SmartDraw CI for Windows

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Developer’s Description

By SmartDraw Software

Design and create more productive business visuals with the world's first visual processor.

SmartDraw is the world's first visual processor. In the same way that a word processor automatically formats documents, SmartDraw automatically formats your visuals as you create them, making it possible for anyone to create professional-quality visuals of all kinds in minutes. SmartDraw includes hundreds of pre-drawn templates for more than 70 types of visual, including flowcharts, mind maps, project time lines, organization charts, colorful 3D graphs, floor plans, country maps, network diagrams, and landscape plans. Export your visuals to Microsoft Word or PowerPoint with a single click.

SmartDraw CI for Windows

Used SmartDraw CI for Windows? Share your experience and help other users.

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Full Specifications

GENERAL

Release: May 18, 2015

Latest update: May 18, 2015

Version: 22.0.0.11

OPERATING SYSTEMS

Platform: Windows

Operating System

Windows 2003
Windows 7
Windows XP
Windows 10
Windows Server
Windows Vista
Windows 8

Additional Requirements: None

POPULARITY

Total Downloads: 22,317

Downloads Last Week: 3

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Last Updated

User Reviews

2.8/5

13 User Votes

Professional grade malware
rabbitdadJanuary 30, 2016
Pros
has a ton of features
Cons
*can't uninstall *popups, background processes which are completely unnecessary for this type of software *difficult to use
Summary
Does not install in your program files and doesn't show up in your windows program list and therefore can't be uninstalled properly. Runs it's own background process even when not being used to display popups constantly urging you to upgrade, without permission and under a FAKE NAME that you must manually find and end before you're even able to delete the program manually from your C drive. This is highly unethical and there's no reason for 'profession-grade' software to be this shady. The average computer user would be unable to get rid of this software and I find that highly unethical. That said I was also underwhelmed with the program itself. I found it very difficult to perform even basic tasks and I had no idea it would add an overly-obnoxious watermark to any file I saved until I had finished my project. There's no reason to install this.
garbage program
September 23, 2015
Pros
nothing... hard to find any of them..
Cons
most important of a garbage program: it doest let you uninstall it.
Summary
garbage program
Great for quick graphics, but not backward compatible
chezjuanJuly 14, 2015
Pros
Large library of images, shapes, and templates make it easy to make quick graphics to insert in documents, proposals, and the like. The multiple export options make sharing creations easy. Cheap compared to Visio
Cons
The lack of backward compatibility is frustrating to say the least. Every time a new version comes out, any document edited in that version is no longer usable in previous versions, so you are forced to upgrade all users at once. Some templates are confusing to use. For example, if you try to add text to a flow chart, it will try to connect the text to the chart rather than letting it be free-floating unless you create a separate layer for the text, which makes grouping and moving difficult. As others have noted, floor plans act strangely as well at times.
Summary
All in all this is a decent product for the price, when compared to Visio. Not as capable, more confusing, but hundreds of dollars less makes up for that based on my specific needs (creating charts and graphics for documents and proposals). The lack of backward compatibility between versions is very annoying, and where the price/benefit between it and Visio starts to disappear. There is no reason for this - almost every other product I've used allows editing and even saving as old versions. This is the primary reason I've rated the product 2.5 stars. If it were backward compatible, I would say it is worth 3.5 stars, and if they make the confusing templates work better it may even get to 4.5.
Very, very buggy.
talonman11March 19, 2015
Pros
Large number of templates for our business. Easy to use. Excellent technical support.
Cons
Visio import tool doesn't work unless there is a local copy of Visio installed on the PC (what's the point???). Has to be run with local admin rights. Very buggy. Using the project charts for scheduling is a pain in the a**, the number of hours in a working day is un-editable and you can't add a lag for two tasks that are dependent of each other.
Summary
Cheap and dirty alternative to MS Visio and to a certain extent, MS Project. But you get what you pay for I guess, anything you will try to do outside of creating basic diagrams that would need a little automation or oomph you will likely end up doing it on your own, step by step.
Total crap - most frustrating program ever
CK8652March 28, 2012
Pros
Looks cool
Cons
Floor plan design Easy to "use" but at the same time impossible
Summary
