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SmartDraw 2010 Reviewers Guide
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SmartDraw 2010 Reviewers Guide
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Obtaining a Review Copy
To obtain a review copy of SmartDraw 2010, please send a request in writing on the publications
letterhead to:
SmartDraw.com
Attn: Reviews
9909 Mira Mesa Blvd, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92131, USA
Phone: 858-225-3300
Or send an email to: [email protected]
Please state the name of the publication in which the review will appear, and include your name, address,
telephone number, and email address.
Executive Summary
SmartDraw is software that allows businesses to reduce their communication problems by enabling their
employees to communicate visually and therefore more effectively than with words alone.
Studies show that communicating with both words and pictures is up to six times more effective than
words alone. Yet less than 2% of business communication includes a visual. Why? Because, until now,
creating a professional-quality visual has been just too hard, and too time-consuming.
SmartDraw is the only software that solves this problem because it doesnt require you to do the drawing.
Its automated and draws for you.
SmartDraw 2010 adds to its unique capabilities to:
dramatically reduce the time it takes to get work done
manage time and resources much more efficiently
create killer presentations with less effort
enable collaboration between team members
SmartDraw 2010 is $297 for a single license. Registered owners of previous versions of SmartDraw can
upgrade for $99.
Why do Organizations use SmartDraw 2010?
To Fix Their Communication Problems
Anyone who has ever worked in an organization understands that many problems are caused by a
breakdown in communication. Here are some of the most common:
Mistakes are made because the employee has not been properly trained to perform the task.
The project is late because the people involved did not properly identify all of the work that had
to be done.
The project is late because the people working on it did not know what the others were doing.
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Finger-pointing happens because responsibilities were not clearly established and
communicated.
The business plan fails because most of the organization never understood the strategy and
goals.
Errors occur because the specifications for a job were not clearly understood.
Sales are lost because the customer does not understand how the product being sold could solve
their problem.
SmartDraw helps solve these problems by making it possible for a typical person to communicate up to six
times more effectively.
Everyone understands that "a picture is worth a thousand words," whether it's a flowchart to explain a
business process, a Gantt chart to show a project schedule, an organizational chart, or a map to the
emergency exit.
Studies show that communicating with both words and pictures is up to six times more effective than
words alone. Yet less than 2% of business communication includes a visual. Why? Because, until now,
creating a professional-quality visual has been just too hard, and too time-consuming.
SmartDraw is the only software that solves this problem.
Before SmartDraw, the only option for adding visuals to business communication was to use manual
drawing software like Adobe Illustrator and Microsoft Visio. For most people the painstaking effort of
manually arranging shapes, lines and text on a page is just not worth the time, and for many computer
users, these programs were just too hard to use. Only experts use manual drawing software. Illustrator is
used by graphics arts professionals and Visio is used by less than 5% of Microsoft Office users, mainly IT
professionals. There was no solution for ordinary users, and this is why very little business communication
takes advantage of the 6X power of visual communication.
SmartDraw is the only software that makes it possible for the average business person to create his or her
own presentation-quality visuals in minutes. It does this in three unique ways:
1. It's automated. Instead of forcing you to draw visuals manually, SmartDraw draws and formats
the visual for you, ensuring a professional result every time. You can even use the keyboard to
compose your visual.
2. It's comprehensive. SmartDraw is the only software that allows you to create every kind of
visualmore than 70 different typesincluding flowcharts, timelines, org charts, mind maps,
floor plans, marketing charts and more.
3. It's integrated. SmartDraw is the only software that works this seamlessly with Microsoft Office.
One click is all it takes to transfer your visual to Word or PowerPoint. Easily import chart data
from Excel. Exchange project management data with Project users. Even build an entire
PowerPoint presentation with a single click. It also supports SharePoint and can import Visio
files.
Lets look at each of the communication problems above and see how using visuals made with SmartDraw
can correct the problem.
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Mistakes are made because the employee has not been properly trained to perform thetask.
Any routine task can be described as a series of repeatable steps, or a process. Defining a task as process
brings the following benefits:
1. Everyone can perform the task the same way every time, ensuring consistent quality: the same
outcome each time.
