When we last looked at Orgplus from Human Concepts we were impressed with what this specialist application had to offer, saying that it would “find a place in any small business wanting to produce charts on a regular basis”.

Since then it’s been made even better, the latest Orgplus 7 release offering some 30 improvements designed to make the software both quicker and easier to use as well as adding extra, very useful functionality.

Orgplus takes over where programs like Powerpoint and Visio leave off, providing not only tools to draw complex organisation and other hierarchical charts but adding a host of data import, publishing and automation facilities.

You can also perform spreadsheet-like calculations on the data, choose how to display it, create and link to sub-charts and so on to create all kinds of things from company structures to phone lists, salary tables and other documents.

Among the improvements in Orgplus 7 are support for Windows Vista and integration with the latest Office 2007 suite. The package also comes with an updated set of sample charts and templates, plus a host of new options designed to make life easier when it comes to entering and managing the supporting data. One we liked in particular is a new tree view, which lets you navigate your way around the entries that make up a typical hierarchical chart without having to go through each level individually.

You can also add comments to chart entries and track any changes made, both useful features when it comes to collaborative working. Facilities to chart alternate reporting structures have also been added, along with improved text and picture formatting and a tool to add off-page references to navigate directly from any chart box to another, to a sub-chart or even a totally separate Orgplus project file.

The amount and type of information that can be entered into employee profiles is also enhanced in the new release. Added to which, you can now edit profile data directly and apply conditional formatting to, for example, dynamically highlight particular staff entries based on criteria such as performance ratings and employment status. Multiple profile views can now be combined and tabs within those views, similarly, conditionally displayed based on the item selected.

One of the benefits of Orgplus is its ability to publish and distribute charts, with a freely distributable reader included as standard. The HTML tool is enhanced in Orgplus 7 to improve print quality and, optionally, enable project files to be downloaded directly from a host website. You can also arrange to automatically email published charts using an associated distribution list – great for keeping interested parties up to date when changes are made.

Apart from the new tools the user interface remains much the same and, although intuitive for the most part, it can take a while to work out how to use some of the more advanced features. The supporting documentation, though, is excellent and it doesn’t take that long to get to grips with Orgplus and use it to produce very professional-looking documents.

Prices too are unchanged. The Standard edition is £149 ex Vat but most businesses will want the Professional version we reviewed, which adds the ability to import existing data and extends the publishing and automation facilities. An upgrade from previous releases costs £65 ex Vat.