iDevGames

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OmniGraffle”

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Shape Info

I had been curious about The Omni Group’s OmniGraffle for quite some time when I won it as a prize in uDevGames 2002, iDevGames’ annual game creation contest. The reason I had been looking into it was that it is capable of doing Universal Modeling Language (UML) diagrams, something that I really enjoy using when programming.

For those who are unfamiliar with UML, it is a diagramming convention for planning and laying out object-oriented software. It works as a flow chart, showing the relationships between classes, as well as the members of each class. It’s a powerful tool for spotting problems in your program even before you begin to code. It’s also very useful in projects with multiple programmers, as it clearly defines the relationships and interactions between different parts of the code. If you often find yourself rewriting code because you hacked yourself into a corner, check into UML—it might be just what you need.

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Layout Info

In short, OmniGraffle is an application for drawing diagrams, flow charts, mind maps, and relational studies. At first glance, the concept seems simple: draw boxes and connect them with lines. You edit text in boxes, and move them around—nothing groundbreaking. However, after playing with the tools for some time, I was struck by two things. The first was that everything I had done, had been done without reading the manual. It was all so intuitive! I was surprised at how often pure guesses as to how the interface worked turned out to be just what I wanted. The second thought was that it all looked so good. It was absolutely beautiful. Arrows and lines curve graciously, boxes cast drop shadows, and the diagrams look clean and attractive. I then used OmniGraffle’s export options to turn my charts into a PDF file, and fell in love.

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Link Info

OmniGraffle is a program that is extremely well built and makes full use of the power of Mac OS X. There are, however, many flow chart editing programs out there. What sets OmniGraffle apart? One thing is the beautiful, if standard, Aqua look and a killer user interface (which I’ll get back to later). It does a great job at the basic box-and-lines diagrams. However, that’s where many flow chart editing packages stop, and where OmniGraffle takes off. It comes with palettes that show off what can be done with those shapes. You can make your own boxes and templates, and it becomes very powerful in a second. The UML charting, for instance, is just a side effect of these templates. Another example is network planning charts, with images of different Mac models and network peripherals, so now you can lay out that Ethernet you work on in no time, and save yourself a few meters of cabling.

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Magnets Info

The Office palette shows how you can arrange office furniture by providing a few tables and chairs that you can move around on the page.

So, what are the quirks? Well, I thought I had found a few unfinished touches in the interface. However, Omni Group pointed out to me how to accomplish them, and I was left without any criticism at all. I am truly in love with this piece of software. Even as I thought I had found some uncomfortable moves in the interface, I found cmd-key equivalents for them all. The only thing I can possibly complain about is the color selection tool, but that’s just one of my pet peeves with Aqua, and I really can’t blame Omni Group for that. So, that leaves me with no weak points to exploit, just a solid flow charting experience. Oh, and did I mention it does AppleScript? It does.

OmniGraffle is an outstanding application for game developers, as well as anyone wanting to do any kind of diagramming. The Omni Group has been involved with creating applications based on the Cocoa API, and OmniGraffle reflects their expertise in designing clear and powerful applications.

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Rated 9

Version: 2

Category: Diagram and Charting Tool

Developer: The Omni Group

MSRP: $59.95 (USD)

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