Macromedia has announced the release of Macromedia FlashPaper 2, a simple way to convert printable files into universally sharable electronic documents. FlashPaper 2 enables any application to create documents that can be instantly viewed within any web browser.

For off-line archiving and e-mail distribution of electronic documents, FlashPaper also supports the standard Adobe Acrobat PDF format. FlashPaper 2 is included with Contribute 3 on Windows and Mac OS X, and is a component of the new Macromedia Web Publishing System. Single licenses of FlashPaper 2 will also be available as a stand-alone product for Windows for only $79. Tto download a preview version, visit http://www.macromedia.com/go/flashpaper/.

FlashPaper 2 creates documents that display online by leveraging the Flash Player, which is already installed on more than 98% of online desktops. Flash documents open in less than a second directly in Web browsers, avoiding the 15- to 30-second delay associated with launching a separate application for online viewing of PDFs or other document types.

FlashPaper 2 provides one-click generation of Web-friendly Flash documents that can be published using Web editing tools, including Macromedia Contribute, Dreamweaver, or any HTML editor. release generates Flash documents that include integrated support for text search and selection, hyperlinks, and bookmarks. FlashPaper integrates with all Microsoft Office products on Windows to enable intuitive creation of both Flash and PDF files from a simple in-product menu. FlashPaper can also create PDFs that can be e-mailed directly from within Microsoft Office.

Pricing and Availability

A preview release of Macromedia FlashPaper 2 is available at http://www.macromedia.com/go/flashpaper/. FlashPaper 2 will ship for Windows in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish worldwide in August. Pricing is $79 for one seat and $699 for a 10 pack. FlashPaper 2 also ships with every version of Contribute 3. Volume discounts and government and education licensing is also available.