SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--Feb. 3, 1998--Autodesk, Inc. announced today the worldwide availability of Autodesk View 2.0 software, the latest member of the company's full-scale family of design products.

Autodesk View 2.0 software delivers real-time pan and zoom viewing capabilities of AutoCAD Release 9 - 14 DWG, DXF, ACIS and DWF files. The software makes it easier for customers to collaborate on a project by letting design users, regardless of their CAD expertise or department within an organization, quickly access and provide feedback on design data without altering the original image. The tool is ideal for teams working at different locations that need to obtain drawing updates, provide feedback on designs, or share project-related engineering data.

Traditionally, new product development or construction projects can be held up for weeks and months due to slow and unwieldy methods of exchanging engineering information. When changes occur, the delays in making drawing changes and conveying the changes to those involved often negatively affect production schedules and escalating costs. Autodesk View 2.0 software provides an easy way for designers to communicate on a project, and provides a variety of tools for viewing design data, including viewpoint, paper/model space viewing, filter the display block, layers, X-refs and Raster images.

According to Anne Bonaparte, senior director, design team solutions group, at Autodesk, "Autodesk View 2.0 allows engineering organizations to improve their time-to-market by enabling their design teams to be much more productive. Project team members -- from the vice-president of engineering to the drafter -- can quickly and easily access data files that are generated by more than 225 different formats. Communication among team members can be significantly improved with Autodesk View 2.0 because design information can be accessed, modified, and transmitted faster and more easily. In addition, Autodesk View 2.0 enables engineering data to be exchanged via the Internet using plug-in browser technology."

Autodesk View 2.0 software also supports common business formats so users can include project spreadsheets, report summaries, and presentation data with drawings to further enhance and convey additional project information for the design team. Beta site user Gary Howland, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, says of the new Autodesk View 2.0 product, "As the senior drafter/CAD systems administrator I have already started recommending this product for customers and engineers that require AutoCAD design data. This program will save me a considerable amount of time and money."

Additionally, the new version will read AutoCAD Release 14 DWG and DWF files and includes new features for redlining, measurement, format conversion, and revision compare functionality. Autodesk View 2.0 software is Windows-based and retails for US$195, with upgrade pricing at $69 for registered users of Autodesk View software and Softdesk ViewBase software. Customers who have purchased Autodesk View since January 1, 1998 are eligible for a free upgrade. To upgrade call Autodesk Direct Sales at 1-800-435-7771.

For more information, contact any Authorized Autodesk Dealer, call Autodesk at 800/964-6432, or fax requests for information to 415/507-5100. For more information on Autodesk, call 415/507-5000, type GO ADESK on CompuServe, or log in with a World Wide Web browser at http://www.autodesk.com.