cause
the text to reflow losing the original pagination. Unlike other mass
market portable electronic document products, Common Ground 1.0 for
Windows includes support for these applications and EPS, so Common Ground
files always have all the information necessary to be viewed and printed
as an exact representation of the original, while preserving the ability
to search, copy and paste.

The CG PostScript Extension also lets users create Common Ground documents
from any PostScript file, providing an efficient way to get documents from
other platforms into Common Ground's platform independent format, where
anyone can view and print them. Users can "distill" DigitalPaper (i.e.,
the Common Ground file format) from documents on any platform (DOS,
Macintosh, UNIX, etc.) by simply printing to PostScript and converting the
document to Common Ground via the CG PostScript Extension.

JPEG Compression 

Common Ground 1.0 for Windows also includes built-in JPEG compression, for
compressing continuous-tone greyscale and color images. This is important
for users involved in color electronic publishing, who can now include
24-bit graphics without significantly increasing file size. This feature
extends Common Ground's usefulness to documents such as color intensive
catalogs, magazines, advertisements, and other complex documents. Once
compressed, users can easily distribute these smaller files over phone
lines, and incorporate them into electronic document databases. Users can
choose from a range of compression ratios.

Mastersoft Filters 

Common Ground also incorporates several industry-standard Mastersoft
filters which allow users to save Common Ground documents into their
favorite word processing applications where they can be edited. These
Mastersoft filters convert files between different formats while retaining
the functionality and layout of the original files.

PANOSE Typeface Matching System 

Common Ground for Windows will incorporate the PANOSE Typeface Matching
System from ElseWare. The PANOSE system provides an objective mechanism
for characterizing and intelligently replacing fonts. When users copy or
save a Common Ground document into another format, Common Ground will
utilize PANOSE to map the original fonts to the closest font available on
the system, thus better preserving the look and feel of the original
document. In future versions, Common Ground will be able to utilize this
technology to zoom on screen to any resolution.

OLE 2.0 Support 

Common Ground will support Microsoft Corporation's Object Linking and
Embedding (OLE) 2.0, as an OLE 2.0 server. This enables Common Ground's
viewing functionality to be seamlessly integrated into electronic mail,
database and other applications. Common Ground's ability to work with any
document in any application provides a bridge to bring any document into
the OLE 2.0 sphere.

This delivers two major benefits to OLE 2.0 users. First, documents from
other platforms, and documents from non-OLE 2.0-compliant applications can
be converted to Common Ground and embedded into any OLE compliant
application. Second, documents created in specialized applications that do
not reside at every node on the network can be converted to Common Ground,
and embedded into an OLE compliant application with confidence that anyone
can view and print an exact representation of the original regardless of
whether or not they have the creating application. For example, a
Macintosh Aldus PageMaker document containing product specifications and
drawings could be converted to Common Ground, embedded in a Microsoft
Access for Windows database record, and viewed and printed by anyone using
the database.

Common Ground is being featured by Microsoft Corporation as an OLE 2.0
early adopter in seminars in Boston and Palo Alto, at the Microsoft Office
4.0 launch in New York, and at Comdex in Las Vegas.

About Common Ground 

Common Ground is an electronic document distribution program that lets
users convert any document to an exact representation of the original that
can be viewed, searched and printed by anyone regardless of application,
computer and fonts. What distinguishes Common Ground from other electronic
document distribution programs is DigitalPaper--the high performance,
compact technology that converts documents created in any application into
a platform-independent file format.

Common Ground consists of two major components: a Maker and a Viewer. The
Common Ground Maker converts any document from any application to
DigitalPaper--making it an exact representation of the original document.
Common Ground's Maker features print resolution at 300 dpi, and a free,
embeddable MiniViewer so users can send documents that anyone can open and
print, even if they don't have the Common Ground Application.

The Common Ground Viewer features copy and paste options, text searching,
zoom capabilities, navigational tools, OLE 2.0 server support, and on-line
help. The MiniViewer features viewing and printing only.

Common Ground for Windows requires Windows 3.1 and 2MB of RAM (4MB
recommended). Using the Common Ground PostScript Extension requires 4MB of
RAM (6MB recommended).

The Windows version will be available December 1993 for a suggested retail
price of $189.95. Common Ground is distributed through Ingram Micro,
Kenfil and international distributors. For more information about Common
Ground contact No Hands Software at 415-802-5800 or 800-598-3821.

The next version of Common Ground for the Macintosh will incorporate all of
these features found in Common Ground for Windows.

No Hands Software 

No Hands Software is a leading developer and publisher of a new generation
of software products for electronic document distribution and information
consumption on personal computers and consumer computing devices. No
Hands' first product, the agent-based Magnet 1.0, was introduced in August
of 1992. Common Ground 1.0 began shipping in May 1993. Founded in 1991, No
Hands Software is based in Belmont, California.

No Hands Software
1301 Shoreway Rd, Suite 220, Belmont, CA 94002
415-802-5800,  fax 415-593-6868,  AppleLink: NOHANDS

 ============================================================
 From the  'New Product Information'  Electronic News Service
 ============================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 above mentioned company. For additional details, contact 
 the company at the address or telephone number indicated.
 OmniPage Pro is now used for converting all printed input! 
 ============================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  U.S.A.
 Email: RBakerPC (AOL/Delphi), rbakerpc@delphi.com (Internet)
 ============================================================
