EXTON, Pa.--Oct. 27, 2003-- Bentley Systems, Incorporated and Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced the two companies will collaborate on optimizing the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) to better address the complexities of Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) information and document workflows. Adobe PDF is widely accepted as the de facto standard for electronic document exchange, including in AEC. As leaders in software for the world's infrastructure and for helping people and businesses communicate better, respectively, Bentley and Adobe will leverage the strengths of PDF and Adobe Acrobat software to deliver enhanced document solutions for the AEC project lifecycle. The companies also plan to bring other leading software vendors together to move the PDF specification forward in engineering. As part of the relationship, Bentley is licensing the Adobe PDF Library to integrate PDF creation directly into Bentley technology. As a result, users will be able to utilize PDF for AEC document sharing and archiving from within the MicroStation desktop and ProjectWise server products. "Our users are asking for broader and fewer standards," said A.B. "Buddy" Cleveland, senior vice president and general manager, Bentley Software. "As we contemplated our Web distribution and sharing strategy, we faced the question 'does AEC need another format?' With this announcement, the answer is 'no.'" He concluded, "With half a billion copies of the Adobe Reader distributed, PDF and its tremendous network effect will now be eminently accessible to the AEC industry." "We're excited to be working with Bentley to provide professional users an even more powerful set of tools for streamlining AEC document processes with Acrobat software," said Ivan Koon, senior vice president, ePaper Business Unit, Adobe. "PDF is the ideal format for sharing documents in all stages of the project lifecycle. From exchanging design documents to creating bid sets, managing change orders and final archival across the extended project team, Acrobat and PDF deliver AEC customers file integrity, added security, and a ubiquitous client with free Adobe Reader software." AEC is a $3.4 trillion industry where documentation is the basis for product and services delivery. The intricate design/build/operate phases of the AEC lifecycle encompass a heterogeneous mix of related information, including 3D models, 2D drawings, and written specifications. Document sets serve as the currency of AEC projects and become the books of record for large, as-built assets. Architects, engineers, and contractors require a safe, small, smart format to globally share and archive these sets. "With PDF support, we will be able to produce rich AEC information that will link our vehicle engineering drawings, engineering designs, and subway station layouts," said J.P. Gauthier of the Toronto Transit Commission. "We fully anticipate that the results of this joint development will allow us to consolidate the Web distribution and archiving of our project documentation on Adobe PDF using Bentley products."