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Table of Contents
While SmartDraw is a versatile and powerful diagramming software, it doesn’t have 3D capabilities. However, this downloadable software packs a range of powerful features that make it a top contender for designing compelling structures.
Whether you are looking to draw mind maps, flow charts, organizational charts, health diagrams, floor plans, or geographic maps, SmartDraw could be what you need. Therefore, this software has a wide application – it isn’t niched specific.
While it may not feature advanced features like similar apps, SmartDraw is significantly cheap and effective for everyday use. The most notable feature is its advanced capabilities to create architectural designs. It works as better as specialized apps such as AutoCAD.
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As earlier stated, SmartDraw doesn’t have 3D capabilities. However, it is designed to import CAD files and offer numerous files to carry out floor planning.
3D modeling is powerful, and software with such capabilities, including Sweet home 3-D, can simulate objects in a three-dimensional design. Such software uses many shapes – simple and complex models to bring to life 3D structures effectively.
Different diagramming software with 3D capabilities exists. However, your choice depends on the user files to create.
SmartDraw’s ready-made building blocks make it pretty easy to create simple and quick designs such as dining rooms, office spaces, and bedrooms. So, if you are an interior designer or someone who needs to show architects what you want, you can easily use this diagramming software.
The main advantage of choosing to use SmartDraw is that it offers easier collaboration, robust content, powerful automation, and throws lots of diagrams at your disposal.
The latest version comes with 60000+ inbuilt templates, which lets you create 70+ types of visual. Additionally, it contains more than 35,000 organs that you can use to create multiple diagrams over a wide range of fields.


SmartDraw
Designing diagrams gets much easier when you use SmartDraw. Most users hail this software for its immense capabilities to draw almost any kind of diagram. Such a feature makes it have extensive use – virtually, across all industries.
So, what can you do with SmartDraw?
SmartDraw lets you build robust visuals easily using and platform or device. Specifically, it offers thousands of symbols and templates that make it easier for users to design diagrams like mind maps, organization charts, flowcharts, and a host of different business visuals.
SmartDraw editions
SmartDraw offers two editions: the online edition and the downloadable Windows Desktop edition.
Both these editions have similar features and capabilities. So whichever suits your situation, you still can create wonderful images, either way.
If you prefer working from a desktop, it is good that you download it on your PC and work from there. However, you’ll need to update this version. But if you opt for the cloud version, i.e., working online, the software updates itself. That makes it a better option for those needing fewer hassles while working.
What makes SmartDraw a good diagramming software?
There are constant updates on SmartDraw. Such updates aim at making it extremely easy to use this software. However, it aims at helping users create more compelling diagrams.
Some of the most admirable additions include:
Free connection to Atlassian: if you use Confluence and Jira, SmartDraw offers free connectors to connect your account and embed and offer access to diagrams you created on Atlassian stack.
Updated knowledgebase: SmartDraw has a new contextual help offering better assistance to users whenever they need it.
Ability to convert Lucidchart: import your Lucidchart file into SmartDraw in easy steps. Besides, this SmartDraw import can reproduce the Lucidchart folder tree.
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AWS integration: it is now possible to connect your AWS account to SmartDraw and visualize any AWS architecture. This process is automatic.
Another important feature includes better G suite integration.
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Sketchup
If you need to do 3D modeling, then you might just consider investing in Sketchup. Sketchup is a product of Trimble, and it is highly regarded when it comes to creating 3-dimensional objects as it packs some of the best 3-D tools.
Beyond the vast number of tools, Sketchup stands out for its impressive repository of plugins, which allows you to tailor the program to multiple different uses. The extensive database features user-created models, and you can easily download any of them to use in projects. Typically, you can use it to sketch models or import them for various uses, including video gaming creation, furniture building, interior design, 3D printing, etc.
The massive number of plugins and features gives Sketchup its versatility. That’s why the developers market this tool as commercial software rather than a free diagramming tool.
What can you do with SketchUp?
This intuitive modeling app lets you accomplish many tasks easily – it uses a patented “Push and Pull” method, which gives you the power to extrude flat surfaces into 3D models.
