Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Interleaf Inc, which in March previewed the concept of the active document (CI No 1,380) has now unveiled the first product that uses its new technology in the shape of Interleaf 5. An active document is defined by the company as one that can access, evaluate and act on information. A new Professional Writer provides what the company calls hyperlinks, facilities for tracking and re-using revisions, the ability to link to virtually any file, and comes with an optional set of advanced writer’s tools from Houghton Mifflin. Active documents are claimed to be able to know how to run any SQL database, extract data specified by the user, and build a text and graphics catalogue that shows one set of information to customers and additional data to salespeople. The Interleaf 5 products – as well as Professional Writer, Interleaf has Interleaf Engineer, Illustrator, Production, Academic and Passport for other vertical applications – come with a set of tools that enable users to personalise the interface, and Point & Type templates to make the thing easy to use for novices. Interleaf 5 products can be altered and extended by adding layered applications created by Interleaf, other software developers and technically-adept users, and these can be anything from putting the rows of a table into alphabetical order to drawing maps automatically from input geographic data. Interleaf 5 documents can be shared between all workstations on which Interleaf 5 runs – DEC, Hewlett-Packard and Apollo, IBM and Sun Microsystems, and versions for 80386-based personal computers and the Apple Macintosh are planned for next year. Interleaf has developed a specialised application of the new products for commercial aircraft documentation, including active documents that provide links to a database of industry standards, document routing and tracking, and an on-line, intelligent hypertext repair manual, and is looking at pharmaceuticals, computer-aided software engineering and car making. The products are priced on a floating licence basis where within a large group, a set number of users can be on Interleaf 5 at any time. The product provides colour output in PostScript and on-screen colour for those running X Window. The versi on for Unix engineering workstati ons will ship in the US in Decemb er, with volume in first quarter 1991. Versions for MS-DOS and VMS will ship in spring 1991, with the Mac version following in the summ er; the firm did not give prices.
