Flow charts / Diagramming software

[wizard509]

I did a google search and came up with these free ones.
Note that they might contain pup's so use caution.
I don't know if they will do what you want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujMhxPJnJCw#t=22

http://www.nchsoftware.com/chart/

http://download.cnet.com/Diagram-Des...-10429024.html

http://www.gliffy.com/

[shiphen]

The only blocker is the lack of dynamic connectors.
I have used the Online Web Catalogue Text Panels to good effect. The come with their own Named colours.

Ii would spend time creating the equivalent of an MS Visio Stencil of all you needed shapes and lines.

As lines readily snap to shapes the lack of a dynamic link is not too restrictive.

In fact, using Shift+C gives you a shape that can be a rectangle, a curved box and even a circle, all in one. Try that Visio.

Soft-group the same inside a diamond gives you a decision box.

Add shadows and you're there.

Acorn

Sorry Acorn, I've lost the plot. Are you talking about Xara still or something else? If Xara I'm sorry but the lack of connectors is a deal breaker for us, incredibly powerful though Xara is in many ways. :^(

"Smart arrows" - Yes the menuing is slightly fiddly in Xara (presumably) but the Smart Shapes do look useful as far as they go.

[Acorn]

Yes, all in Xara. Shame.
Acorn

[shiphen]

I did a google search and came up with these free ones.
Note that they might contain pup's so use caution.
I don't know if they will do what you want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujMhxPJnJCw#t=22

http://www.nchsoftware.com/chart/

http://download.cnet.com/Diagram-Des...-10429024.html

http://www.gliffy.com/

Thanks. In truth I was wondering if anyone here had actually USED any such things... but thanks anyways

P.S. Diagram Designer I saw but avoided partly because the review said text was a pain to edit, and partly I didn't like the look of the download as I couldn't find a credible-looking site behind it and my PUP radar started to flash! ;(

But I have now tried Diagram Designer and I can report that it's a bit basic. No anti-aliasing to screen. And connectors can only be the square kind. No drop shadows. And yes, the text editing is a mighty pain as you can't do it in situ, you have to do it inside a popup box... NEXT!

ClickCharts Diagram Flowchart Software isn't too bad and does at least have anti-aliasing. But you can't change a connector type once it's been created. Also the connectors cant be labelled - that's a deal-breaker for me. NEXT!

[mwenz]

DrawPlus. If the conne for tool is there, then it is available. You are not using it correctly. Try the help file. One can usually get the previous version for little cash. Look on Amazon, or call them. DrawPlus X8 is probably coming in short order.

Beyond that, spend money on what will do the job as you see fit.

[shiphen]

DrawPlus. If the conne for tool is there, then it is available. You are not using it correctly. Try the help file. One can usually get the previous version for little cash. Look on Amazon, or call them. DrawPlus X8 is probably coming in short order.

Beyond that, spend money on what will do the job as you see fit.

Interesting. Btw, are you a big fan of DrawPlus?

I presume by "conne tool" you mean Connector tool. I installed DrawPlus and then searched in help where it says:
"Not available in DrawPlus Starter Edition. "

Sounds like the connector tool is not seen as important. Not good sign. :^(

"...And for that reason I'm afraid I'm out"

[Gamerprinter]

XP&GD is the abbreviated form of Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 10 which is a complete mouthful and tedious to type. I even use XDP for Xara Designer Pro.

[Michael]

For Diagrams and Flowchart I heavily depend on Dia Portabel. Make your diagram and export to Xara through SVG. Once imported in Xara you really can tune the diagram and make it more appealing.

More info on Dia can be found at https://wiki.gnome.org/action/show/A...w&redirect=Dia. You can download a portable version at http://portableapps.com/apps/office/dia_portable

[mwenz]

Interesting. Btw, are you a big fan of DrawPlus?

DP, like XDP, has its place. There are some things it does better, some things simply difficult to do in XDP. Same with the other 3 vector drawing applications I use. I mainly use XDP and what I do in those other applications are often brought into XDP anyway.

[Acorn]

I have used Dia Portable as well but found removing the clipping shape and having to tweak individual line segments a chore.
I totally prefer using my Xara applications instead, far more flexible.

Acorn