The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
Micrografx Windows DRAW 6
Bob Burt
 bobburt@melbpc.org.au

Regular readers will recall that I reviewed the previous version of this application last year (PC Update, August 1997). Like its predecessor, Micrografx Windows DRAW 6 sports a more extensive and further modified title, namely, Windows DRAW 6, Premier Edition, Print Studio.

General description

Draw 6, like Draw 5, is presented on two CD-ROMs. The first of these, the Application disc, contains all that you need to install the application suite, plus 300 TrueType fonts and some of the 20,000 items of clipart symbols. The second, the Contents disc, contains the substantial remainder of the clipart symbols and images.

The application suite comprises

  • Windows Draw 6 - the major and controlling application
  • Instant 3D - to create and render 3D views or scenes containing 3D objects and text
  • PhotoMagic - an image editor to modify bitmap images
  • Media Manager - a utility to access available drawings and images for use in other applications.
T he Instant 3D and Media Manager components are identical to those released with Draw 5, but Draw 6 and PhotoMagic are new versions.

The package also includes a 280-page User's Manual. This is amply illustrated and provides an introduction to the drawing techniques required for using Windows Draw, PhotoMagic and Instant 3D. Tutorial projects are included and design concepts and tools are discussed, but the idea is that the detailed reference information for using tools and commands should be obtained from the online Help.


Figure 1. Opening Options for Windows Draw 6


Figure 2. Project Wizard for Draw 6

Installation

The Typical installation is recommended and requires 90 MB of free space. The Compact selection provides for the installation of the bare minimum components and requires 45 MB of space.

Using Draw 6

In common with the screens for most drawing packages, Draw 6 contains a large central work area and the usual menu bars, toolbars, buttons and status bar. You click with the right mouse button to open the short-cut menu for rapid access to frequently required commands. An important addition is the Visual Toolbar, which is shown in the lower left of the drawing area (provided it is not deliberately hidden). This bypasses the need to find tools on the toolbars or via the menus and leads you through the required tasks.


Figure 3. The Draw tutorial


Figure 4. Instructions to create a web page

If you follow the sequence of illustrations accompanying this article, you should gain a general appreciation of the ease with which you are led into new territory. Further familiarisation will quickly lead you to discovery of natty ways of gaining the background information you may need to manage the next step. For example, while the dialog boxes have a special Help button, a usual addition these days, most of them also provide for the appearance of a What's this? button when you click on an area for which you require an explanation with the right mouse button. You then left-click the new button for display of the required information, or right-click it for printing or copying.

The backbone of the program is still provided by the battery of Project Wizards, which continues to improve. A major change is in the Web publishing capability, which uses the same wizards and graphics tools for both print output and Web publishing. A host of Web-ready backgrounds, buttons and animations are available for the design of such pages. The Web publishing wizard automatically converts all prepared pages to HTML format and then copies them to the World Wide Web - a neat way of preparing Web pages without the need to learn HTML.

As was the case for the earlier version, Instant 3D, PhotoMagic and Media Manager can be used independently, but they are also directly accessible from within Draw. The new version of PhotoMagic can still be regarded as a limited edition of Micrografx Picture Publisher 6.


Figure 5. Selecting one of the 32 Web page designs


Figure 6. Creating a Financial Web page

New users should very quickly become adept at handling each of these programs, as so much by way of help is available, including a number of tutorials within each of the major applications and independently directly from the second CD-ROM.

Conclusion

This updated package is ideal for beginners who wish to prepare graphics pages for printout or for Web designs. Its content and attractive price are both highly competitive.

Reprinted from the April 1998 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

[About Melbourne PC User Group]