Micrografx Graphics Suite 2

Intuitive GUIs, rich media library, versatile

In 1994, I purchased the Webtricity Suite and still use the media library today for much of my designs. Unfortunately, the company was purchased by Corel's iGrafx and the product line phased out.

The bundle comes with Simply 3D, Media Manager w/ 4 CDs, Picture Publisher, and Micrografx Draw.

For novices, the suite is very intuitive and easy to learn. Within a few minutes, a beginner can create complex animated GIFs with Simply 3D comparable to those generated by much more expensive applications such as 3D Studio Max.

Micrografx Draw is similar to MS Draw with no real advantages over MS Draw other than having another choice of drawing programs if you're tired of using MS products.

Media Manager is an integrated application that allows you to conduct smart searches for images via string stored on 4 media library CDs. This is extremely useful when you need to search among tens of thousands of images. The media manager places results in thumbnail format.

Overall, the package is great for media and creating and rendering animated GIFs.

The downside, the package is hard to come by and there is no support from Corel.