ConceptDraw PRO - 8.0.5.2

ConceptDraw has a seemingly robust set of options. However, putting these to actual use is a kluge, worse actually.

The product also does not allow output in vector form. This makes it essentially useless for integration with publishing and other graphics apps.

Forget about sending inquiries into the company, it is a black hole.

My suggestion is to use OmniGraffle or Illustrator. For complex shapes, create them with OmniGraffle and/or Illustrator and then save them as Illustrator templates.

If you try to do anything like this with CoceptDraw, be prepared to waste time and ultimately end up with nothing to show for it. If you like that kind of thing, then ConceptDraw is definitely the product for you.

Indeed previous versions of all CD applications were decidedly unpretty, but v7 really has improved tremendously. Not only looks, but also uability.

It takes some getting used to, but it is a truly powerful app!

Conceptdraw definitely fell from the ugly tree. Furthermore, it's positively safe to say it hit absolutely every single branch on the way down.

For an application whose primary responsibility is towards the visual, the conceptdraw series exhibits an incredible amount of unsightliness. If ever there was an application that was the antithesis of the Mac experience, this is it. Additionally, Conceptdraw feels like overkill, even for power users. I've glanced inside commercial jetliner *censored*pits containing a multitude of panels playing host to symphonies of flashing leds, buttons, switches and knobs that next to Conceptdraw bear a resemblance much closer to a Fisher Price Toddler-Set.

Is it just me or did we not initially set out with the intention of simply reformatting information visually? Further contributing to the issue of Conceptdraw's absurd complexity is the fact that their product is overextended. I'm surprised they don't offer a different version for every separate topic, process or other representational approach possible. How many ways can you slice a pizza? The supposed premise of Conceptdraw is inherently uncomplicated; how the people at CD managed to stuff hoards of complexity into their many versions of this binary mass hysteria is beyond comprehension. This endeavor could be the culprit behind their lack of available support.

Unless you absolutely require a feature which is specific to Conceptdraw, save yourself the time, energy and ugly experience of this overkilled monstrosity of mass hysteric mayhem (think eating soup with a backhoe), I suggest staying far away from Conceptdraw (in any of it's 31 flavors).

For power married with simplicity, which together create an elegant user experience along with attractive visual diagrams, check out Omni Group's Omnigraffle and Mindjet's Mindmanager.

I was a long time user of Visio and then moved to the Mac platform. Using Visio under emulation was not fun so i gave Concept Draw a try. I can say that I am quite pleased with it's ease of use and feature set. It fits the bill quite nicely for most of what we need it for in our non-proffit organization. It seems that there is much more that I can do with it - scalable for larger future projects.
I had a number of questions for the company when I was considering using it and they were very responsive from both the sales and technical groups.

Well, after using ConceptDraw V for 4 months I can say that I like it a lot. Have read the comments below and wonder - I haven't had any problems with support, all their responses were timely and I appreciated the fact that they valued my opinion on what has to be done to improve the product. I find the amount of templates and libraries just great. So far I have been using it for diagramming business process development and creating diagrams for reports. I had several minor problems, one by installation. The support staff was very helpful as I asked them that I needed help really soon. Since the first diagram that I made with CD V I presented the next day to my team, I thought that I would need much more time to create it and to get used to the product. Well, to my disbelief it took me about 20 min to do it.
Right now I think that this software is indispensable for my work.

In the whole I would say that this product was worth its money and I'm seriously considering a multi-user purchase for my team.