Two notes:


a) Maybe we should pool our wish lists for features and design the dream
application, ourselves...


b) Re: other tools--I use a bit of an underdog program called SmartDraw
(www.smartdraw.com)--it's a competitor to Visio. It produces clean, crisp
diagrams and schematics, and I thought it was ultimately easier to use
(and less quirky on my *computer's* system) than Visio.  I've used the
program since v2.0.  (The most current version of SmartDraw Professional
is 5.0.) 


SmartDraw's strengths:

<paraindent><param>left</param>Inexpensive--around $99 last I checked

Easy to learn, quick to use

Lines and shapes can be linked, grouped, moved, resized, sent to
back/front, etc.

Fills and outlines can be modified by color, weight, shape

Items can be aligned or distributed vertically & horizontally

Users can create their own custom shapes

Users can create libraries of shapes/images

Outputs in bitmap, Illustrator, GIF, JPEG and many other formats 

Imports a variety of formats

Searches/replaces text

Prints beautifully from 360 dpi and up

Customer support--any time I've offered feedback or asked a question a
SmartDraw rep was very prompt to reply

</paraindent>

Weaknesses:

<paraindent><param>left</param>No keyboard shortcuts--you must click a
tool from the palette to access it

Some commonly accessed tools or attributes palettes (like the color
palette) are multiple clicks away

Color is difficult to pick, palette is difficult to manage

One level of Undo

No Mac version

Cannot crop or in any way edit or rotate an imported graphic--get it
perfect elsewhere and then import

Abundance of libraries feels like "filler"--I'd rather they spent their
dev time on improving the software's tools  

</paraindent>

If folks are looking for an alternative to Visio, SmartDraw is out
there... It is not the IA/ID powertool we're all craving--its weaknesses
add up quickly if you spend 14 hours at a time, day after day using the
program--but it does produce good looking and easily modifiable
wireframes, functional schematics, and screen flow diagrams. 


c) Has anyone got an alternative to PowerPoint to suggest??



Kristina Ross

Freelance Information & Interface Design

Oakland CA