Typically, you can accomplish the following:
- Easy customization of 3D workspaces: the software packs 100+ professionally designed extensions
- Design versatility: you can design all your projects in 3D but print them in 2D, making work easier.
- Highly collaborative tool: the software packs multiple integrations to allow your team to work together on a similar project for a better outcome.
Sketchup Versions
There are three different versions:
- SketchUp Make: this is the version you download; hence, freeware. It is ideal for personal and educational purposes. You get it once you sign up. However, it starts with a month’s free SketchUp Pro trial.
- SketchUp Pro: this premium version costs about $695, and it offers additional functionalities like access to 2D, Style Builder and allows import and export of multiple file types.
- SketchUp Free: it is a web-based application released in November 2017.
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Sweet home 3d
If you are seeking entry-level diagramming software, Sweet Home 3D might work well for you. Apart from being easy to operate, this tool comes at a very cheap price. The ease-of-use stems from the fact that it is a single-window application, allowing users of different experiences to design home plans within minutes.
Though a user-friendly app, it doesn’t have in-depth features to create a buildable plan for serious home use. But it’s a good place to begin if you are looking to be a home designer, and it is also great for people needing software for fun games.
What does Sweet Home 3D entail?
This is essentially an interior design application that helps architects and designers develop house plans and furniture arrangement. You can use it as either a Cloud-based app or an on-premise interior design solution to create house plans in 2D and 3, i.e., drawings walls and rooms in more than a single plane. Additionally, it allows for adding texture, update colors, size and furniture orientation, and rooms.
The designing interface uses drag-and-drop mode. The software allows you to drag and drop windows, furniture, and doors from its catalog into your design plan. What’s more fascinating is that you can view all the changes you make while designing – in 3D view.
And if you like creating images and videos, this software lets you create them in a more realistic manner using various light sources. Moreover, you can import more 3D models as well as export these plans in various formats.
By now, you know that this software is one window software. Note that it has four panes, i.e., furniture catalog, home plan, furniture list, and the 3D view. Such a simple layout gives immediate access to all tools; hence easy to operate.
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Planner 5d
Thinking about the 5D app can seem impossible. Most people understand the meaning of 3D or 2D apps because they have used them. It may surprise you to learn of 5D apps; yes, there exists such apps.
Planner 5D is simply an app that combines a 2D app and a 3D app, bringing out something robust and truly smart. The app appears expensive. However, it is incredibly easy to use as it packs all the features you require to create perfect structures.
You’ll love Planner 5D for the following reasons:
- User-friendly and clean interface
- Robust and customizable objects
- It offers incredibly faster performance for both 3D and 2D.
Reasons not to like planner 5D:
- Quite an expensive app
- An Unnecessarily complicated pricing model
It’s a smart app and runs on your browser on multiple devices – laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets. However, it also comes with mobile apps – of course, for smartphones and tablets. These apps have powerful features, including augmented reality, and can also sync with the online edition. That makes it compatible with any home desktop or laptop.
Though it is efficient when dealing with both 2D and 3D modeling, the software feels much faster when modeling in 2D than similar designing apps. Now, when you use 3D, it slightly slows down but not so much to deter your performance. Remember, this performance involves when dealing with multiple items and some furniture.
Features and design
Planner 5D offers lots of templates. When it is time to design, you can opt to begin from scratch or use an existing template. The templates you’ll come across include the bedroom, bathroom, open plan kitchen or living room, loft, office, and two different houses.
The templates are pre-populated accordingly with furnishings and fixtures to give your homes a better look. Still, you can easily edit your plans, thanks to the convenient side toolbar.
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SmartDraw tutorial
While many people claim that SmartDraw is an easy-to-use diagramming software, that is not entirely true. You should not assume that the app doesn’t have a learning curve, considering many features. Again, the developers keep updating the software to ensure that all users – beginners and experts benefit from what it offers.
But that should not scare you.
There are a lot of SmartDraw tutorials online, especially on the official home page. These tutorials are well tailored for different kinds of users. Best of all, they are straightforward. But before you decide to use SmartDraw, know what you intend to create.
