As the creator and CEO of SmartDraw I thought I would reply to the comments posted here. First of all it’s nice to see feedback from users both negative and positive. We get lots of comments sent directly to us (with free tech support) and we take them seriously.

I’ll address a few specifics first and then talk about the changes we made in SmartDraw 2007 in more general terms. Please excuse the length of this post, but I am playing catchup.

1. Installing any version of SmartDraw puts an “uninstallâ€ command on the Start menu and in the control panel. This usually works - completely removing the program. Perhaps our tech support (support@smartdraw.com) can help Teresa.

2. Some of you have complained about screen real estate and the drawing area.
The original release of SmartDraw 2007 did not allow you to close the symbol panel on the left of the drawing area. This was because in our user testing, new users often closed this and could never figure out how to open it again. However several of our long-time users complained (quite passionately) and so we changed it within a couple of weeks.

Some of you have also criticized the ribbon at the top of the screen. The new ribbon only takes 50 pixels more than the old interface. Since all of the commands are in the top ribbon area it makes no sense to hide this.

The trade off here is seeing more of the commands in front of you instead of digging in menus and dialogs. Try the new Office 2007 interface. It seems strange at first but within a week or two of using it you wont want to go back. I think you’ll find the same thing with SmartDraw 2007. In fact the debate about ribbons reminds me of the debate about the Windows interface compared with DOS in 1990. Lot’s of expert DOS users felt that the menus and dialogs slowed them down compared to the keyboard commands they were used to – and we know how that turned out.

3. We took out the Image Plug-In – again usability testing lead to this decision – total confusion - but at the same time made it easier to work with Photos in SmartDraw 2007. Now every shape is a version 7 “photoframeâ€ – no artificial distinction. You can add your photos as new shapes, insert them into existing shapes and the crop automatically, rotate them, flip them and put them into table cells. Other than editing the “Bitsâ€ (which you can do outside the program) SmartDraw 2007 handles photos much better than any previous version.

4. Science and Math – still very much alive in SmartDraw 2007. The only change (other than improvements to the collection) is that the extensive collection of anatomic symbols we have were greatly expanded and moved to the Healthcare solution. We have to pay hefty royalties for these and so we charge an extra $99 for this solution.

5. Version 7 libraries. These do of course transfer to 2007. Copy them using the file system to the Application Data/SmartDraw/My Symbols folder in your Documents and Settings. All custom libraries are now placed here so that they can easily and automatically transfer to new versions so this should be the last time upgraders will have to deal with this issue. The only wrinkle is a limitation (to be removed in our next patch) that requires you to create a new empty library before the library tree refreshes and recognizes that they are there.

6. Texas Map. I just tried this and it seemed OK but I’m probably not using the right map. Kimberly email tech support at support@smartdraw.com.

So what’s behind the changes in SmartDraw 2007?
Our goal is to make it easy for anyone (not just graphic designers and expert computer users) to create professional-quality business graphics in minutes – no experience necessary. We are not trying to be a Visio, Illustrator or any of the dozens of other graphics programs most people find difficult to use.

To see how we were doing we arranged with users to watch them use SmartDraw using WebEx. Wow! Version 7 was still too difficult to use for most users. So we made some major changes:

1. We redesigned the interface and tested it with real users until most people did find it easy to get their work done. We used the ribbons, not because we wanted to copy Office 2007 but because they ARE easier to use than the old Windows95 interface.

2. We added SmartTemplates, with SmartPanels that capture the essential steps for creating a particular kind of graphic into six buttons. There 33 different SmartPanels in 2007 – for flowcharts, orgcharts, calendars – you name it.

3. We completely redesigned the graphic engine to use GDI+ (the more advanced Windows graphics engine introduced in Windows XP) so that we could create more professional looking output with anti-aliasing, transparency, nice soft shadows and other effects. The results are stunning. I encourage you to try this out.

I could go on and on. SmartDraw 2007 is the biggest change we have ever made to SmartDraw and it was done to fulfill our mission (to make it easy for anyone to create professional-quality business graphics in minutes). We tested it with real users and yes they got results quicker and they looked better.

Sure there are tradeoffs. The new graphics are more CPU intensive than before but as Harold points out with a recent computer this is not an issue.

SmartDraw 2007 has been a great success. We sold more upgrades more quickly than every before and we are selling more new copies too, but we sure like feedback and constructive criticism so keep it coming.

I hope this helps readers understand our motivation.