As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 21, 1997
                                                  Registration No. 333-_________

                   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                              -----------------------


                                    FORM S-8

                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                                            
                                       Under
                           The Securities Act of 1933


                             MERIDIAN DATA, INC.
                  (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 California                                                77-0188708
 (State of other jurisdiction of             (I.R.S.Employer Identification No.)
  incorporation or organization)

                            5615 Scotts Valley Drive
                         Scotts Valley, California 95066
                    (Address of Principal Executive Offices,Zip Code)


                        1992 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
                            (Full title of the plan)
                            ------------------------
                              Gianluca U. Rattazzi
                       President, Chief Executive Officer
                                  and Director

                               Meridian Data, Inc.
                            5615 Scotts Valley Drive
                         Scotts Valley, California 95066
                                 (408)438-3100
 (NAME, ADDRESS, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER,INCLUDING AREA CODE, OF AGENT FOR SERVICE)

                                    Copy to:


                            Robert D. Brownell, Esq.
                        Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
                            Professional Corporation
                               650 Page Mill Road
                               Palo Alto, CA 94304
<PAGE>


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                                    
                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

-------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------- ------------------------
 Title of Securities to     Amount to be Registered     Proposed Maximum Offering      Proposed Maximum      Amount of Registration
      be Registered                   (1)                  Price Per Share (2)        Aggregate Offering               Fee
                                                                                            Price
-------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------- ------------------------
<S>                        <C>                         <C>                          <C>                     <C>    
Common Stock (no par
value per share)                    100,000                    $3.813                    $381,300                    $116.00
-------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------- ------------------------
<FN>
(1) The shares covered by this Registration Statement represent shares of 
    Common Stock which have become available for issuance under the Registrant's 
    1992 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as a result of an amendment approved by
    the shareholders at the Registrant's Annual Meeting held on April 23, 1997 
    increasing the number of shares authorized for issuance thereunder from
    200,000 to 300,000.

(2) Calculated  solely for the purpose of determining the registration fee on
    the basis of the average of the high and low prices of the Registrant's 
    Common Stock as reported by the Nasdaq National Market System on May 19,
    1997 in accordance with Rule 457(h)(1).
</FN>
</TABLE>
<PAGE>

    Statement Under General Instruction E Registration of Additional Securities.

         Unless as noted herein, the contents of the Registrant's Form S-8
Registration Statement (File No.33-62084),  filed under the Registrant's 
previous name, "Parallan Computer, Inc.," is incorporated by reference into this
Registration Statement.

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 8. Exhibits.

   5.1      Opinion of counsel as to legality of Securities being registered.

  23.1      Consent of  Price Waterhouse LLP, Independent Accountants.

  23.2      Consent of counsel (contained in Exhibit 5.1).

  24.1      Power of Attorney (see page 5).

<PAGE>
                                                               
                                   SIGNATURES
     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant 
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly 
authorized, in the City of Scotts Valley, State of California, on this 19th day
of May 1997.


                              MERIDIAN DATA, INC.


                              By:     /s/ Gianluca U. Rattazzi                 
                                          Gianluca U. Rattazzi
                                          President and Chief Executive Officer

<PAGE>


                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

                           KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person
         whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Gianluca U.
         Rattazzi and Erik E. Miller jointly and severally, his attorneys-in-
         fact, each with the power of substitution, for him in any and all
         capacities, to sign any amendments to this Registration Statement on
         Form S-8 and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other 
         documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange 
         Commission,  hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said  
         attorney-in-fact, or his substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to
         be done by virtue hereof.

                           Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act
         of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following
         persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

          

         Signatures                 Title                        Date
  
         /s/Charlie Bass           Chairman of the Board         May 21, 1997
            CHARLIE BASS           of Directors                       
             
          
         /s/Gianluca U. Rattazzi   President, Chief Executive    May 21, 1997
            GIANLUCA U. RATTAZZI   Officer and Director          
                            

        /s/ Erik E. Miller         Senior Vice President,        May 21, 1997
            ERIC E. MILLER         Finance and Chief
                                   Financial Officer 
                                   (Principal Financial and
                                   Accounting Officer)
           

        /s/ Peter R. Johnson       Director                      May 21, 1997
            PETER R. JOHNSON                


        /s/ Mario M. Rosati        Director                      May 21, 1997
            MARIO M. ROSATI
      

        /s/ Pierluigi Zappacosta   Director                      May 21, 1997
            PIERLUIGI ZAPPACOSTA
       
<PAGE>

                                                                     
                                Index to Exhibits

         
         Exhibit Number   Description of Document                           Page
         --------------   -------------------------------------             ----
             
         5.1              Opinion of counsel as to legality of 
                          Securities being registered.                      E-2

