Folio Announces Folio VIEWS 3.1 Product Family, Opens Infobase Technology
To Third-Party Developers By Offering API Extensions To Folio VIEWS
Client

May 16, 1994, Provo, Utah -- Folio Corporation today announced the Folio
VIEWS 3.1 Product Family, a major upgrade to its award-winning infobase
software. The technology of the Folio VIEWS 3.1 line has been
significantly enhanced with the addition of Query Templates for simplified
searching, Shadow File Reconciliation for comparing and merging changes
with master infobases, and Rights Management to give infobase publishers
an easy way to control access to and use of their proprietary
information.

In keeping with Folio's stated direction to open its core infobase
technology to third-party developers (see related announcement), the new
Folio VIEWS 3.1 Software Developer Kit (SDK) includes four classes of APIs
(Application Programmer Interfaces) that allow developers to extend the
functionality of the Folio VIEWS 3.1 Infobase Manager client.

The Folio VIEWS 3.1 Product Family has also been expanded to include the
new Folio VIEWS 3.1 Professional Infobase Development Kit 3.1 (PIDK), the
Folio VIEWS 3.1 Infobase Production Kit 3.1 (IPK), and the Folio VIEWS 3.1
Filter Add-on Pack.

"Our core strength is infobase technology," said Tracy Scott, president of
Folio Corporation. "VIEWS 3.1 is an outstanding example of that technology
applied to electronic publishing, but it is only one example of how
infobases can help people access information and adapt it to their unique
needs.

"By opening infobase technology to third-party developers, infobases will
be used to empower people in ways not currently available. The Folio VIEWS
3.1 Product Family is the first step toward delivering on our promise to
provide an open, robust platform for the development of a new generation
of information management applications, and the first step toward Folio
becoming predominantly an application platform provider," said Scott.

Folio VIEWS Client APIs

The new APIs (available only in the Folio VIEWS 3.1 SDK) give corporate and
commercial developers the ability to extend elements of the Folio VIEWS
3.1 Infobase Manager client.

Filter API: Allows developers to write import/export filters to and from
the Folio VIEWS 3.1 infobase format for file formats that are not directly
supported by the Folio VIEWS 3.1 Product Family.

Object Handler API: Allows developers to write "object handlers" for
storing and displaying various types of multimedia data elements in an
infobase that are not directly supported by the VIEWS 3.1 Product Family.

Folio Help API: Allows developers to adapt Folio VIEWS 3. l Infobase
Manager for use as a fully integrated, context-sensitive, online help
system.

Extension API: Allows developers to create top-level menu items to add
functionality to Folio VIEWS Infobase Manager and enhance its interface
through integration with third-party products.

Rights Management

The Folio VIEWS 3.1 Product Family includes many new features designed
specifically for commercial electronic publishers including Rights
Management. Using Folio' s Rights Manager software, infobase authors can
restrict access to their infobase titles (on networks, CD ROM, or floppy
disk) in the following ways:

- Completely restricting access to selected infobase titles
- Limiting the amount of time a user is permitted to access
  an infobase
- Limiting the number of users who can access an infobase
  concurrently
- Restricting the types of media from which the infobase
  can be accessed
- Granting passwords and other security features

The Rights Manager (which should not be confused with Folio VIEWS' regular
infobase password security features) is targeted at commercial publishers,
OEMs, and large corporations and is available only in the Folio VIEWS 3.1
Professional Infobase Development Kit (PIDK).

Query Templates

Using the Query Template Editor, infobase authors can design custom query
interfaces that allow people to search infobases without knowing anything
about Folio' s search syntax, or the content or structure of the infobase
being searched. Using the Query Template Editor, any element of the
standard VIEWS query dialog can be included -- such as the word list,
results map, and search string editing box. Infobase authors can also
create their own custom dialog elements that enable novice users to
conduct complex searches.

For example, a custom query template for an infobase containing magazine
articles might have entry fields labeled Magazine Name, Author's Name, and
Subject. Using such a query template, the user would enter any or all of
the following: the name of the magazine, the name of the author or the
subject desired. The resulting query would conduct a search for fields
containing the name of the magazine, a field search for the author' s
name, and/or a full-text search in the body of the articles for the
subject requested.

Shadow File Reconciliation

Folio VIEWS 3.0 introduced the concept of Shadow Files, user-created files
that act as transparent "overlays" to master infobases, where users can
store the personal changes they make to an infobase without affecting the
original. Folio VIEWS 3.1 Infobase Manager Shadow Files offer the added
features of Append Merge and Smart Merge. 

