The march of the Leopard only applications has begun. The Omni Group just released beta 1 of Omnigraffle 5. I’ve reviewed OmniGraffle already and explained how darn useful this application is. The new version takes advantage of Leopard with many new features.

I’ve been using it a few hours this morning making some diagrams for one of my cases and so far it is “thumbs up.” This is a major upgrade and I’m too early in the process to really understand them all but some initial thoughts are as follows:

* The new stencil viewer is an excellent upgrade.

* The overall improvements have made the process of drawing and creating both easier and more intuitive.

* The new bezier system is a definite improvement.

* The integration with OmniOutliner seems easier with drag and drop.

I’m looking forward to getting to know this beta a bit better. In the meantime you can download a copy for yourself from Omni. Pricing and availability of the final build has yet to be announced.