Visio  IntelliCAD  SmartSketch SmartDraw ConceptDraw

Suggested Reading

Leading Edge 2D CAD
Actrix, SmartSketch & Visio compared.

CAD or Diagramming Software?
Ralph Grabowski helps you decide which is right for you. Although centered around Visio Technical and IntelliCAD the arguments are generally the same for any diagramming software vs. an CAD program.

Design Drawing - design and drawing solutions for technical professionals

• Design-drawing Articles Index
  • Visio Article Index
    • Visio Supports MS Standards
    • Visio 5.0 Family Product Comparison
    • Programming Visio
    • Visio Standard 5.0 and the Art of Flowcharting
    • ActiveX an' Visio Colors
    • Learning to Automate Visio
    • Custom Property Dependencies in Visio
    • Wired Wi' Automation' in Visio
      • Chris Roth
    • Association: Glue Wi'oot Gluin' in Visio
      • Association: Glue Wi'oot Gluin' in Visio
    • Automation = Productivity in Visio
    • Custom Properties in Visio: Brilliant!
      • Custom Properties in Visio: Brilliant!
      • Custom Properties in Visio
    • Dynamic Connectors in Visio
    • Hit Test Functionality in Visio
    • Named Connections in Visio
    • Attaching VBA Code to Visio Shapes
    • Floating Points in Visio
      • Somethin' Completely Different
    • Fluor Daniel, Inc. & Visio
    • DigiTools CI - Background
      • DigiTools CI - Product Snapshot
    • Publishing Visio Drawings to the Web
      • Page-1
      • Design Drawing Contents
      • Publishing Visio Drawings to the Web
    • Importing DWG files into Visio
    • Taming Large Drawings in Visio
    • Event Planning Simplified With  Visio Technical
    • Design & Drafting the Visio Way
      • Visio Shop
    • Visio Technical: A Technical Drawing WhitePaper
    • Down the Well with Visio Technical
      • Down the Well with Visio Technical
    • Visio Technical 5.0 Plus Beta Preview
      • Visio Tech 5.0 Plus DataSheet
      • Visio Technical 5.0 Plus
        • Visio Technical 5.0 Process Engineering Solution
        • Visio Technical 5.0
    • Review: DigiTools Ci
    • Power Plant Designers Tap Visio Power
    • Creating Visio Drawings from Text Files
    • Setting Up Pages in Visio
    • Setting Up Grids, Rulers, Guides, Snap and Glue
    • Boolean Operations
    • Drawing Tools: Pencil, Line, Arc, Freeform, Rectangle & Ellipse
    • Exporting Visio Diagrams in Other File Formats
    • Visio Basics
      • Building a Visio Model
      • Visio User Interface Basics
      • Toolbars in Visio
      • Menus in Visio
      • Status Bar in Visio
      • Visio Accelerator Keys
      • Dialog Boxes in Visio
      • Getting Around in Visio
      • Visimation
    • Visio's Database Links
    • Visio's Database Links
    • Importing DWGs with Pspace & Mspace into Visio Technical
    • Displaying Custom Properties as Text on a Shape in Visio Technical
    • Background Layers in Visio Technical
    • Auto-Scaling Fonts in Visio
    • Global Variables in Visio
    • Visio's 1-D Flavors
    • ANSI Characters in Visio
      • Chris Hopkins
    • Positioning Callouts in Visio
    • Closing a Shape in Visio
    • Visio Corner Selection Handles
    • Template
    • Dynamic Page Sizing in Visio
    • Editing Text in Visio
    • Floating Stencils in Visio
    • Using Visio Glue
    • Working With Groups in Visio
    • Moving Multiple Shapes In Visio
    • Shapes on Multiple Layers In Visio
    • Changing the Ruler Origin Point in Visio
    • Using the Page Layout Wizard in Visio
      • View Multiple Pages in the Same Visio File
    • Panning in Visio
    • Creating Paper Space in Visio
    • Property Reporting Wizard in Visio
    • Quick View Visio Files
    • Marking Up Visio Drawings
    • Selecting Shapes in Visio
    • Accessing SmartShape Properties
    • Sizing and Moving Shapes in Visio
    • Visio SmartShape Wizard
    • Lines, Circles and Squares
    • Visio Tool Tips
    • Visio Automatic Connections
    • Creating and Using Templates
    • Zooming in Visio
    • Designing 'Outside The Box' with Visio
    • Customizing Word Balloons in Visio
    • The Old Offset Radial Fill Trick
    • Title Blocks in Visio
  • IntelliCAD Article Index
    • Search
    • Subscribe to Design Drawing
    • Comparing IntelliCAD
    • New, Smart, Affordable - IntelliCAD 98 Review
      • Steve Hunter - Design Drawing Contributor
    • IntelliCAD Service Release B
