Concept Draw

ConceptDraw 1.55 is a program not unlike another I have used for many years, one that I have affectionately referred to as "CAD for the technically impaired." More than once it has saved my, shall we say, profit margin!

Users of Visio will recognize ConceptDraw immediately. It has a similar look, feel, usefulness, ease of operation, and quality. The difference today is that Visio is now Microsoft Visio 2000, and ConceptDraw sells for about $70 less.

Further, the people in the Ukraine at Computer Systems Odessa Corp., makers of ConceptDraw, had the foresight to make a PC version, a Mac version, and a cross-platform version. Both the PC and Mac versions sell for $125 each; the cross-platform version is $239 a pop.

Graphics designed in any of those three versions will open in any other version, which means that even without the cross-platform setup, files can easily be shared.

No wonder they call it ConceptDraw. What a concept!

Although it is decidedly associated with technical drawings, do not be misled into thinking that is all ConceptDraw can do. A look at the two screen shots on the right shows that it is equally useful doing the artistic things, too.

The program deals users a full deck of drawing tools, making the original creation of artwork as easy as possible. In addition to the usual ellipse, rectangle, and lines, there are 17 other tools. In conjunction with the program's customizable grid, guide lines, automatic dimensioning, automatic alignment, layer system, scaling features, and zoom abilities, the program enables users to make precise drawings. It also provides for object coloring, both single and gradient, and patterns.

When building such items as flow charts, organizational charts, and technical drawings that require connectors, ConceptDraw makes it easy by having connectors that automatically reshape if one of the objects is moved.

For the more intricate non-technical drawings, artistic talent is still necessary and, unfortunately, not sold separately. However, anyone with a glint of artistic ability can soon turn a blank canvas into something quite good looking.

But the beauty of ConceptDraw is that even those with limited artistic ability can still come up with professional results by using the many libraries available. There are, in all, more than 70 such libraries with more than 1,700 objects that can simply be dragged and dropped onto the working surface.

Those libraries include the "office layout figures" seen here to network diagrams, road maps, artwork, blocks, home layout, engineering, flow charts, database, signs and symbols, software and business diagrams.

Users can also create their own libraries to hold items needed repetitively. The ability to save templates makes it possible to save entire pages for later and frequent use.

How does all this fit in with those wanting to work on web site construction? Easily. First, the program will import many types of graphics, including the standard .gif and .jpg formats common to the internet. Second, individual graphics can be exported in .jpg and .gif formats. Third, entire pages constructed in ConceptDraw can be exported as .html documents, including hyperlinks to launch other applications and internet addresses from within the page.

One of the great features is that ConceptDraw integrates the graphics created in the program with text in the most intelligent way. Click on the object and start typing and the text is automatically centered. New in the latest version is the ability for text boxes to expand and automatically align themselves to fit text entered.

Because of its ability to make difficult tasks as easy as drag and drop and produce professional looking results, ConceptDraw is a must-have type of program - particularly when it comes at such a reasonable price.

NOTE: For those who have used Visio in recent years, there is a free program available from the ConceptDraw home page that converts MS Visio 5.0 or later drawings into the ConceptDraw format.

What is it called again? ConceptDraw 1.55

What does it cost? $125 PC or Mac downloaded version; $239 cross-platform downloaded version

How big is the download? Windows 95/98/NT/2000 is 5.56 MB; Mac OS is 7.72 MB

Where can I get it? http://www.conceptdraw.com

What are the minimum system requirements: PC - 486DX/4 100 processor, 16 MB RAM, SVGA, 30 MB hard drive space; Mac - OS8 or later, PowerPC G3 processor; 64 MB RAM, 30 MB hard drive space.

Do I recommend it? Whole-heartedly, particularly for people who find themselves needing to create a wide variety of graphics, both technical and non-technical.