         23.1             Consent of  Price Waterhouse LLP,
                          Independent Accountants.                          E-3

         23.2             Consent of counsel (contained in
                          Exhibit 5.1).                                     E-2

         24.1             Power of Attorney (see page 5).                     5


<PAGE> 
                                                                    Exhibit 5.1

                                  May 21, 1997
 

         Meridian Data, Inc.
         5615 Scotts Valley Drive
         Scotts Valley, California 95066

              Re:      Registration Statement on Form S-8

         Ladies and Gentlemen:

                       We have examined the Registration Statement on Form S-8 
         (the "Registration Statement") to be filed by Meridian  Data,  Inc.,  
         a California corporation (the "Registrant" or "you"), with the 
         Securities and Exchange Commission on or about May 21, 1997, in 
         connection with the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as
         amended, of shares of your Common Stock, no par value (the  "Shares"), 
         reserved for issuance pursuant to the 1992 Employee Stock Purchase 
         Plan, as amended (the "Plan"). As your legal counsel in connection     
         with this transaction, we have reviewed the proceedings taken by you 
         in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares pursuant to the
         Plan.

                       It is our opinion that, when issued and sold in the 
         manner described in the Plan and pursuant to the agreements that 
         accompany each grant under the Plan, the Shares will be legally and
         validly issued, fully-paid and non-assessable.

                       We consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to
         the Registration Statement, and further consent to the use of our name
         wherever appearing in the Registration Statement and any subsequent
         amendment thereto.


                                            Very truly yours,

                                            WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
                                            Professional Corporation

                                            /s/ WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI

<PAGE>
                                                                    Exhibit 23.1

                       CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS



We  hereby  consent  to the  incorporation  by  reference  in this  Registration
Statement  on Form S-8 of our report dated  January 28,  1997,  appearing in the
1996  Annual  Report of  Meridian  Data,  Inc.  on Form 10-K for the year  ended
December 31,  1996.  We also  consent to the  incorporation  by reference of our
report on the Financial Statement Schedule,  which appears in such Annual Report
on Form 10-K.




PRICE WATERHOUSE LLP
San Jose, California
May 19, 1997
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "1992 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN", "secsgml_size_bytes": 10955}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "MERIDIAN DATA INC", "cik": "0000864568", "assigned-sic": "3576", "irs-number": "770188708", "state-of-incorporation": "CA", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-27533", "film-number": "97612358"}, "business-address": {"street1": "5615 SCOTTS VALLEY DR", "street2": "SUITE 200", "city": "SCOTTS VALLEY", "state": "CA", "zip": "95066", "phone": "4159600288"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "5615 SCOTTS VALLEY DR", "city": "SCOTTS V", "state": "CA", "zip": "95066"}, "former-company": {"former-conformed-name": "PARALLAN COMPUTER INC", "date-changed": "19940613"}}
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 21, 1997
                                                  Registration No. 333-_________

                   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                              -----------------------

                                    FORM S-8

                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                                            
                                       Under
                           The Securities Act of 1933

                             MERIDIAN DATA, INC.
                  (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 California                                                77-0188708
 (State of other jurisdiction of             (I.R.S.Employer Identification No.)
  incorporation or organization)

                            5615 Scotts Valley Drive
                         Scotts Valley, California 95066
                    (Address of Principal Executive Offices,Zip Code)

                        1992 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
                            (Full title of the plan)
                            ------------------------
                              Gianluca U. Rattazzi
                       President, Chief Executive Officer
                                  and Director

                               Meridian Data, Inc.
                            5615 Scotts Valley Drive
                         Scotts Valley, California 95066
                                 (408)438-3100
 (NAME, ADDRESS, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER,INCLUDING AREA CODE, OF AGENT FOR SERVICE)

                                    Copy to:

                            Robert D. Brownell, Esq.
                        Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
                            Professional Corporation
                               650 Page Mill Road
                               Palo Alto, CA 94304
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

-------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------- ------------------------
 Title of Securities to     Amount to be Registered     Proposed Maximum Offering      Proposed Maximum      Amount of Registration
      be Registered                   (1)                  Price Per Share (2)        Aggregate Offering               Fee
                                                                                            Price
-------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------- ------------------------
Common Stock (no par
value per share)                    100,000                    $3.813                    $381,300                    $116.00
-------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------- ----------------------- ------------------------
(1) The shares covered by this Registration Statement represent shares of 
    Common Stock which have become available for issuance under the Registrant's 
    1992 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as a result of an amendment approved by
    the shareholders at the Registrant's Annual Meeting held on April 23, 1997 
    increasing the number of shares authorized for issuance thereunder from
    200,000 to 300,000.

