The first version of PhotoDraw 2000 was a strange program, especially considering that Microsoft was its developer. PhotoDraw's ability to combine the flexibility of vectors and the creativity of bitmaps was undeniably impressive, but something was missing. At least Microsoft recognised its own failure and with the quick release of version 2 is determined to rectify the mistakes and to bring PhotoDraw firmly into the Office fold.
First impressions are certainly positive.
The new version includes an installer identical to that used in Office 2000 along with other common features such as menus that display the most recently used commands and consistent Help files. The program also feels far more responsive. Microsoft claims that on a system with at least 64 MB of RAM, version 2 will generally be about 25 percent faster than version 1. In fact the improvements have been targeted where they are most required so that the slowest tools, such as the photo-editing and paint brushes, have been made up to 70 percent faster. Most important of all, at least psychologically, is the removal of version 1's constant and disconcerting double pass screen redraw.