Joined on 04-28-2002
TechSoup Member
Does anybody know a good alternative diagraming program? I think the standard is MS Visio. Anybody have experience using something else?
Thanks,
Adam
One application that you might try is
Dia which is a Gnome project. The version for Windows is
here
There's also
DiaCanvas for Linux users.
I don't know of any others.
Hope this helps,
John Lorance
CompuMentor/TechSoup
Joined on 04-28-2002
TechSoup Member
Thanks John,
I'll check it out.
I wonder if any of those let you import icons from vendors.
I use OpenOffice.org Draw for simple diagrams such as organizational chart. I like the "smart connectors" that follow boxes.
Also you may wish to try
Inkscape.
Inkscape is an open source SVG editor with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, Visio, etc. Supported SVG features include basic shapes, paths, text, alpha blending, transforms, gradients, node editing, svg-to-png export, grouping, and more.
Wow, thanks for posting the link to Inkscape. I kind of forgot about them. From the screenshots it looks like a very powerful illustration/drawing tool. I'll have to try this out myself soon.
John Lorance
TechSoup/CompuMentor
Joined on 02-06-2005
TechSoup Member
This site has a list of alternatives to Windows based software:
http://gnu.ramix.org/win-lin-soft.html
Diagram and chart designer
Microsoft Visio
1) Kivio (Koffice).
2) Dia.
3) KChart.
4) xfig.
5) Tgif + dotty.
6) Tulip.
Joined on 06-27-2003
TechSoup Member
Smartdraw ( http://www.smartdraw.com/ ) is not open-source, but far easier to use (by an order of magnitude), than Visio. They have the kitchen sink edition, but also editions broken down for doing flowcharts, org charts, Gantt charts, floor plans, etc.
There are academic discounts, but I don't believe discounts for non-profits. There is a free 30-day test drive.
Joined on 10-26-2004
TechSoup Member
The right tool depends largely on what your looking to do. The two that I use most often are:
- Freemind : http://freemind.sourceforge.net
Freemind is a free form thought outliner that is very flexible.
- Poseidon for UML : http://www.gentleware.com
Poseidon has a free community edition. It is based on ArgoUML ( http://argouml.tigris.org ) but improves it substantialy.
Dia and Kivio were already mentioned and are also quite good and more generalized.
Joined on 02-10-2005
TechSoup Member
I prefer VISIO but I don't currently have a license for it...I came across an app called Network Notepad the other day that seems pretty good.
http://www.networknotepad.com/
Joined on 04-18-2005
TechSoup Member
Thank you very much for the link to network notepad. I've been searching high and low for this alternative to MS Visio, which is the only reason i use it in the first place :)
Joined on 04-28-2002
TechSoup Member
Thanks for all the sources. I have been using Dia for a couple of months on the reccomendation of this board and have been pretty pleased with its abilities for my purposes. I have been using the program to visually diagram communication pathways that we are mapping for different organizations. Originally, I downloaded Dia and Inkscape and decided to go with Dia because it was slightly more intuitive and had features better suited to my needs. I will look at some of the others when I get a chance.
Thanks again!
Joined on 05-17-2005
TechSoup Member
I would recommend ConceptDraw V www.conceptdraw.com
it's not open source, but there is 30 days trial.
It's a powerful presentation tool, that I successfully use on my mac as a visio alternative.
I tried others, but this one suits me the best. Try it, maybe it's what you r looking for.
I just ran across this the other day, and it seems pretty good - Paint.NET
Free, pretty powerful - not Photoshop, but MUCH better than Paint.
Supports layers, etc. Some good tools, like redeye remover and more.
Requires .NET framework installed too.
Over the years I have tried just about all the apps listed below// I always end back with visio. Sure it cost some bucks.. However if I added up all the time I spend trying to learn the apps. I could have bought Visio enterprise 10 times over...
Sure its what you are used to but think about the time your spend on the mission. If you invest that time on the product you use now , you will find stuff you did not even know existed..
oz