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SmartDraw, by SmartDraw Software Incorporated,
won the 1995 Shareware Industry Award for "Best Graphics
Program." The Windows 95 version includes all of
the award-winning features of the original program plus
gives you some new options. Let's take a brief look at
this truly excellent program.
SmartDraw 95 is designed primarily for doing business
graphics. Things like diagrams, flowcharts, and the like.
At the same time, however, it can also be fun to use in
the home. In this setting you can use SmartDraw to create
lists for household chores, to-do lists of projects, organize
camping trips for Scouting groups, and more. SmartDraw
is easy-to-use and that may be its greatest appeal. I'm
certainly no artist and even I can create great looking
charts using SmartDraw you can too!
First-Rate Features
One really nice feature of SmartDraw is that it automatically
aligns things like text. It also aligns shapes and lines.
Many similar products I've evaluated make you align text
and objects. SmartDraw also has a built-in library of
design styles. This lets you pick the textures, colors,
and even shadows for your drawings quickly and easily.
You'll find the interface of SmartDraw very intuitive.
Very nice programming!
SmartDraw supports OLE (Object Linking and Embedding)
so it can work with other products that also support OLE.
Such products include Lotus SmartSuite, Microsoft Office,
and many others. In evaluating SmartDraw, I actually created
a chart and then inserted it into a Word For Windows document
as an "object." Very slick! This type of feature
gives you a lot of flexibility because you can create
something using SmartDraw and use it in another application.
Special Help Available
One feature of SmartDraw that really impressed me was
its "Beginning Users" option. If this box is
checked, the program will give you extra help each time
you select something you haven't used before. What a nice
idea to help guide users along as they explore the program.
These little helps give you a clearer idea of how things
work without having to pull up full blown help screen.
If you should need a bit more help, however, you can click
on the "Details" button to get a bit more. These
beginners helpers can also be turned off when you don't
need them any longer. Bravo!
Summing It Up
Anyway you look at it, SmartDraw, by SmartDraw Software
Incorporated, is a first-rate program. I look at a lot
of shareware and SmartDraw is a joy to work with. It has
excellent features and some unique things that make it
truly special. While aimed at creating business graphics,
it can also be of value to the home user. Classy programming,
an intuitive interface, and extra help for beginners all
go together to make this a winner! Give it a try.
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