2. You can improve it.3. You can train anyone to perform the task successfully by teaching them the steps.
The most effective way to define and communicate the steps in a process is with a flowchart. Using
SmartDraw to create a process flowchart for a task not only makes it easy to communicate and train
someone to do it, it makes it easy to define in the first place.
The project is late because the people involved did not properly identify all of the workthat had to be done.
To estimate how much time a project will take to complete, you must break it into tasks and estimate theamount of time each task will take. Choosing broad, ill-defined tasks like Update Website makes it very
difficult to accurately estimate how long the task will take. A broad task should be broken down into
smaller sub tasks that are easier to estimate.
The ideal tool for planning a project in this way is a mind map.
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Using a mind map to break down tasks also makes it easier to identify them all upfront, instead of half
way through the project which adds delays. The mind map is also an excellent format to communicate the
task planning to others.
Using SmartDraw anyone can plan a project using a mind map as easily as typing in a word processor.
Then with one click SmartDraw will convert it into a project chart, so that each task can be assigned and
time estimates added. This is a unique feature of SmartDraw.
Again SmartDraw is not only used to communicate the results of the planning process but actually to carry
it out.
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The project is late because the people working on it did not know what the others weredoing.
SmartDraws project charts offer real project management, handling hundreds of tasks, dependency,
percent completion and other sophisticated features. By providing a view into the status of each task and
its progress, the entire team has a complete view of the project and their co-workers efforts.
SmartDraw is used to actively manage the project as well as communicate its status to the team.
Finger-pointing happens because responsibilities were not clearly established andcommunicated.
The time-honored way to establish and communicate the chain of command and assignment of
responsibilities within an organization is with an organization chart.
Using SmartDraw anyone can create an organization chart in minutes. SmartDraw makes it so easy to
modify the chart that you can use SmartDraw to actually work through and develop the organizational
structure as well as to communicate it.
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The business plan fails because most of the organization never understood the strategyand goals.
Developing a business plan is only the first part of the planning process. To succeed, its goals and tactics
must be clearly communicated to those responsible for implementing the plan: the entire company. How
many text-heavy business plans have been placed on a shelf and never read?
Using visuals to clearly illustrate the goals and steps in a plan make it much easier to understand, as thisexample show.
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SmartDraw also makes it easier to develop a plan by offering a wide range of strategic planning templates
that help clarify thinking as well as improve communication.
Errors occur because the specifications for a job were not clearly understood.
Specification is perhaps the most common application of visuals in business. No house is built without a
blueprint. The value of communicating visually is clear.
Using SmartDraw, anyone (including clients, sales people and non-engineers) can create floor plans,
software diagrams, network designs, engineering diagrams, and other specifications in minutes, and
dramatically increase the effectiveness of communication between those that request a product and
those who develop it.
One simple example is to use SmartDraw to request some design changes to a web page.
Sales are lost because the customer did not understand how the product being sold couldsolve his or her problem.
Whether its to win new business or communicate effectively with co-workers, the best presentations
engage an audience with visuals, not bore them with slide after slide of bullets.
SmartDraw has an unmatched level of integration with PowerPoint that makes it easy for anyone to
create slides that incorporate visuals to tell their story, and to author compelling presentations.
Perhaps the most common visual used in a presentation is a graph. Creating a graph in SmartDraw is not
only easier than with Excel or PowerPoint, but it looks better and can be presented in a more
understandable way. Simply displaying a graph in slide is not as effective as revealing its data in a series of
steps. This is called sequencing and only SmartDraw does it.
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Furthermore, SmartDraws storyboard feature makes it easy to build an entire visual-rich presentation
and edit it by dragging slides around on the page. Once complete, the storyboard will build an entire
PowerPoint slide deck automatically with just one click.
This is best understood by watching a video demonstration. At
http://www.smartdraw.com/videos/upgrade/presentations.htm
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SmartDraw and Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is the standard tool used by hundreds of millions of businesspeople for word
processing, presentations, spreadsheets and email. Almost all of these activities are text-only. EvenPowerPoint is used primarily in text-only mode with slide after slide of bullets.
While Office includes some primitive drawing tools, they are not extensively used, because they are
simplistic and require manual drawing, which most people find time-consuming and tedious.
SmartDraw, with its comprehensive automatic drawing features, adds key functionality to every
desktopfunctionality that Office lacks.
