EDGAR Online Joins Global Initiative In Launching XBRL, a New Specification that Exchanges Financial Reports Across All Technologies, Including the Internet

United Effort Brings Financial, Accounting, Software and Governmental Communities Together

First Standardized Specification Developed for Financial Statements

NORWALK, CT, April 6, 2000 – EDGAR Online, Inc. (NASDAQ: EDGR) announced today that through its membership on the international XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) Project Committee, it is helping to develop and launch XBRL. XBRL, formerly code named XFRML, is a free, new XML-based specification that uses accepted financial reporting standards and practices to exchange financial reports across all software and technologies, including the Internet. Members of the XBRL Project Committee represent the financial, accounting, software and governmental communities from around the world. XBRL for financial statements, developed by the Committee as the first product in a future family of XBRL-based products, is currently under review for comments by the accounting profession and is anticipated to reach the market in July 2000. XBRL streamlines the financial information supply chain that includes public and private companies, the accounting profession, data aggregators, the investment community and all other users of financial statements.

“EDGAR Online, Inc., as one of the contributors to the financial information supply chain, supports the global adoption of XBRL because it greatly benefits all users of financial information," said Tom Vos, president of EDGAR Online, Inc XBRL solves two significant problems for users and preparers of financial statements by providing efficient preparation and reliable extraction of financial data across all technology formats, including the Internet. EDGAR Online will be utilizing XBRL to give our customers greatly enhanced access to selected financial data from Securities & Exchange Commission documents in a variety of formats that are directly useful in professional investors’ valuation models and other specialized analytic and investment tools.”

XBRL offers several key benefits: technology independence, full interoperability, efficient preparation of financial statements and reliable extraction of financial information. Information is entered only once, allowing that same information to be rendered in any form, such as a printed financial statement, an HTML document for the company’s Web site, an EDGAR filing document with the SEC, a raw XML file or other specialized reporting formats such as credit reports or loan documents.

More than 80% of major US public companies provide some type of financial disclosure on the Internet. Investors and users of the Internet need accurate and reliable financial information that can be delivered promptly to help them make informed financial decisions. XBRL meets these needs and is particularly important in delivering financial information via the Internet, including at a company’s Web site. XBRL leverages efficiencies of Internet as today’s primary source of financial information by making Web browser searches more accurate and relevant for all users of financial information.

“EDGAR Online intends to leverage XBRL to create additional SEC-based product for our retail, Internet and business-to-business channels,” said Tom Vos. “We anticipate this new XML-based specification will speed product development cycles and allow EDGAR Online to develop even more powerful products for its customers.”

"XBRL allows companies, analysts, investors and other audiences to make better informed financial and management decisions and to leverage the capabilities of the Internet to facilitate the exchange of financial information," said Barry Melancon, President and CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. "XBRL does not change existing accounting standards, it merely provides an efficient and reliable means for the exchange. Based upon standardized, underlying data tags, XBRL does not require a company to disclose any additional information beyond that which they normally disclose in their current financial statements."

EDGAR Online, Inc. joins over 30 other companies and organizations on the XBRL Project Committee. Participants include: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Arthur Andersen LLP; Best Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: BEST) CaseWare International; Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants; Cohen Computer Consulting; Crowe, Chizek and Company, LLP; Deloitte & Touche, LLP; e-content, a division of Interleaf, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAF); Epicor Software Corporation (NASDAQ: EPIC); Ernst & Young, LLP; FRx Software Corporation; Grant Thornton LLP; Great Plains Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPSI); Hyperion Solutions Corp. (HYSL); International Accounting Standards Committee; IBM (NYSE: IBM); Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia; Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; Institute of Management Accountants; KPMG, LLP; Lawson Software; Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ: MSFT); Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (NYSE: MWD); Navision Software a.s. (NASDAQ: NVIOF); Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL); PPA GmbH; PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP; Reuters Group PLC (NASDAQ: RTRSY); Sage Software; SAP AG (NYSE: SAP); Standard & Poor’s; Texsys RD and The Woodburn Group.

For more information about XBRL, please visit http://www.XBRL.org.

About EDGAR Online, Inc.

EDGAR Online, Inc. (http://www.edgar-online.com and http://www.freeedgar.com and http://www.ipo-express.com) is the leading business-to-business and Web-based provider of business, financial and competitive information derived from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission data. Additional services include value-added functions like IPO Express, a service that provides easy-to-use, detailed information on IPO filings, pricings and performance, EDGAR Online People (http://www.edgar-online.com/people), a service that allows users to conduct research on corporate executive and directors, and EDGAR Online Personal, which provides real-time alerts, and other personalized advanced searches of SEC data.

Based in Norwalk, Connecticut, with offices in Kirkland, Washington and New York City, EDGAR Online, Inc. has over 50 business-to-business clients including Reuters (NASDAQ: RTRSY), Standard & Poor’s (NYSE: MHP), Perfect Information and ILX Systems as well as strategic relationships with over 175 portal, business and financial information Web sites including Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Lycos, Inc. (NASDAQ: LCOS), Infoseek's GO Network (NASDAQ: SEEK), CNET's SNAP (NASDAQ: CNET), Alta Vista, a CMGI Company (NASDAQ: CMGI), PointCast, Infospace (NASDAQ: INSP), CBS MarketWatch (NASDAQ: MKTW), SmartMoney.com (NYSE: DJ), Business Wire, Track Data (NASDAQ: TRAC), and MSNBC Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and NBC/General Electric (NYSE: GE). For more information, please visit the Company’s Web site at http://www.edgar-online.com/news.

"Forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results. EDGAR Online, Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Please refer to the documents filed by EDGAR Online, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions (including in the online business and financial information industry), actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies.

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