Append Merge

Append Merge adds all changes in the master infobase to the Shadow File,
enabling instant comparisons between the two infobase files. The Append
Merge displays both the new master information and the shadow file
personalizations. The new master information is listed first; the shadow
file personalizations follow. Both the new information and the shadow file
information are marked with tags that identify them as modifications. The
user can decide, on a record-by-record basis, whether to keep the updated
master, the shadow file personalizations or both. 

Smart Merge

Smart Merge applies all of the user' s Shadow File information to the
updated master. The updated master and Shadow File personalizations are
combined through Smart Merge. The new updated information is stored in a
unique field so the user can change the attributes or remove unwanted
information from the Shadow File manually.

The Folio VIEWS 3.1 Product Family

The Folio VIEWS 3.1 Product Family includes functionality and pricing
options designed to reflect the needs of large corporations, commercial
publishers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and independent
software vendors (ISVs).

Folio VIEWS 3.1 Professional Infobase Dev. Kit (PIDK) -- US$3,995

Folio' s complete infobase development kit designed for commercial
publishers, OEMs, and large corporations. Includes Folio Bind, Folio Bound
VIEWS 3.1 Infobase Manager, the Folio Rights Manager and Browser, Folio
ProPublish for creating custom installs for infobase titles, and
everything contained in the Folio VIEWS 3.1 IPK

Folio VIEWS 3.1 Infobase Production Kit (IPK) -- US$895

Folio' s standard corporate infobase production kit for creating enterprise
infobase applications. Includes a copy of Folio VIEWS 3.1 Infobase
Manager, the Folio Create Utility for developing robust infobase
applications, the Folio Flat File Validator for verifying the accuracy of
links and other attributes, the powerful Folio Search and Replace (FSR)
engine for manipulating infobase flat files, and other tools for creating
and maintaining infobases.

Folio VIEWS 3.1 Infobase Manager -- US$295

The Folio VIEWS 3.1 client with searching, editing, annotation, printing,
and ASCII file import capabilities.

Folio VIEWS 3.1 Software Developers Kit (SDK) -- US$1,995

Includes APIs enabling third-party developers to extend the functionality
of the VIEWS 3.1 Infobase Manager client in the areas of Import/Export
Filters, Object Handlers, and Menu Extensions, and to utilize VIEWS 3.1
Infobase Manager for integrated, context-sensitive Online Help.

Folio VIEWS 3.1 Filter Add-on Pack -- US$195

Includes 50 new import filters for popular file formats including
FrameMaker, Interleaf, Lotus 1-2-3, Lotus AmiPro, and dBASE.

Availability

All Folio VIEWS 3.1 Product Family products will be available for
MS-Windows by the end of the second quarter of 1994. Corresponding
products for DOS and Apple Macintosh will ship in the fourth quarter of
1994.

Infobase '94

Many of Folio' s developers, commercial publishers, and corporate customers
will be on hand to present technical details, case studies and product
demonstrations at the upcoming Infobase '94 conference to be held June
28-30, 1994 in Salt Lake city, Utah. Those interested in attending can
register by calling the Infobase '94 Hotline at (800) 228-9437. (Note to
members of the press: Press attendees registering with proper credentials
are invited to attend at no charge.)

About Folio Infobase Technology

It is estimated that Folio software currently resides on more than 30
million desktops in the form of Folio VIEWS, Novell NetWare Help, Banyan
VINES technical documentation and as the delivery mechanism for more than
a thousand titles from 135 commercial publishers on CD ROM and diskette.

Folio VIEWS, the flagship product in Folio' s family of infobase products
and a showcase for Folio Infobase Technology, has been recognized by many
corporate customers, commercial publishers and leading software industry
publications for its unique and innovative approach to managing
free-format information.

Recently, Folio VIEWS 3.0 for Windows was honored with the following
industry awards:

* 1993 MVP (Most Valuable Product) award
  from PC/Computing magazine 
* 1993 Award of Distinction from BYTE magazine
* 1994 WIN 100 Award from Windows Magazine
* 1994 Award of Technical Excellence
  from France's PC Expert magazine

Folio Infobase software helps business people access and adapt information
in ways that make it more valuable to them. Applications for individual
users, workgroups and enterprises all benefit from Folio' s unique ability
to rapidly index and retrieve information, store and display multimedia
objects, link information together, and update information on-the-fly.

Folio and Mead Data Central

Folio's parent company is Mead Data Central (MDC), Dayton, Ohio, provider
of the LEXIS and NEXIS online information services. MDC is a division of
Mead Corporation, "MEA" on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1993 revenues
of $4.8 billion.

Folio Corp
2155 North Freedom Blvd, Provo, UT 84604
801-344-3700,   800-543-6546

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