Therefore, you cannot learn everything at one time. A good SmartDraw tutorial deals with a section of the software. The developers and experts offer written notes alongside explanatory videos – this makes it easier to follow the procedure of building whichever diagram you need.
It is strongly advisable to use video tutorials as they are close to living to teach. Other avenues create SmartDraw courses with live instructors. This is good because you can easily follow and ask questions where you do not grasp the content.
How does a good SmartDraw tutorial look like?
As earlier stated, a well-curated tutorial covers a different section of the software in detail. This way, you can comprehend in detail the nitty-gritty of what it offers. In short, you should know how to create an account, install the software, buy a subscription, use integrations, and draw different kinds of diagrams.
The common Tutorials on SmartDraw Diagramming include:
- Making a flowchart Drawing a floor plan
- Constructing data flow diagrams
- Drawing network diagrams
- Generating sales map
- Constructing org charts
- Creating UML diagrams
- Constructing accident reconstructions
- Creating website wireframes
- Generating mind maps
- Creating Gantt charts
It would be helpful if you found beginner videos if you are just starting on SmartDraw.
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Floorplanner
Floorplanner is another versatile interior designing app that features a superb range of functionalities for effective and easy tasks. Its library is object-oriented, but the app also features cross-platform abilities.
The app typically runs on all browser types, enabling users to create a wide variety of designs. Good thing; the app is extremely user-friendly. The major concern, however, is that most handy features come at extra payment.
Reasons to use Floorplanner:
- It offers a user-friendly interface with lots of powerful features. Users can design walls to scale easily. Besides, adding doors and windows of accurate size is also easy. It is a drag and drop app.
- It features apps in Google Chrome as well as on Apple devices.
- It can handle complicated projects without freezing or being finicky.
Reason to dislike Floorplanner:
- It’s impossible to customize measurements for chairs and table, and their catalog has limited option to solve this problem
- There are very limited export and import options.
- The new dashboard can get really buggy in some cases.
The user interface is divided into two:
The main window – this allows you to design and explore the exterior and interior
The sidebar offers quick access to your projects, changing settings, access multiple structures, etc.
Design and features
The standout features here are how easy it is to reshape, populate rooms, and decorate rooms via wall and flooring materials. You can easily achieve it via a drag and drop interface from your room’s library.
The sidebar lets you view your objects in 2D or 3D, where you can adjust them if need be. Adjusting involves rotation, changing dimensions, and changing distance. Ideally, the models you are creating are more of being generic as opposed to being specific.
Pricing
Floorplanner adopts a pay as going formula alongside subscription plans. In reality, its pricing plan is quite complex to describe. But there are three plans – the free plan, the $5/month Plus plan, and the $29 per month Pro plan.
Space designer 3d
If you need an online software to help you create interior design projects and 3D homes, the Spacedesigner 3-D might be the right tool for you. It is a truly interactive tool that will let you share your ideas and creativity with your team, professional, family, and friends.
Count this online software as one of the easiest ways to easily dive into architectural designing – prior in-depth knowledge in designing may not be necessary, thanks to its less steep learning curve than similar apps. But in return, you get powerful diagrams.
What is Spacedesigner 3d best for?
This online app lets users draw floor plans in 2D easily. But it lets them navigate the interior of homes in 3D., so creating different rooms in a house can be exciting. Adding windows, doors, appliances, furniture, etc., is pretty straightforward. Besides, modification of the existing plan is easy.
Space designer 3d is:
- Fun to use, and you won’t need a lot of time to learn – the interface is beautiful and modern.
- You can create objects and visualize them in 3D, i.e., placing objects where you need them is very simple (drag and drop)
You may not like this software for the reasons below:
- To customize your products, you need to buy the premium license
- It works slow when it comes to glazing internal partitions
- Limited kitchen furniture options
The ability to generate professional like output with a fraction of an hour puts this software among this century’s smart architectural technologies. While creating a wall, this software normally completes certain tasks on your behalf. What you should do is only to complete the minimum number of walls – creating and joining them.
