ITEDO Software releases product for electronic catalog creation

Hennef/Burlingame, CA, April 20, 2003.

IsoCompose was conceived as a complete catalog creation product that can be utilized instantly, without further adjustment or programming. The primary objective was to provide documentation staff or service providers without programming skills with a tool to support them in all stages of catalog creation including layout work, distribution of the catalog and subsequent revisions. In order to achieve this, the main focus during the development phase included creating simple data interfaces, minimizing generation times and eliminating dependency on programmers. In the past, many companies were afraid of creating electronic spare parts catalogs, mainly because of unknown total costs and long project realization times. IsoCompose solves these problems at a fixed price.

Precisely defined functionality at a fixed price
IsoCompose supports all functions that are essential for creating electronic catalogs - and does so at a fixed price. These include all navigation functions, interaction between illustrations and parts lists, and a shopping basket. Even multi-language catalogs can be created. Changes or adjustments to the company-specific IT environment are not required.

The data interfaces are easy to understand and each member of the documentation team should be able to handle them easily. In short, you can make as many revisions as you like, without additional cost and you can make them yourself. "Once you have acquired a license for IsoCompose, you can produce as many catalogs for your company as you like and distribute them on CD-ROM or via Internet", explains Dieter Weidenbrueck, founder and CEO of ITEDO Software. "Since it is so easy to work with, you stay independent of external programmers throughout all phases of the catalog lifecycle."

Prerequisites for implementing IsoCompose
Simple text files are sufficient for determining the contents of the catalog. When developing IsoCompose we deliberately abandoned complex XML structures, since these are not yet predominant in most companies. However, if these already in place in your company, you can easily generate the required text files from these. For the drawings in the catalog, you will need illustrations which must be saved in the IsoDraw or CGM format. The graphics can contain both raster and vector elements. However, it is important that the item numbers are available in vector format. This ensures that they can be identified and processed automatically. Illustrations created in other graphics programs can usually be converted with IsoDraw first. Operating IsoCompose requires a single user license of IsoDraw or IsoDraw CADprocess. 

Layouts the easy way
The catalog layout must be defined for each of the various page types (e.g. the start page, the catalog pages, the shopping basket). Each page contains typical elements, e.g. the company logo, the navigation buttons and headlines. IsoCompose offers a brilliantly simple layout editor for this purpose. This allows the user to place the desired elements of the catalog at the required location using Drag & Drop. For each element there are option dialog boxes that enable you to specify the details. These can consist of the graphics file containing the logo, but also formatting for the parts list or the table of contents. Like the catalog data, the layout too can be changed at will. Therefore, the layout creation process is much easier with IsoCompose than with most HTML editors.

The IsoCompose Wizard
The IsoCompose Wizard makes this process even easier. Step by step the user is guided through the creation process for the complete catalog. The result can be displayed immediately in Internet Explorer.

Price models
IsoCompose stands for fixed costs without additional outlay. The product comprises all the functionality required for a catalog, so no adjustments are needed. Different license models are available depending on whether you wish to both create and distribute the catalog, or simply create it or distribute it. In short, companies or service providers wishing to acquire a license can select the license package appropriate to their needs.

Click here for additional information on IsoCompose!