HiSoftware, Inc. announces upcoming release of AccVerify® Publisher Add-In for Microsoft® Office

Upcoming release will provide New Support for managing Microsoft Office documents for Section 508 Web Site Accessibility Conformance and Maintenance

CONCORD, NH – June 24, 2002 – HiSoftware, Inc., today announced that the upcoming release of its AccVerify Publisher for Microsoft Office. The new Add-In will enable Microsoft Office Users to create, verify and repair all Web documents created with Microsoft Office for conformance with Accessibility standards outlined in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments, and under W3C WCAG Priority 1-3 accessibility guidelines.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments, which marked its one-year anniversary on June 21, 2002 mandates that federal agencies ensure that all electronic and information technologies purchased, maintained or developed meet the accessibility standards established by the U.S. Access Board. Although federally mandated, state governments and private organizations can also benefit by adhering to these standards, which enable access and usability by the widest possible audience.

HiSoftware AccVerify and Microsoft Office are the perfect complements to each other for creating accessible content for Web distribution. Document authors can easily share accessible HTML documents with customers, colleagues, and partners around the world. Using AccVerify Publisher for Microsoft Office ensures that documents can be accessed and opened across a broad range of users regardless of any disabilities they may have, because it verifies that documents are in conformance with accessibility standards and guidelines.

Microsoft Office solutions allow document authors to create content that can be published as accessible HTML for use on the World Wide Web. The new integrated Add-Ins will allow users of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Access, and Excel to automatically publish, verify and repair their Microsoft Office documents HTML output, for conformance with Accessibility guidelines and standards, before they publish these documents to the Web. AccVerify is already available as an integrated Add-In for Microsoft FrontPage.

This new component will be an integrated new feature in HiSoftware’s acclaimed AccVerify and AccRepair Solutions, that will dramatically decrease the cost of making Internet, Intranet, and Extranet content accessible and usable. The new product releases will be available on June 26, 2002. For more information, please visit

Integrate with Existing Systems
The new integration has been created through HiSoftware’s Open database architecture and Open API’s, which provide extensible systems that enable Systems Integrators and Users to integrate AccVerify and AccRepair into their Web site publishing or testing architectures thus providing the ability to run Accessibility verification and repair solutions as part of the process from within their content delivery system. Additionally, organizations that utilize proprietary content creation systems can incorporate HiSoftware solution functions into these systems without exposing their Intellectual Property outside of the organization.

HiSoftware’s Web site accessibility solutions, AccVerify, AccRepair, AccMonitor Server, Hi-Caption and AccessibilityWATCH, assist organizations in achieving and maintaining accessible Web sites. These solutions, available as desktop applications and as automated server solutions, help organizations develop long-term strategies to achieve Web content accessibility. They allow multiple users to work collaboratively on Web site accessibility-resulting in reductions in time and resources allocated to accessibility.

Available as an integrated feature AccVerify and AccRepair. The Add-Ins will be available as of June 26, 2002 and can be downloaded from http://www.hisoftware.com/access/valueadd.html . The Add-Ins will run with Office 2000 and XP (Word, Excel, PowerPoint- FrontPage users can use the highly acclaimed AccVerify for FrontPage)

Specific Product Information
AccVerify Publisher for Microsoft Office XP Information and Download Page
AccVerify Publisher for Microsoft Office 2000 Information and Download Page

ABOUT HISOFTWARE
HiSoftware Company, the leader in enterprise content quality management solutions, provides innovative products that empower quality assurance teams, content developers, Web site architects, and company executives to work collaboratively on their efforts to create and manage corporate Web standards for Accessibility, Privacy, Searchability, Usability and custom guidelines and policies. HiSoftware’s integrated, full lifecycle solutions dramatically reduce the time required to test, manage and deploy e-business Web sites.

HiSoftware works closely with industry leaders and visionaries to provide solutions for today's information accessibility, content quality, search and retrieval needs. HiSoftware’s customers represent Fortune 500 companies, and many of the largest e-commerce, government, and educational sites in North America and around the world and include ChevronTexaco, Commerce One, Mercury Interactive, and Microsoft Government.

Founded in 1998, HiSoftware Company maintains North American corporate headquarters in Concord, New Hampshire. Further information about HiSoftware can be found online at www.hisoftware.com

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