As the software continues building the layout for you, it gives you time to design furniture settings, colours, and other details that matter to you. Keep in mind; this tool curates a library of metrics and measurements for implementation in reality.
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SmartDraw
SmartDraw, unlike other diagramming apps on this list, is more versatile. Apart from using it for designing floor plans (of course, in 2D), it’s compatible with AutoCAD. That’s makes it right for designing homes. However, what makes it a popular software is its wide application.
Typically, SmartDraw has applications in over 70 industries and can design thousands of diagrams, all of them having a professional standard. Why? The app is feature-rich, and its templates, symbols, and elements are context-sensitive.
But this app falls behind when it comes to collaboration. Nonetheless, the developers are working on that issue to ensure you can easily share your work with other professionals.
What makes SmartDraw a better choice for diagramming:
- The selection of objects and templates is vast, making it possible to create a wide range of diagrams
- It features a smart panel that facilitates easy navigation
- Decent integration options
- You can store your documents in the cloud, meaning that you can access them or access your work in progress anytime, anywhere
- SmartDraw lets you export your files/documents in formats
- Offers some stylistic options in a friendly manner.
What you may not like about SmartDraw:
- Not all functions are customizable within the program. This can be a huge setback for people who would like to customize their creations.
- SmartDraw is a bit sophisticated. Therefore, if you intend to create professional-grade diagrams, you need to get good training. Though SmartDraw offers free training, it’s only available if there are more than five people. So small companies won’t benefit from the free training.
- Zooming in and out can be frustrating, especially for first-time users.
- SmartDraw gets glitches at times.
Pricing
The various ways to buy SmartDraw:
First, getting the downloadable edition, which works for windows. This option has three versions – Standard, Business, and Enterprise.
Second, subscribe to the SmartDraw Cloud service. This option is great for testing the service but offers decent auto-save features. It doesn’t have price tiers.
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Conclusion
3D modeling offers a lot to designers. Precisely, designers get 3D visualizations, animation creation, and 3D printing. Enterprises and individuals alike are embracing 3D in solving their problems. Look, they create flowcharts, maps, visualize ideas, create floor plans, and design how the interior of the office and homes should look.
This requires powerful tools – tools that bring out professional-like diagrams, i.e., precise diagrams, and can solve the problem at hand. The majority of the software is geared towards creating 2D diagrams. However, 3D software is quickly replacing these 3D apps when creating intricate plans such as interior designing and floor plan designs.
All creations, though complex, must be understandable. For instance, a flowchart can turn the longest workflow into instructions that you can easily follow. Similarly, other diagrams can help you get your point across extremely easily.
There are lots of designing and diagramming software – no doubt about it. We’ve reviewed SmartDraw, Spacedesigner 3-D, Sketchup, Sweet home 3-D, Floorplanner, and Planner 5d.
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All the software except SmartDraw has 3-D capabilities. That makes them suitable for designing intricate designs such as home designs. Simply put, they are great for architectural tasks. So, if you want to design a home, these might be helpful for you.
However, Sweet home 3-D is very basic in what it can do. You can utilize it to design a home that you later can build – in reality. On the other hand, Spacedesigner 3-D is better placed to create designs that can be put to real use. Apart from completing designs for you, this software generates measurements and other important metrics that an actual building will need.
Planner 5d features 2D and 3D apps, meaning it is more versatile. However, if you are looking for an all-around software, i.e., a software that will serve you across different industries, SmartDraw might be the right choice.
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Luis Gillman
Hi, I Am Luis Gillman CA (SA), ACMA
I am a Chartered Accountant (SA) and CIMA (SA) and author of Due Diligence: A strategic and Financial Approach.
The book was published by Lexis Nexis on 2001. In 2010, I wrote the second edition. Much of this website is derived from these two books.
In addition I have published an article entitled the Link Between Due Diligence and Valautions.
Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information published on this website is accurate, the author and owners of this website take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered as a result of relience upon the information contained therein. Furthermore the bulk of the information is derived from information in 2018 and use therefore is at your on risk. In addition you should consult professional advice if required.