(2) Calculated  solely for the purpose of determining the registration fee on
    the basis of the average of the high and low prices of the Registrant's 
    Common Stock as reported by the Nasdaq National Market System on May 19,
    1997 in accordance with Rule 457(h)(1).
Statement Under General Instruction E Registration of Additional Securities.

         Unless as noted herein, the contents of the Registrant's Form S-8
Registration Statement (File No.33-62084),  filed under the Registrant's 
previous name, "Parallan Computer, Inc.," is incorporated by reference into this
Registration Statement.

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 8. Exhibits.

   5.1      Opinion of counsel as to legality of Securities being registered.

  23.1      Consent of  Price Waterhouse LLP, Independent Accountants.

  23.2      Consent of counsel (contained in Exhibit 5.1).

  24.1      Power of Attorney (see page 5).
SIGNATURES
     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant 
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly 
authorized, in the City of Scotts Valley, State of California, on this 19th day
of May 1997.

                              MERIDIAN DATA, INC.

                              By:     /s/ Gianluca U. Rattazzi                 
                                          Gianluca U. Rattazzi
                                          President and Chief Executive Officer
POWER OF ATTORNEY

                           KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person
         whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Gianluca U.
         Rattazzi and Erik E. Miller jointly and severally, his attorneys-in-
         fact, each with the power of substitution, for him in any and all
         capacities, to sign any amendments to this Registration Statement on
         Form S-8 and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other 
         documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange 
         Commission,  hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said  
         attorney-in-fact, or his substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to
         be done by virtue hereof.

                           Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act
         of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following
         persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

          

         Signatures                 Title                        Date
  
         /s/Charlie Bass           Chairman of the Board         May 21, 1997
            CHARLIE BASS           of Directors                       
             
          
         /s/Gianluca U. Rattazzi   President, Chief Executive    May 21, 1997
            GIANLUCA U. RATTAZZI   Officer and Director          
                            

        /s/ Erik E. Miller         Senior Vice President,        May 21, 1997
            ERIC E. MILLER         Finance and Chief
                                   Financial Officer 
                                   (Principal Financial and
                                   Accounting Officer)
           

        /s/ Peter R. Johnson       Director                      May 21, 1997
            PETER R. JOHNSON                

        /s/ Mario M. Rosati        Director                      May 21, 1997
            MARIO M. ROSATI
      

        /s/ Pierluigi Zappacosta   Director                      May 21, 1997
            PIERLUIGI ZAPPACOSTA
Index to Exhibits

         
         Exhibit Number   Description of Document                           Page
         --------------   -------------------------------------             ----
             
         5.1              Opinion of counsel as to legality of 
                          Securities being registered.                      E-2

         23.1             Consent of  Price Waterhouse LLP,
                          Independent Accountants.                          E-3

         23.2             Consent of counsel (contained in
                          Exhibit 5.1).                                     E-2

         24.1             Power of Attorney (see page 5).                     5
Exhibit 5.1

                                  May 21, 1997
 

         Meridian Data, Inc.
         5615 Scotts Valley Drive
         Scotts Valley, California 95066

              Re:      Registration Statement on Form S-8

         Ladies and Gentlemen:

                       We have examined the Registration Statement on Form S-8 
         (the "Registration Statement") to be filed by Meridian  Data,  Inc.,  
         a California corporation (the "Registrant" or "you"), with the 
         Securities and Exchange Commission on or about May 21, 1997, in 
         connection with the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as
         amended, of shares of your Common Stock, no par value (the  "Shares"), 
         reserved for issuance pursuant to the 1992 Employee Stock Purchase 
         Plan, as amended (the "Plan"). As your legal counsel in connection     
         with this transaction, we have reviewed the proceedings taken by you 
         in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares pursuant to the
         Plan.

                       It is our opinion that, when issued and sold in the 
         manner described in the Plan and pursuant to the agreements that 
         accompany each grant under the Plan, the Shares will be legally and
         validly issued, fully-paid and non-assessable.

                       We consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to
         the Registration Statement, and further consent to the use of our name
         wherever appearing in the Registration Statement and any subsequent
         amendment thereto.

                                            Very truly yours,

                                            WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
                                            Professional Corporation

                                            /s/ WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
Exhibit 23.1

                       CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS

We  hereby  consent  to the  incorporation  by  reference  in this  Registration
Statement  on Form S-8 of our report dated  January 28,  1997,  appearing in the
1996  Annual  Report of  Meridian  Data,  Inc.  on Form 10-K for the year  ended
December 31,  1996.  We also  consent to the  incorporation  by reference of our
report on the Financial Statement Schedule,  which appears in such Annual Report
on Form 10-K.

PRICE WATERHOUSE LLP
San Jose, California
May 19, 1997