Markzware has released PageZephyr, a content search and extraction engine for proprietary document formats such as Adobe InDesign, QuarkXPress, and soon Microsoft Publisher, PageMaker and other document types.

PageZephyr has been developed using Markzware's Common Reader Architecture (CRA), the high-performance technology at the heart of Markzware's current and future products.

PageZephyr technology makes it possible to search proprietary documents, then takes that to a higher level allowing you to examine and extract text from the most popular publishing native file formats.

Content-intense professions that specialise in managing, locating and re-using large volumes of specific data will substantially benefit. PageZephyr is especially valuable to businesses such as: advertising, publishing and printing, manufacturing, finance, legal (e-discovery / e-forensics), information and governmental agencies.

PageZephyr is claimed to be the first and only solution that indexes, locates and outputs content created from proprietary or encoded formats without the need for the original authoring application. The release version of PageZephyr is compatible with .indd (Adobe InDesign CS through CS4), and .qxp (QuarkXPress versions 6 through 8). In addition, PageZephyr's index extension capabilities can extend indexing to both attached volumes and networked volumes, to include "the enterprise."

According to DCLnews "The fact is, if 30% of an organization's content was found to be reusable, that would mean a reduction of 30% in the cost of maintaining the documents."

PageZephyr is a tool that helps to increase the value of original, legacy content, bridging the print world to the Internet world. Print production firms offering services that include handling digital data for their customers will particularly benefit from PageZephyr.

PageZephyr increases productivity while lowering costs and completely eliminates expensive and time-consuming, labor-intensive processes, including:
Rewriting the original content.
Creating searchable PDF files.
Exporting searchable XML
Retyping paper documents by hand.
Scanning paper documents with Optical Character Recognition (OCR).
Owning the original application that created the file containing proprietary content.

PageZephyr allows searching of content through user-selected keywords and key phrases. Operationally, PageZephyr first identifies the searched terms throughout various "stories" located within a document and can search documents by file size, modification date or creation date. Keywords and key phrases are highlighted.

The results of the query also includes the context of the keyword or key phrase within a specific story. Furthermore, content searching may be performed in any language. After selecting the story, its text will be displayed in a "story board," for viewing, editing and exporting to formatted RTF, Plain Text or distributing to PageZephyr.com. PageZephyr.com provides a collaborative environment for users to share, edit and market their content.

Patrick Marchese, President of Markzware, says "In light of today's economic challenges, PageZephyr offers a new content strategy for companies trying to streamline the publishing process and reduce costs. It is estimated that there are more than five billion QuarkXPress documents created before 2006. One would think there are at least that many InDesign documents. PageZephyr can "recycle content" from InDesign, Quark and other proprietary document types, lowering content management and production costs."

Marchese continues, "Today, more than ever, original and relevant content is critical for business intelligence and for marketing. PageZephyr adds value to the businesses' content derived from proprietary files without the burden of owning expensive authoring applications. These days, data control and preservation regulations require corporations be able to (at a moments notice) access and capture content. Just ask HSBC, as they were recently fined several million dollars for losing customer data."

PageZephyr runs on Macintosh platforms, with versions for Windows platforms currently planned for future release. A 10-day fully functional version can be download for free. Two versions are available for sale: $US129 for search only and $US299 for both content search and extraction.