In addition to the ability to easily incorporate visuals into Word, PowerPoint and Excel, SmartDraw
adds the Six Ps to Office:
1. Project Management2. Process Management
3. Presentation authoring
4. People Management
5. Planning and Strategy
6. sPecifications
Office Functionality
ProjectManagement
Word ProcessingWord
SpreadsheetExcel
PresentingPowerPoint
EmailOutlook
sPecification
Planning& Strategy
PeopleManagement
PresentationAuthoring
ProcessManagement
SmartDraw
MSOffice
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SmartDraw and Visio (and Illustrator)
Many people, particularly IT specialists, see SmartDraw as a competitor to Visio. This is not the case.
Visio is a specialized tool mainly used by experts. Visio is not used to enhance the visual capabilities of
Office. Less than 5% of ordinary Office users also use Visio. 40% of Visio users are IT specialists.
Visio is also increasingly focused on data visualization presenting data from corporate databases in
visual format.
SmartDraw is focused at desktop visualization making it possible for an average computer user to create
his or her own presentation-quality visuals. Desktop visualization has not been Visios development
focus for the past decade or more. Consequently, Visio makes a poor desktop visualization tool.
In the same way, SmartDraw and Adobe Illustrator are not competitors either. Illustrator is a specialty
application designed for graphics professionals. SmartDraw is aimed at average computer users who want
to create visuals for business quickly and easily.
SmartDraw 2010 is a complement to Office and works alongside Visio. It converts Visio files intoSmartDraw format providing non-Visio users access to legacy Visio files so that they can be viewed and
modified.
How SmartDraw Makes It Possible For Anyone To Create Visuals
As a first-time SmartDraw user, you can create a presentation-quality visual in minutes because
SmartDraw draws and formats the visual for you.
Creating your visual is as easy as 1,2,3.
1. Start by selecting the type of visual you want to create. Do this from the template browser.
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Because SmartDraw knows what you want to create, it formats the visual for you. You dont need
to know the formatting rules like you do when using manual drawing software.
2. Enter your information by clicking customized task buttons in the SmartPanel, or by typing text
into a pre-constructed visual. Each type of visual that SmartDraw supports (more than 70 of
them) has a SmartPanel on the left-hand side of the screen that provides you with commands
specific to the type of graphic you are creating. Many of these commands have keyboard
shortcuts. You can often create your visual without taking your hands off the keyboard!
3. SmartDraw does the rest, building the visual automatically using built-in rules and professional
design themes.
SmartDraw support more than 70 different kinds of business visualeach with its own rules built-in.
An example of creating a flowchart makes this clear.
1. Select a flowchart from the template browser
The first step when SmartDraw starts is to pick the visual that you want to create. We pick a flowchart
from the template browser.
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2. Enter your Information.
We enter our information (the steps in the process we want to document) using the SmartPanel. We add
the steps in the process by selecting a symbol and clicking an add button. You can add below, above, left
and right. For each step we enter text by simply typing. There are also keyboard shortcuts to make
creating the flowchart even faster. Use ctrl-arrow keys to enter new steps in the direction of the arrow.
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3. SmartDraw Does the Rest.
As we add each shape, SmartDraw places it in exactly the right location on the page and automatically
draws a line connecting it to the previous step. Shapes line up and are spaced perfectly. The colors, line
weights and typefaces from a professionally-designed color theme are applied automatically. We can
select a different theme from a gallery and the whole graphic changes instantly.
This takes just a few minutes. Once we have created the flowchart, we can print it, or copy it into an
Office document (or directly to PDF) with one click on the copy buttons at the top of the SmartDraw
window.
This is repeated for more than 70 different types of graphic each with their own specialized SmartPanel.
New and Updated Features in 2010
The changes made in 2010 are not just bells and whistles. They are based on user testing and will save
users time, improve their performance and lower their costs.
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SmartDraw 2010
dramatically reduces the time it takes to get work done
manages time and resources much more efficiently
creates killer presentations with less effort
enables collaboration between team members
Time Savers
The time savers begin with the new Template Browser. Our testing shows that users can get started five
times faster than before.
All of the most common visuals are in the Basics layout. The complete list is under More.
But its the new search function that really saves time. Like Google, SmartDraw 2010 offers suggestions as
you type and takes you directly to your goal.
