SmartDraw CI for Windows

User Reviews

• 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.

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• 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

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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)

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• 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.

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• 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!

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• 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!

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