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A newer version of SmartDraw 2008 is available.
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- Average user rating: stars out of 126 votes Back to product review
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User reviews
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
5 stars
Version: SmartDraw 2008 9.02
"New interface is better and the bar charts ... Finally! ;-)"
Pros: I've always wanted SmartDraw to let me make better graphs than excel. They finally added bar charts, pie charts and line graphs. I already made an image chart, that's the best feature.
Cons: 9.01 had a problem, but the 9.02 fixed it!
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
5 stars
Version: SmartDraw 2008 9.02
"Nice improvements to new version."
Pros: I've been using SmartDraw for several years (mostly for floor plans). The new version makes floor plans easier. You can type wall dimensions right in. Also, they've added new chart features. You can make them all within SmartDraw without having to use excel first, which I like. The new version also uses the new Microsoft interface that Office uses (the "ribbon").
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
5 stars
Version: SmartDraw 2008 9.02
"Another feature-rich upgrade to an already excellent program!"
Pros: SmartDraw 2008 provides significant improvements to an already great piece of software!
I've been a very happy user of SmartDraw for many years - since version 3.0 or 4.0. Exactly where I started with it is lost now in the mists of time and disappeared from memory. :-)
This new version provides several major changes and a number of enhancements. There is also a 'ribbon' interface, a la MS Office.
Users of earlier versions of SmartDraw (except 2007, which also had a similar look) might find the new interface takes a bit of getting used to, as I did. For example, I was initially challenged when I couldn't find the "File > Save" option in the tab menus. After some puzzlement, I clicked the red SD 2008 button at the top left - and voila! There was the File menu! A real "Duh!" moment for me. ;-)
However, even if you find there's a bit of a learning curve with navigation, the new features and enhancements make the effort well worth it! For example:
1) The program loads much more quickly than SD 2007, and operation is faster too.
2) Once I got used to where the various tools and buttons are located, accessing them to insert and edit objects was much quicker than before.
3) Greater automation of both flowcharts and gantt charts has made the job of creating them so much easier and faster for me
4) The capacity to use linked mindmaps linked and gantt charts - a very handy feature!
5) Even better integration with MS Office and Acrobat - transferring SD diagrams into other programs is a real breeze!
6) Photo editing on-the-fly. Although I've not used this much yet, it has worked really well for me. I can see it's a feature I'll use regularly, saving considerable time and effort when a photo I'm including needs to be 'tweaked' - instead of having to open that file in another graphic program to do the job.
Once you get used to navigating between the various tools and features, it's even easier and more enjoyable to use than previous versions!
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
5 stars
Version: SmartDraw 2008 9.02
Pros: increased automation and simplicity
Cons: nothing so far
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
5 stars
Version: SmartDraw 2008 9.02
"5 more catigories with superb templates and more color"
Pros: The templates are what I like the best, and there are now 5 more categories, making selection on any subject, and variations of templates on those, nearly endless. Also, the colors are more vibrant, which I appreciate. Also, I noticed booting up was quicker and cleaner.
Cons: Give me some time on deciding what I don't like, as I really can't think of one thing yet. I thought 2007 was the best, but somehow you improved upon that, so much appreciate the efforts.
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