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Other examples of time savers include:
Expanded use of the keyboard to add shapes to dozens of different types of visual.
Replacing a shape by simply dragging a new shape on top.
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Managing Time & Resources
SmartDraw 2010s Project Management improved performance and new features can manage projects
with hundreds of tasks.
Hiding and showing columns allows for a clearer view of longer projects.
Collapsing and expanding tasks provide detail or summary views.
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Progress can be tracked with the new percent complete feature.
Projects can be viewed in timeline format to more clearly see milestones.
SmartDraw projects can also be exported to Microsoft Project and imported from Microsoft Project.
Killer Presentations
Whether its to win new business or communicate effectively with co-workers, the best presentations
engage an audience with visuals, not bore them with slide after slide of bullets.
SmartDraw 2010 integrates with PowerPoint to help create career-making presentations in two
unprecedented ways.
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1. SmartDraw can export any visual to a PowerPoint slide with one click, including built-in
sequencing. Sequencing uses PowerPoint animation to reveal the visual in steps so that it is
easier for audiences to follow. Its the technique recommended by presentation experts and
SmartDraw does it automatically.
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2. SmartDraw 2010 can be used to create an entire PowerPoint presentation using its new
Storyboard feature.
It is easier to compose slides and move them around using a SmartDraw storyboard than with
PowerPoint. Sequenced SmartDraw visuals can be added to each slide. Slides can be added and
removed from the presentation by simply dragging them on and off the storyboard line.
One click builds an entire PowerPoint deck.
All of the visuals used are stored in the storyboard file making it easy to share and update. Users
can even make libraries of their frequently used slide to re-use in multiple presentations.
Collaboration
No one works in a vacuum. SmartDraw 2010 makes it even easier to collaborate with co-workers with the
following new features:
SmartDraw 2010 reads and edits Visio files. Convert single Visio files or whole folders of Visio files at
once with the batch convert feature.
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SmartDraw Single User Licensing
Install and use one copy of SmartDraw on a single computer. Single User Licenses are perpetual andinclude, free of charge, all maintenance releases for the version originally purchased. Upgrades releases
are available for a fee.
SmartDraw Volume Licensing
SmartDraw offers volume licensing to enterprises.
About SmartDraw.com
SmartDraw.com is the creator of SmartDraw, software that helps companies solve their communication
problems.
Everyone understands that "a picture is worth a thousand words," whether it's a flowchart to explain a
business process, a Gantt chart to show a project schedule, an organizational chart, or a map to the
emergency exit.
Studies show that communicating with both words and pictures is up to six times more effective than
words alone. Yet less than 2% of business communication includes a visual. Why? Because, until now,
creating a professional-quality visual has been just too hard, and too time-consuming.
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SmartDraw solves this problem, making it possible for everyone in an organization to communicate
effectively resulting in fewer errors, increased productivity, and more sales.
Each year more than three million people install and use SmartDraw.
SmartDraw.com is privately-held and is headquartered in San Diego, CA. A pioneer of the direct-to-userInternet distribution model, SmartDraw.com has enjoyed sustained rapid growth since its inception in
1994 and has been awarded numerous industry accoladesincluding the Delloite & Touche Fast 50
Award, five years in a rowand now counts more than half the Fortune 500 as its customers.
Information on the Web
For more information on SmartDraw, please visitwww.smartdraw.com. See the links below for specific
areas of interest.
DownloadFree trial copy of SmartDraw.com
http://www.smartdraw.com/downloads/
Purchase SmartDrawBuy online or through other methods
http://www.smartdraw.com/buy/Volume LicensingSmartDraw for work groups
http://www.smartdraw.com/buyinfo/volume/index.htm
Cool ExamplesSee examples of drawings from real users
http://www.smartdraw.com/examples/
Learning CentersStep-by-step tutorials for all kinds of graphics
http://www.smartdraw.com/resources/how-to
SmartDraw FeaturesLearn about all of SmartDraws major features in minutes
http://www.smartdraw.com/product/features/
SmartDraw VideosSee SmartDraw in action
http://www.smartdraw.com/videos/
SmartDraw SupportGet your support questions answered in a timely fashion by our team
http://www.smartdraw.com/support/
About SmartDraw.comRead customer testimonials, press releases, and news lettershttp://www.smartdraw.com/about/
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