    • History of IntelliCAD
    • IntelliCAD 98 in a Nutshell
    • Whats New in Service Release D
    • Service Release E for IntelliCAD 98
    • Print Basics in IntelliCAD
    • A New Dimension
    • Drawing Creation and Setup in IntelliCAD
    • Lines, Layers, Colors,
    • Taking Control of Layers
    • Line Weight
    • Paperspace/Modelspace - Lost in Space
    • Really Using PaperSpace
    • Xrefs in IntelliCAD
      • Building Blocks - Symbols and Symbol Libraries
    • Dynamic Hatch for IntelliCAD 98
    • TrueType Font Workaround
    • MechSoft PROFI for IntelliCAD
      • John McIver - Design Drawing Contributor
    • First Look at IntelliCAD
      • Steve Manning - Design Drawing Contributor
    • DWG to DWF Conversion
      • New Web Vector Format Proposal
    • Exploring IntelliCAD's Drawing Explorer
      • David Cohn
    • IntelliCAD & AutoCAD: Working Together
    • IntelliCAD - New CAD on the Block
    • Plotting from IntelliCAD
    • Printer/Plotting Software
      • PrintAPlot Review
    • Printers for IntelliCAD Plots
      • Design Drawing Message Conferences
      • Epson 1520 Review
      • Epson 3000 Review
    • Plotting on Desktop Printers
    • Struc Plus - Porting a Commercial Application to IntelliCAD
      • Struc Plus - Behind the Scenes
    • VBA Preview in IntelliCAD
      • Frank Zander - Design Drawing Contributor
    • Rubber Stamp VBA Program in IntelliCAD
    • WinLINE Plotter Selection Guide
    • New Drawings in  IntelliCAD
    • Start IntelliCAD in your Project Drawing Folder
    • Viewport Layer Control
    • IntelliCAD Prompt Pop-Ups
    • Dynamic Pan and Zoom in IntelliCAD
    • Recording Scripts in IntelliCAD
    • DEFPOINTS Layer
    • Sharing Custom Toolbars
    • AutoSaved Data in IntelliCAD
    • 255 Color Index Drawing
      • Jess Stryker - Design Drawing Contributor
    • Enitity Selection in IntelliCAD
      • Entity Data List
        • Change Selected Text Properties with LISP
          • LISP on the Web
            • LISP Compatibility Guide
    • Font Mapping in IntelliCAD 98
    • IntelliCAD Aliases
      • Peter Coburn - Design Drawing Contributor
    • IntelliCAD Keyboard Shortcuts
    • Custom Toolbars in IntelliCAD
    • Quick Edit Pop-Up in IntelliCAD
    • Presentation in IntelliCAD
    • Selection Sets in IntelliCAD 98
    • Remember the Shift Key in IntelliCAD
    • Special Characters in IntelliCAD
    • Speed Up IntelliCAD 98
    • IntelliCAD Technical Support
    • TrueType Fonts in IntelliCAD 98
    • Custom Menus in IntelliCAD
    • Coming to Grips
    • Construction Lines
    • Standard Dimension Styles in IntelliCAD 98
    • Undocumented Dimension Commands in IntelliCAD 98
    • Opening Mutilple Drawings in IntelliCAD 98
    • New Print Features in IntelliCAD 1.0d
  • SmartSketch Article Index
    • Intergraph SmartSketch Frequently Asked Questions
  • Diagramminmg of CAD Software? How to choose.
• Design Drawing Software Catalog
• Design Drawing Book Store
  • Amazon.com - Earth's Biggest Bookstore
  • David Edson
  • Ralph Grabowski
  • Visio's Objects
  • Book Review: Learn Visio 5.0
    • Carla Calgaro
  • Starting a New Visio Drawing
  • Visio and VBA
    • Visio and the VBA IDE
    • Microsoft Forms
    • Advanced VBA Topics in Visio
• Design Drawing Software Store
• About Design Drawing
• Advertising Exposure on Design Drawing
• Newsletter
• Visio Technical in a Nutshell
• Autodesk Actrix Review
• Micrografx iGrafx Designer Suite
  • Tony Zilles
• Intergraph SmartSketch Fact Sheet
• Visio 2000 Developer’s Survival Guide By Graham Wideman
• (in)Compatibility between AutoCAD and Visio - 2
  • Adam Stone
• Intelligent Reinstallation of Actrix 2000
• Sharing Visio Drawings
  • David Parker
• Increasing Productivity in Visio by using Dual Monitors
• Layering Visio Drawings
• Creating and Placing Symbols in SmartSketch
• (in)Compatibility between AutoCAD and Visio
• Translating Visio Drawings into Actrix
• Checking Out the New Features in Actrix 2000
• Viewing CGM in a Web Browser
• Reading Visio 2000 Files into Actrix 2000
• Method for Knowledge Discovery and Classification
• Actrix, SmartSketch, Visio Comparison
  • Imagineer Technical 2.0 Review
• Actrix Add-on Software
• Visio 2000 Technical Review
  • Andrew Blackwell
• SmartSketch v3.0
  • Design Drawing Professional Services Directory
  • Geoff Harrod
• Legal Details
• Design Drawing Privacy Statement