What alternatives to excel are out there that provide spread sheets and graphic objec

[Happy New Year]

I often use excel to draw transportation networks aka lines that represent streets and then I use the cells to represent volumes along the street network. This allows some basic balancing. If the data comes from actual counts its never balanced in the start. Some massaging of the data and a few simple formulas can display/correct the disbalances.

The problem is that more evolved networks require more graphic objects lines arrows so on, and excel significantly slows down while working with such sheets.Especially if a few sheets/workbooks are interlinked (referencing each other).

Is there any other software out there that offers graphic objects and spread sheets in one and is better suited for this type of task?

Thanks in advance

.

 

[Richard Schollar]

You can get Visio and Excel to interact - and some Visio experts I know do some awesome stuff this way (not me I'm afraid - lack of use has meant I'm rubbish with Visio).