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My favorite business graphics package is Visio. Now, I use an older version
of it so I'm not sure if the newer ones are bloated or not, but I liked its
drag-and-drop shapes, the hundreds of preformed shapes available, and its
fairly simple interface. And it works exclusively in vector formats. I've
used the package for flow charts, line-type GIFs, and similar stuff. But it
can be used for any kind of drawing. Note, however, that in my experience
with the older version Visio was not intended as an artist's friend, but as
a business graphics app, so it didn't have a lot of the fancier tools and
devices of, say, Freehand. Visio assumes that you're not a graphics artist
and gives you loads of shapes to start with.
Tim Altom
Simply Written, Inc.
317.899.5882 http://www.simplywritten.com
Creators of the Clustar Method for task-based documentation
>I was glad to see Tim's reference a few days ago to the
>Computerworld article on elegance, since it was an analysis that
>resonated for me too.
>
>Elegance -- clarity, simplicity, and aesthetics -- is important
>for me when choosing a product. I want it to have what Don Norman
>calls "good affordances."
>
>With that in mind, I'm asking anyone with some Windows experience
>what you consider the most elegant Win95 graphics program.
>
>I have been doing all my graphics work on a Mac, but I'm going to
>have to move a lot of it to Windows. Up till now I've been using
>Canvas 3.5.4 on the Mac, and chose not to upgrade to Canvas 5,
>precisely because of its bloatedness and lack of elegance. My
>needs are not elaborate -- primarily screen shots, charts, and
>diagrams.
>
>On the Mac I use the PICT format for all my printed graphics, and
>I must admit I don't even know what the analogous format is in
>Windows. I don't want a program that only gives me bitmap
>graphics -- they need to be vector-based. But I don't need
>anything so complex as Illustrator or Freehand.
>
>All our documentation is done in Word, so I need something whose
>output will import easily into Word. I would also like to find a
>graphics program that will let me import and edit the PICT files
>I've created on the Mac, if possible.
>
>Someone I know recommended Corel Draw. How would you rate that on the
>elegance scale, and what other options are there?
>
>Thanks for your suggestions, and if there's general interest I'll
>post a summary of responses to the list.
>
>- Roz Ault
> ault -at- faxon -dot- com
>
>
>
>
