DirectorE Breaks Print Barrier

Saracen Communications, Inc. announced the release of its newest product, DirectorE for Macintosh, Windows 3.1/NT, and Windows '95.

DirectorE is an affordable, powerful, electronic membership/employee directory with the speed of a database, the better features of a paper directory, and the power to generate Internet Web directory solutions for any budget.

DirectorE's multimedia capabilities add new dimension to a typical membership directory. Advertising is not black and white, or shoved into some forgotten section which only other advertisers browse. Photos, QuickTime digital videos, and QuickTime VR (Virtual Reality) presentations can be displayed right next to a directory listing, or on premium areas, such as the contents or cover page. This allows an organization like a Chamber of Commerce or a church group to actually increase their advertising revenue from such publications.

The Departmental version of DirectorE for Intranet corporate communications can feature photos for identification and security, shots of parts, products produced by a department or group; sections of a schematic which team members are assigned, etc.

Other multimedia applications include voice annotation of files, and text note "reading" playback of a user's typed notes on a particular member or employee (Mac only).

DirectorE's primary strength is the delivery of directory information in a number of formats from one source.

It can be set up on a LAN/WAN for use by up to 150 simultaneous users. It can be published on the Internet, an Intranet, CD-ROM, ZIP cartridge, or other media for distribution to members. One of the most revolutionary things about DirectorE is its Internet/Intranet publication option dubbed WoW!HTML. Many organizations do not have the budget or the man-hour commitment to develop an Internet "server" computer running a dedicated database linked to the net by costly CGI programming.

The Wow!HTML option allows users with the correct authorization codes to quickly and inexpensively generate both A to Z membership directories, and category-based "Buyers" or "Members" guide information in web (HTML) page format in just minutes.

A 1,300 member Chamber of Commerce directory takes a little under 4 minutes to generate an A to Z member list. 495 category listings and 49 category pages take a little under 18 minutes. In less than half an hour, an organization can create an electronic "book" for the Internet or Intranet which could take as many as 160 man-hours to do manually!

DirectorE stores URL (Universal Resource Locator) Internet "Web" addresses as part of a member listing (e.g.: <http://www.mycompany.com).> WoW!HTML takes these URL listings and turns them into hot "links" on the web page. A user clicks a button, and is transported to that member's "home" page.

People like the look and feel of a quality paper directory. DirectorE addresses this desire by providing pages where members can browse articles, photos, and multimedia clips about an organization or department of a corporation.

DirectorE provides the speed and versatility of a database with easy-to-use features. No query language. Push-button simplicity. Based on the multi-award-winning Claris Filemaker Pro/Filemaker Pro for Windows, DirectorE can be run as a Filemaker file, or as a stand-alone program. The LAN/WAN version ships with a full version of either Filemaker Pro 3.0 or Filemaker Pro Server. The publication/distribution option ships with the run-time version of Filemaker Pro. The program is customized for each organization with the organization's logo on the "Cover" page, on lists, on print-outs, and on Internet/Intranet "web" pages. Additional customization can be performed for a fee. Logos can be designed by Saracen's graphic artists, or supplied by the organization.

Information can be easily imported into DirectorE from a number of sources, including Chamberware. Programs which export data in "dirty" formats (e.g. stray characters, names formatted incorrectly) with the help of Saracen's AddressScrubber Importing data is as easy as operating an old telephone switchboard.

For Churches and non-profit organizations (excluding NPO Chambers of Commerce) there is DirectorE-MD, a membership directory system. For Chambers, political organizations, and other commerce associations there is DirectorE-BG, a buyers-guide type system. For corporations and departments of the government, there is DirectorE-DL, a department listing system.

Each of the three main configurations comes in LAN/WAN, electronic-publishing, and e-publishing/Internet publishing options.

"DirectorE provides a number of progressive steps into the electronic publishing world for organizations of all kinds," said Brian Michael Ross, CEO of Saracen Communications, Inc. at a press briefing held in Ventura, California. "It allows them to improve the quality of the information which organizations deliver to members, or employees, without sacrificing the paper metaphor which they are comfortable with now."

Mr. Ross went on to further observe that this is the first program of its kind which allows organizations which generate revenue from the distribution of directories to exploit that in an electronic product which functions both as a stand-alone piece of software AND as a publishing system for the Internet.

"Most businesses are very new to the Internet as a form of commerce," Mr. Ross continued. "Many can't fathom spending thousands of dollars on a dedicated internet server to produce lists of a few hundred or a few thousand members. DirectorE gives these companies a way to provide high quality information delivery for a fraction of the cost of a CGI-linked 'web' database."

"As an organization's needs grow, however, DirectorE grows with them," Ross noted as he demonstrated that DirectorE could be connected as a dedicated database on the Internet by using WebStar server software and WEB.FM(tm), or Tango(tm) software.

Pricing for DirectorE starts at just $498.00 for non-profit organizations. Full publication systems for profit publishers run $1,200 to $1,600. Distributor, VAR and dealer inquiries are welcome.

 

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