For Immediate Release

San Rafael, Calif., August 14, 2000 - Autodesk, Inc., today announced the expansion of its popular OEM component licensing program for developers with the introduction of Actrix Technical OEM 2000 the design industry's most intelligent and cost-effective drawing and engineering platform. Through the OEM program, corporate and third-party developers can create custom applications that build on the Actrix Technical 2000 platform and ensure superior compatibility with AutoCAD software. Some typical applications include sales engineering automation, data visualization, automated conceptual design, graphic layouts, and sophisticated redlining.

TechniCon, a leading provider of e-commerce software, uses Actrix Technical OEM 2000 with its own CustomerCommerce software program to allow manufacturers to illustrate alternative product features in a standard product design. "Our customers, manufacturers in industries that range from office furniture to industrial devices, are turning to mass customization of products as a way to attract and satisfy customers," says Tony Mirante, President, TechniCon.

"With CustomerCommerce and Actrix Technical OEM 2000, we're making it easier for these manufacturers to help consumers select, configure, visualize, and order complex products. Ultimately, this ability to illustrate a wide variety of different product styles results in significant bottom line benefits for the manufacturer, including expanded sales, shortened sales cycles, and reduced production costs. And we love the fact that through the OEM program Actrix Technical 2000 can be customized for all the specific industries we serve."

To provide developers with the industry standards in development environments, Actrix Technical OEM 2000 has built-in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) 6.2 and a comprehensive ActiveX Automation API. Developers will be able not only to leverage the Actrix Technical 2000 ActiveShapes technology and superior AutoCAD interoperability but also to brand their own applications and end-product installer support through the exclusive functionality of "Private labeling." This enables silent and simultaneous installation of the Actrix platform with the developer application, making it painless for the developer and seamless for the end user.

"Since no two customers have identical design requirements, from its inception Actrix Technical 2000 has been more than just a stand-alone product," says Dave Arsenault, Director of Autodesk's Actrix product development. "It's a platform that can be tailored for specific tasks, while ensuring compatibility not just with Actrix but with AutoCAD as well. When the OEM program was expanded to include Actrix Technical 2000, customers embraced it as an easy way to customize the product and create new solutions. With today's announcement we're making enhancements to the Autodesk OEM program that dramatically simplify development."

Actrix Technical OEM 2000 equips developers with several unique new features, including the following:

End-Product Installer Support: Enables OEM developers to write a silent installer for Actrix components on the end user's machine and then install the developer's components to make a complete custom application install. Private Labeling: Enables OEM developers to modify resources (such as splash screens) to brand their application.

Actrix Technical OEM 2000 also supports new features for enhanced customizability:

HTML Dialog Boxes: Enables developers to use HTML to create dialog boxes that provide features such as modality control and window titles.

Dockable Frame Windows: Enables developers to create custom windows that can be docked in the Actrix Technical main window, just like the Property Window and Content Explorer.

Image Draw Objects: Like the MetafileDrawObject, encapsulates the bmp, jpg, gif, and ico graphical image formats (as well as emf and wmf).

Metafile Sizing Handles: Makes the sizing handles on the MetafileDrawObject behave like the sizing handles on other DrawObjects (Rectangle2D, Group2D, and Shape2D), enabling accurate and easy resizing of image files.

Drag-and-Drop Enhancements: Enables the user to drag bmp, jpg, gif, and ico files into Actrix to create an Image DrawObject. The size of the Image DrawObject is automatically adjusted to its natural size on the printed page.

True Color Support: Enables display of Actrix Technical documents in "true" (24-bit) color, providing a wider selection of color representations and more realistic image display.

i-drop: Enables users to drag DWG data from a web browser into Actrix.

The International English Language version of Actrix Technical OEM 2000 is available immediately worldwide directly from Autodesk. Pricing is available upon request. In the United States and Canada, email adc_info@autodesk.com; in Latin America, email actrixoem_la@autodesk.com; in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, email adcinfoemea@autodesk.com; and in Asia Pacific, email actrixoem_apac@autodesk.com.

For additional information, customers can visit www.actrixplatform.com.

OEM Software Program The worldwide OEM software program helps third-party developers deliver low-cost, application-specific products, helps organizations build new applications for internal use, and helps companies with enterprise wide requirements for design data build solutions based on Autodesk technology. By eliminating the need to reinvent complex software components that already exist in Autodesk software, developers can reduce overhead and development costs. The OEM software program currently supports two product families, Actrix Technical and AutoCAD software. For more information on the OEM program, go to www.autodesk.com/oem.

Autodesk is the world's leading design and digital content creation resource. The company provides software and Internet portal services to help customers drive business through the power of design. One of the largest software companies in the world, Autodesk helps designs become a reality for more than 4 million customers in more than 150 countries. For more information, contact any authorized Autodesk Reseller, call Autodesk at 800-964-6432, or visit www.autodesk.com. Discreet product information is available at 800-869-3504 or via the Web at www.discreet.com. Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq international market under the symbol ADSK.

TechniCon, based in Emeryville, Calif., is a leading developer of mass customization software used for electronic commerce and sales automation. Using the latest 2D/3D graphics and Internet technologies, TechniCon makes it easy for buyers, corporate procurement managers and salespeople to preview and order products that meet today's build-to-order requirements. By allowing buyers to fully visualize and configure products directly over the Internet and at the point of sale, TechniCon's software helps companies shorten the sales cycle, reduce costs, decrease product configuration errors, and increase customer satisfaction.

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Autodesk, AutoCAD,Actrix, and Active Shapes are registered trademarks, and Content Explorer, Discreet, and i-drop are trademarks, of Autodesk, Inc., in the United States and certain other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks are used solely for the purpose of identification and belong to their respective holders. Copyright 2000 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved

Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, AutoCAD, and ObjectARX are registered trademarks, and Discreet and Visual LISP are trademarks, of Autodesk, Inc., in the United States and/or certain other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks are used solely for the purpose of identification and belong to their respective holders.

TechniCon is a service mark of TechniCon Corp.