ATLANTA, GA (October 25, 2004) First Source, a business unit of Reed Construction Data, and Autodesk, the world's leading design software and digital content company, announce the incorporation of Autodesk® DWF™ to the First Source Web site (www. firstsourceonl.com) of building products for the AEC community. First Source is adding CAD files in DWF format to its existing library of building products available in DWG and DXF formats. Autodesk DWF Viewer is also available for downloading from the CAD section of the First Source Web site to view and print DWF files for free.

"The Autodesk DWF technology allows First Source users to create, manage and share 2D and 3D designs electronically, and benefit from its dimensionally accurate, print-ready format and small file size," says George Haddad, vice president of Product Management and Marketing at Reed Construction Data. "DWF allows the architects and designers who use First Source every day to search, view and select building products in a much more interactive manner and take advantage of the speed to view and accuracy of the published data."

"Reed's customers have been waiting for a better solution for viewing and selecting AEC products—one that combines speed and simplicity while increasing the precision and richness of data," says Tony Peach, director of product marketing, Autodesk Collaboration Services. "Autodesk created DWF for this very reason. For applications such as electronic catalogs, it is clear that only DWF will do."

First Source will shortly announce a program to assist building product manufacturers in converting their CAD files to DWF and access the benefits of this emerging standard.

About First Source®
First Source®, available as a printed desk reference as well as online, is an integrated building product information system. Carefully planned and interactive, First Source® delivers objective manufacturers' product selection and specification information to industry professionals in the formats they prefer. SPEC-DATA® and MANU-SPEC® are additional First Source® products which allow users to customize, organize and compare data and specifications to find exactly what they need.

About Reed Construction Data
Reed Construction Data is a leading worldwide provider of quality construction information products and services designed to advance the businesses of its customers with timely, accurate and actionable project, product, and cost data. Reed Construction Data collects, adds value to and distributes construction industry information through a suite of print and online references, including Reed Connect, ACP, Bulletin, First Source®, Construction Forecast Monthly and R.S. Means—all valuable resources for architects, engineers, contractors, manufacturers, distributors and other professionals in the construction industry. Founded in 1975, Reed Construction Data is an active participant in the construction industry, partnering with its customers and industry associations to meet customer information needs. For more information, visit www.reedconstructiondata.com or call (800) 322-6996.

Reed Construction Data is a division of Reed Business Information, a leading provider of critical information and marketing solutions to business professionals and a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc.

About Autodesk
Autodesk is the world's leading design software and digital content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. Autodesk helps customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their entire project lifecycle management processes. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com. Autodesk, AutoCAD and DWF are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. © 2004 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.