LOTUS ANNOUNCES LOTUS WORD PRO

Groundbreaking Team Word Processor Sets New Standard for Creating and
Editing Documents

ATLANTA, April 24, 1995 -- Lotus Development Corp. today announced Lotus
Word Pro, a word processor that helps teams of individuals work together
more effectively by streamlining the process of creating, reviewing and
editing shared documents. Sharing documents is also easy due to Word Pro's
extensive focus on seamless file conversion.

Rewritten from the ground up, Lotus Word Pro will be available for Windows
3.1, Windows 95 and OS/2. Feature sets will be virtually identical for
each product, and each will be optimized for the platform. Lotus Word Pro
for Windows 3.1, which is currently in beta, is scheduled to ship as early
as July 1995 for an estimated retail price of $105.

"Word Pro exemplifies Lotus' desktop strategy in providing best of breed
products which focus on team computing processes," said Ilene Lang, senior
vice president of Lotus' Desktop Products Group. "Lotus Word Pro is the
only word processor to provide technology for document versioning and
collaborative editing. Scaleable to each businesses' communications
infrastructure, these team features enable people to share information via
floppy disk, network, e-mail or Lotus Notes."

LOTUS WORD PRO AND TEAM COMPUTING

Lotus' Team Computing tools improve productivity by focusing on three key
processes: collaboration, communication and coordination.

Lotus Word Pro automates the common practice of editing and reviewing
documents, enabling users to spend less time managing a team or tracking
edits. Word Pro provides a step-by-step guide for setting a document up
for review through Lotus' TeamReview. Authors can easily assign access and
editing rights for each individual reviewing a document, maximizing
control over the editing process. Once multiple edits are made to a
document, Lotus' TeamConsolidate automates the process of consolidating
these edits into one final draft. Word Pro is the only word processor that
enables users to compare all edits on one screen instead of opening or
printing multiple documents to view the edits. Users can make decisions
interactively about which edits to accept or reject, thus shortening the
editing time of collaborative documents.

In addition, Lotus Word Pro is the first word processor to provide document
versioning technology which enables users to store multiple versions of a
document in a single file. Word Pro stores only the changes made between
versions, making it an extremely efficient means for storage. Through
versioning, users can track a document's history and access previous
versions. Versioning not only maintains the integrity of each individual's
contributions to a document, but makes it easier for the document author
to manage a document through its lifecycle.

"Word processing hasn't really been changed since its inception. With Word
Pro, Lotus stepped back and questioned the fundamental constructs of a
word processor, and asked how are these applications being used in today's
computing environment," said Mary Conti-Loffredo, manager, International
Data Corp. "For instance, Word Pro's Divider Tabs allow you to logically
house your entire work project in one document. By clicking on a tab, you
can link to an external file or open up an OLE embedded object such as a
page of your spreadsheet. This concept makes it a wonderful word processor
for creating and managing compound documents."

LOTUS WORD PRO REDEFINES WORD PROCESSING

In rebuilding Word Pro from the ground up, Lotus approached even basic word
processing functions from a new perspective. Among Word Pro's innovative
new concepts are SmartMasters, first seen in Freelance Graphics. The next
generation of style sheets, SmartMasters contain "click here" blocks to
guide users through the placement of information in a document, providing
a powerful way to create professional looking documents. Unlike
traditional templates, SmartMaster's can also contain Divider Tabs.
Similar to worksheet tabs in Lotus 1-2-3, Word Pro's Divider Tabs provide
an easy way to organize and navigate through long documents. Divider Tabs
can correspond to parts of a document such as table of contents, chapter
one, chapter two, and can be contained in the document, linked to an
external file, or linked to an OLE embedded object. Using Divider Tabs,
users can store an entire work project in one file and share parts of a
file with others on a team. Users can also drag and drop divider tabs to
quickly rearrange information.

Further setting Word Pro apart from traditional word processors is its next
generation Spell Check. In contrast to traditional spell checkers, Word
Pro highlights all misspelled words at once and enables users to
interactively spell check a document, significantly reducing editing time.
Word Pro also allows users to mark text as a particular language, and
quickly switch between English and any number of foreign language
dictionaries.

Lotus Word Pro also features Lotus interface concepts including the Task
Sensitive Interface (TSI) and the Lotus InfoBox, concepts which make it
easier for users to format and edit documents simultaneously.

"Lotus understands organizations' needs better than their competitors do,"
said Greg Kozak, consultant with Hewitt Associates. "Word Pro is right on
target for the way we're organizing ourselves for the next decade. Not
only is it an effective program for generating high quality documents, but
Word Pro helps people work together more effectively. Word Pro will enable
different people within our organization to create pieces of client
proposals independently, and then we can deliver those proposals as a
unified whole. In short, we can have the right people doing the right job
to generate top notch documents."

INTEGRATION AND LOTUS WORD PRO

Key to Lotus Word Pro is its ability to coexist with other word processing
types including Word, WordPerfect, and DCA/RFT. Lotus Word Pro allows
users to import a document from Word and WordPerfect, edit that document
in Word Pro, and save it out in Word or WordPerfect without losing any
formatting or data. Word Pro also supports both the SGML and HTML format,
enabling users to easily create documents to be stored on the Internet
without having to learn another package.

Lotus Word Pro is also tightly integrated with the Lotus family of
products. Word Pro features LotusScript 3.0, Lotus' cross-product object
oriented BASIC scripting language, and full OLE 2.0 support on Windows.
Lotus Word Pro and Lotus SmartSuite share common code for features
including spell check, SmartIcons, and routing. Additionally, Lotus Word
Pro features unique integration with Lotus Notes through technologies
including Notes/FX, which facilitates the sharing of data between Lotus
Notes and Word Pro.

"These integration features, combined with Word Pro's team computing
technologies, make Lotus Notes and Word Pro the best combination for
document creation, collaboration and management," said Eliza Hibben,
director of product management, Lotus Word Processing Division.

ADDITIONAL AVAILABILITY AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Customers who purchase Lotus Ami Pro 3.0 and above or SmartSuite 3.0 or 3.1
between April 24, 1995 and shipment of Lotus Word Pro can upgrade to Lotus
Word Pro for Windows 3.1 for a shipping and handling charge of $14.95. A
special price promotion for users moving from Word Pro for Windows 3.1 to
Word Pro for Windows 95 or OS/2 will be forthcoming. European English,
French, Italian, German and Spanish versions of Word Pro are scheduled to
be available two weeks following shipment in the U.S., with other
languages to be available within approximately 60-90 days.

System requirements for Lotus Word Pro, which is currently in beta testing,
are estimated at a minimum 386 IBM or compatible PC with 33MB hard disk
space and 6MB RAM.

Lotus Development Corp. (NASDAQ: LOTS), founded in 1982, offers high
quality software products and support services that reflect the company's
unique understanding of the new ways in which individuals and businesses
must work together to achieve success. Lotus' innovative approach is
evident in a new class of applications that allows information to be
accessed and communicated in ways never before possible, both within and
beyond organizational boundaries. The company now markets its products in
more than 80 countries worldwide and provides numerous support services,
both from its consulting division and its award-winning 24-hour support
center.

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