Graphic packages?

[jwilson56]

Hey guys I really want to finally update my showcase. One thing that is sorely out of date is my block diagram. So I am looking at what graphic packages are available out there that do a good job in helping create the kind of block diagrams we can create to help show our systems.

Freeware preferred.

Lets hear from you.

 

[roussell]

Have you tried Inkscape?

There is also the Draw app inside of OpenOffice.

Terry

 

[TonyNo]

+1 for Inkscape

 

[harleydude]

I think something like this is what John is looking for and it is free.

http://www.weresc.com/cade.php

 

[jwilson56]

I think something like this is what John is looking for and it is free.

http://www.weresc.com/cade.php

Wow from the looks of this I think its going to be awesome. Just what I was looking for. I suggest others take a look

Thanks

 

[hucker]

I think something like this is what John is looking for and it is free.

http://www.weresc.com/cade.php

Wow from the looks of this I think its going to be awesome. Just what I was looking for. I suggest others take a look

Thanks

I don't think it supports connecting things with lines, you can draw the lines but they seem to be independent of the boxes they connect. This makes rearranging things a PITA... It is capable of cutting and pasting into Word and other apps that accept images/drawings. This is nice (unlike InkScape)

 

[TonyNo]

In case you didn't know, you can connect lines to shapes and have those links preserved in Inkscape.

 

[123]

What caught my attention about CADE is the availability of an ActiveX object. It suggests that I can programmatically create floorplans based on data in my HA app. Interesting

ADDENDUM

• It appears the only way to view the generated drawings is by posting them to Weresc's web site. Can someone confirm this? The native file format is something called DTC.
• The ActiveX object is a developer tool; for sale.

I believe another route to displaying floor plans in a web browser would be to use Inkscape to generate an SVG file that can be displayed in Firefox or IE with Adobe's SVG viewer plugin. SVG data is in XML format so one could programmatically append lighting devices into the floor plan and their position would remain correct regardless of the the zoom factor. A definite advantage over the use of PNG or GIF for floor plans.

Oh, and it lets you make nice flowcharts and diagrams too. :blink: