Tony has set up a Google Group, Drawing-Smartly, to discuss drawing programs (including but not limited to SmartDraw). Basically, SmartDraw is a mid-level application, with lots of built-in features that advanced users may find a pain (similar to the way that professional photographers don’t like automatic cameras). SmartDraw is a good tool if you need more than an online application like Gliffy, but you don’t create large diagrams that may need two monitors. A couple of people have said that they are having difficulty removing SmartDraw from their Windows PC’s but I didn’t experience any problems. Personally, I use Gimp (free & open source) if I need to do any serious graphic editing.
You can check out SmartDraw 2007 by clicking on the picture below and I’ll receive a small commission if you decide to purchase it (thanks if you do).įrom feedback on this post as well as some e-mails I’ve received, I’d say that one of SmartDraw’s main drawbacks is that it’s not flexible for people who do intensive graphics, and they may prefer something like Adobe Illustrator. We cheapskates also have another free, less featured, online product available called Gliffy, and yes it does floor plans. That compares with Visio Professional at $499 or $199 for Visio standard. As for price, SmartDraw 2007 is currently selling for $197 ($100 off until 7 Nov). The 30 day free trial for version 6 helped me to decide to purchase it. I don’t think that this is enough time to really evaluate it. So what are the pros and cons here? First, SmartDraw has reduced their free trial period from 30 days to 7 days. I should add that if you create drawings in the new SmartDraw 2007 you won’t be able to open them in SD version 7, even though they each have the same *.sdr extension. I had tried with the previous version but it was a heck of a lot more work. It is much more intuitive and I was creating floor plans in minutes (my next task on our Commons project). Since SmartDraw is a small company with what I consider a good product, I don’t mind this relationship.Īfter downloading 2007, I found it to be a quantum leap beyond the previous versions. I’m also an affiliate which means that I can refer potential customers and receive a small commission for my efforts.
I purchased SmartDraw 6, actually wrote an unpaid endorsement for the product and became a beta tester for SmartDraw 7, for which I received a free copy of that version – a good deal. My initial search had me looking for something cheaper than Visio, and at the time, SmartDraw was about 75% cheaper. I’ve been using SmartDraw since 2003 when I first looked for a Visio replacement to create diagrams and other visual graphics.
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