DOCUTECH, ALGOR'S ON-LINE SOFTWARE DOCUMENTATION SYSTEM, HAS BEEN REDESIGNED FOR GREATER FUNCTIONALITY AND EASE-OF-USE

When engineers open the Release 12 version of DocuTech, Algor's software documentation resource, they will find that its Internet browser-based format has a new single interface window with a powerful search engine. They can quickly and easily access a variety of resources, including Algor's technical documentation manuals, Algor Design World newsletter articles and keystroke tutorials.

February 25, 1999, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- Algor, Inc., a leading maker of software for mechanical engineers, today announced that its redesigned DocuTech, the company's software documentation system on CD-ROM, is available with Release 12, Algor's latest version of its finite element analysis (FEA) software. DocuTech has been reformatted and includes new features for improved functionality and ease-of-use.

"The latest DocuTech software includes a new single interface window, reorganized technical documentation and enhanced capabilities that enable engineers to search through Algor's software and reference documentation more quickly and easily," said Michael L. Bussler, president of Pittsburgh-based Algor.

DocuTech contains Algor's up-to-date software operating and reference documentation, customer application stories, keystroke-specific tutorials and other educational materials. Engineers can conveniently refer to DocuTech's comprehensive software documentation resources with one mouse click while they work with Algor software. These resources compliment the context-sensitive help available in Superdraw III, Release 12's single user interface for all FEA operations.

DocuTech uses hypertext mark-up language (HTML) technology to maintain a network of links between related documents in order to make navigating as easy as surfing the Internet. DocuTech's Internet browser-based format has been redesigned with a single interface window that is consistent with advanced Windows applications to provide greater ease-of-use.

When engineers open the new single interface window, they will see a streamlined table of contents, which includes technical documentation manuals that have been reorganized to include information about related topics. The simplified manuals have been updated to reflect the new functionality and capabilities of Algor's Release 12 software version.

From this interface window, engineers are also offered a link to "Getting Started with Algor," a helpful manual for new users that contains an installation guide as well as useful information about many FEA operations. They can immediately access an updated glossary of FEA terms or Algor's latest keystroke tutorials, which provide detailed, easy-to-understand instruction on the most frequently used finite element modeling, engineering analysis and Mechanical Event Simulation capabilities.

In addition to DocuTech's improved format, the program has many new features that make it easier to use. Its powerful search engine enables engineers to selectively search documentation by chosen categories. For example, they can choose to search every category except Algor Design World newsletter articles or only information in Algor Design World newsletter articles. Engineers can search for exact word phrases in addition to performing a keyword search. Once the desired document has been identified, DocuTech enables the engineer to print the complete document with a single print command rather than needing to open and print all related HTML files separately.

The Release 12 version of DocuTech is available for PC workstations running Windows NT, 95 and 98 and can be installed on a computer or run from the CD-ROM to save hard drive space. DocuTech is included with every Algor software product package, which also includes a variety of multimedia, printed and on-line tools designed to quickly get engineers started with Algor software.

Algor has been a leader in the engineering software industry since it introduced FEA for PCs in 1984 and interfacing with CAD systems in 1985. The company recently celebrated 20 years of providing finite element users with innovative, affordable and easy-to-use software products and superior educational support and customer service. Algor's FEA software has enabled 16,000 engineers in 60 countries to create safe, efficient, cost-effective designs.

Algor's latest invention, Accupak/VE, realistically simulates motion in mechanical events, eliminating the need to input a force, and computes and shows resulting stresses on the computer model at each instant in time. Accupak/VE replaces physical prototype testing with virtual prototype testing because it performs linear and nonlinear static and dynamic finite element stress analysis with motion for physics-based Mechanical Event Simulation. Algor offers a range of other FEA capabilities including linear and nonlinear stress, vibration and natural frequencies, heat transfer, electrostatics, fluid flow, piping design and composite materials. In addition, Algor works with virtually any CAD system and offers advanced FEA meshing tools.