Adobe ships 1st release of the Adobe SVG Viewer

Apu ,

The web is fast moving indeed! You actually caught us as we were ironing out
some issues with our web site.

The site was imprecisely worded. It said that it was our "final" release.
Because Adobe has just started shipping Adobe Illustrator 9,
(http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200006/20000602ai.html)
which includes SVG authoring, we have included our first "final" release of the
Adobe SVG Viewer. (The press release for the Viewer was issued at 8am EST this
morning and is found below. I would have just given a URL to it, but it isn't on
our web site as of this moment.Sorry for the long post.)

I think you will find that the web site and the press release are now more
clear.

"This release is based on the latest draft of the SVG Specification, dated March
3, 2000. The features contained in this release comply with that draft, but
Adobe has not yet implemented all of the SVG specification. Adobe's intention is
that future releases of the Adobe SVG Viewer will strive to achieve support for
the full W3C SVG specification."

The challenge was what to call this first release since, as you pointed out the
the specification is not complete. Also, we have been in private and public beta
testing for many, many months so we couldn't say this was the "first public"
release, either. Though we have not implemented all of the spec in this release,
I think we've done an excellent job with the many features we've implemented. I
encourage everyone to download the final viewer at
www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/ and to see our new web site at
www.adobe.com/svg.

Some of the SVG authoring features of Illustrator 9 are:

* All graphic object that can be created in Adobe Illustrator 9.0 can be
expressed in SVG
* Adobe Illustrator 9.0's advanced transparency features are mapped to the
transparency features in SVG
* Type1 and TrueType fonts can be embedded in the SVG file using Adobe's CEF
(Compact Embedded Font) format, which supports fully hinting and kerning of
Type1 fonts and has superior compression characteristics
* Files can be exported as either uncompressed (i.e., normal SVG), or compressed
(using industry standard, open source gzip/ZIP compression)
* Hyperlinks can be assigned to any graphics object
* JavaScript event handlers (e.g., onmouseover) can be attached to any object

I encourage feedback and will attempt to keep a page of external references as
up to date as possible. Please send me any SVG related links that you'd like to
see on our "Community" page at http://www.adobe.com/svg/community/external.html.

Note, there is also a SVG User form at
http://www.adobe.com/support/forums/main.html.

...............................
Michael Bierman
Senior Product Manager, SVG Product Marketing
mbierman@adobe.com http://www.adobe.com/svg

Adobe Systems - Inspiration becomes reality.
345 Park Avenue
San Jose, California 95110








The following announcement was made this morning, 6/6/00 at 8am EST. A PDF of
the press release can be located in the Adobe.com press room and the PR Intranet
site.

*****************************

For Immediate Release

Adobe Announces Availability of the Adobe SVG Viewer

Scalable Vector Graphics Viewer Enables SVG Rendering on the Web,Viewer Shipping
with Adobe® Illustrator® 9.0 and Available on Adobe.com

San Jose, Calif., (June 6, 2000) (Nasdaq:ADBE)-Building on its commitment to
support the next generation of web design and development, Adobe Systems
Incorporated today announced the immediate availability of the Adobe® Scalable
Vector Graphics (SVG) Viewer, a browser extension that enables current versions
of popular web browsers such as Microsoft® Internet Explorer and Netscape
Navigator® to render SVG. The Adobe SVG Viewer is included with Adobe®
Illustrator® 9.0 software, which began shipping June 2, and is also available
for download from Adobe's web site at: www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/.

SVG is the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) emerging, open language for
describing two-dimensional graphics in Extensible Markup Language (XML). Because
it expresses vector graphics in XML and is compatible with other W3C
initiatives, SVG's impact on the design, development and ultimately the customer
experience of highly sophisticated e-commerce web sites will be profound. The
format meets the challenge of eBusiness problems by solving the increasingly
complex design issues of personalization, customization, globalization,
accessibility, and data integration.

"SVG is web technology done right," said Steve Mulder, Chief Information
Architect, Razorfish. "Built from the ground up by those who understand what
organizations and users require, SVG delivers what has long been desired: a
vector graphics format that is feature rich, fast and truly open. And because
it's based directly on XML, SVG provides flexibility and interoperability with
the emerging tools and workflow developers need."

Using SVG, web site architects enjoy a more compelling authoring environment for
creating rich, multi-channel, dynamically generated content. Graphics can be
customized, modified, scripted, and adapted during design or at run-time by a
server, then distributed in an optimized form to multiple platforms. SVG also
integrates seamlessly with existing Web workflow and standards, allowing IS
professionals to incorporate content from numerous back-end databases, servers
and e-commerce engines without the limitations of a proprietary data format.
Most importantly, customers will have a more compelling web experience,
including faster downloads, better navigation and true interactivity.

"We believe SVG will become an increasingly integral component of the Internet,"
said Ron Okamoto, senior director of product marketing, Graphics and Dynamic
Media, Adobe Systems Incorporated. "Adobe is committed to helping ensure SVG
becomes as broadly embraced as other W3C standards. Shipping the Adobe SVG
Viewer with Illustrator 9.0, and the ability of Illustrator 9.0 to export to
SVG, are simply the first steps of a larger plan to integrate SVG capabilities
into all applicable areas of the Adobe product line."

About SVG
The SVG language is being developed by the W3C and its members, who include
numerous technology industry leaders like Adobe, Apple, Corel Corporation,
Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM, Kodak, Macromedia, Inc., Microsoft Corp., Netscape
Communications, Quark Inc., Sun Microsystems, Inc., and Xerox Corporation. The
specification is currently in its eighth working draft and Last Call phase. The
most recent public draft was released on March 3, 2000. For more information on
SVG, please visit the W3C web site at: www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/. In addition to
SVG, the W3C is responsible for maintaining the recommendations of fundamental
web technologies and infrastructures such as HTML, XML, SMIL, CSS, and DOM.

Availability
The Adobe SVG Viewer ships with Adobe Illustrator 9.0 software and is expected
to be included in upcoming versions of additional Adobe products, including
Adobe® LiveMotion�. It is also available for download from the Adobe.com web
site at: www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/. Adobe is providing an SVG overview
and tutorial with numerous SVG examples at: www.adobe.com/svg/.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems Incorporated (www.adobe.com) builds award-winning
software solutions for Web and print publishing. Its graphic design, imaging,
dynamic media, and authoring tools enable customers to create, publish and
deliver visually rich content for various types of media. Headquartered in San
Jose, California, Adobe is the third largest PC software company in the U.S.,
with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion.
###


© 2000 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo,
Illustrator, and LiveMotion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of
Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Microsoft is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation
in the United States and/or other countries. W3C is a trademark (registered in
numerous countries) of the World Wide Web Consortium; marks of the W3C are
registered and held by its host institutions MIT, INRIA, and Keio. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
  ...............................
  Michael Bierman
  Senior Product Manager, SVG
  www.adobe.com/svg
  408 536.3351