I only have used this program for the floor plan design and let me say it's been frustrating to say the least. Like another user said, every time you draw a wall, change dimensions or try to move the wall - it screw up your ENTIRE floorplan. I finally found a way to manipulate the tools to make a functional floor plan and saved it. I opened it up 4 hours later to make a minor change and ALL exterior walls were invisible, dimensions for most walls had changed, and two walls were deleted completely. This program is a total joke - don't waste your money.
Garbage! They ruined the program
theesonnydAugust 26, 2011
Pros
Nothing I found
Cons
GUI is horrible, where's "UNDO"? Why would you have to read the instructions to select only 1 wall as opposed to all? It sucks!
Summary
I've been using CAD programs for years, everything from Autocad to Smartdraw. This is worse than Punch software.
Smartdraw VP (Very Poor) = Jumped the Shark
crp2011February 27, 2011
Pros
Old versions still work in Win7 -- use them and don't be tempted by any so-called "deals" to upgrade.
Cons
Unintuitive Support Staff Has Extremely Variable Knowledge of Products (noob hires?) Not backwardly compatible Much Loss of Functionality from Previous Versions Dumbed-down functions & workflows
Summary
This used to be the best drawing application out there -- I started to use it back in 1997. But its best days are waayyy behind it. They changed the software direction and is no longer geared to individual users or the shareware market. Their new market: business users who need a charting wizard for PowerPoint. The list of lost software functions is long and speaks to the decline and fall of this application: multiple floating libraries, photo-editor plug-in, user online space for sharing drawings, hundreds of free graphics libraries, support for postscript fonts, etc. etc. -- all absent from Smartdraw VP. It is user-unfriendly, black-boxish and not for the creative. If you like wizards, you'll be OK. If you don't, you still need to follow their workflow or else the software is likely to crash. Sigh, how disappointing. (P.S. Beware the shill 5 star reviews in this list)
Little Kid's Software
jtcoburnOctober 17, 2010
Pros
It is easy to use, though you cannot do much with it.
Cons
First, they load your computer with spyware and adware so you get pop ups about up-dates when you start your computer, though they actually have stopped supporting the version you just bought and are selling a new one. VP is just as bad as 2010.
Summary
Lines don't connect. When you group objects you end up with mess. When you ungroup them they are not the same as when you grouped them. You cannot make lines thin enough. Colors print far different on a printer than shown on the screen. Textures don't print right, they have blotches of different colors. If you use dimensions on something they show well on the screen but don't print. If you try to show a small dimension, you cannot change the font to smaller one so the dimension looks ridiculous, you cannot show small dimensions. I could go on and on. The layers function doesn't work correct, when you try to move something between layers, you cannot figure out why it ended up on another layer. This software is $99 and that is about three times what it is worth. Frankly, the graphics software in OpenOffice.org is free and it is better than this crap.
Best software to communicate ideas and information.
zonker111October 5, 2010
Pros
I've never used a simpler tool for capturing ideas and information and immediately begin optimizing them so I can communicate effectively with others. I find others quickly understanding and sharing insights to make what I've done even better.
Cons
There is nothing I could find that didn't perform as I expected and then some.
Summary
For only $197, this is the best investment I've ever seen. My ROI in the first month was over 5x the cost, so it's only going to make me more effective the more I use it.<br /><br /><span class='notifyMsg'> Updated </span>on Dec 15, 2010<p/>Once I learned how to hyper-link the various diagrams I was creating and these could be stored as a collection, huge possibilities opened up. By creating a link from an Org Chart for a position to the job map of what that position was responsible for, and then listing and linking to each of the various tasks, I was able to map out the people and processes of our company in a matter of hours. Then by having each department head sit with me, we quickly mapped out the flow detail (down to the screen shots). Immediately we could see areas for improvement. This is an amazing tool!
Smartdraw VP: the UNDISPUTED visual champ
johnnyvc858September 15, 2010
Pros
I've been using Smartdraw since version 7 and am constantly wowed by the new things one can do. One-click project charts? Instant maps? One-click PowerPoint presentations? Incredible and true. The latest VP even has Auto-Save! VP is a SOLID WINNER.
Cons
The intermediate cost of Smartdraw may turn some users away, but it has paid dividends over and over again in terms of professional-quality output with minimal time and effort.
Summary
SmartDraw VP is worth more than its weight in gold --it's undisputed at creating amazing visuals, quick, easy, and in a format that is readily sharable with colleagues and professors. You can create instant charts and graphs, manage personal calendars, projects, processes, marketing visuals, and organizational hierarchies instantly. Sure, other apps offer similar visuals, but not to the extent or with the level of automation as Smartdraw. Is it cheap? No. Is it worth it? Absolutely, YES. VP is a keeper and is one of my personal favorite apps of all time. Thanks Smartdraw!