Shadows calculates and draws sundials and astrolabes. It can also provide solar and lunar ephemeris, graphs of the equation of time, graph of the duration of days, maps of the sky, etc. Shadows is first of all a free software, well known for its ease of use. Thousands of people use Shadows worldwide, as simple amateurs or as professionals.
The Shadows software and its author received several prizes, amongst which, the Sawyer Dialing Prize awarded by the North American Sundial Society and the Julien Saget Medal awarded by the Société Astronomique de France (French Astronomy Society).
Shadows
Shadows in its basic level is free. It comes with a powerful set of functions and a fully illustrated user manual.
Shadows Expert
Shadows Expert is a level dedicated to people who want to access to more advanced functions in the program.
Shadows Pro
Shadows Pro is the most advanced level and is made for professional sundial makers and power users interested in astrolabes.
Shadows
- Plane sundials with polar style (horizontal, vertical declining, equatorial, polar, meridian)
- Sundial drawn to scale 1, of any size and any orientation or reclination
- Compatible with any location on Earth, in northern or southern hemisphere (6300+ locations installed)
- Style drawn to scale 1
- Tables of coordinates of hour line points and declination arcs
- Lines of solar or mean time, with or without longitude correction
- Text frames that can be moved and resized on the sundial, with preinstalled list of mottoes
- Equation of time drawn in various forms
- Drawing of a protractor and azimuth circle
- Export of data in Excel format
- Copy-paste of images in bitmap format
- Fully illustrated 150-page user manual
- User interface translated in 18 languages
Shadows Expert
Access the features marked with yellow padlocks 
Features in addition to those of Shadows:
Features in addition to those of Shadows:
- Inclined and declining sundial, declining polar sundial, spider sundial
- Analemmatic sundials
- Cylindrical sundials
- Spider sundial
- Ephemeris tables
- Italian hours, Babylonian hours
- Insertion of image frames on the sundial
- The sundial plate can be circular or elliptical, hexagonal or octagonal
- Export and copy-paste of drawing layout in EMF (vector format)
- Drawing of the construction layout of a sundial
- Simulation of the roof's shadow on the sundial
- Change of orientation and reclination of a sundial
- Tool for the determination of the wall's declination
- Compass rose and sky map
- Mariner's astrolabe
- Star finder map
- Two-year maintenance plan on the license
Scan the QR code to receive your Shadows Expert license in just a few minutes.
Shadows Pro
Access the features marked with yellow and red padlocks 
Features in addition to those of Shadows Expert:
Features in addition to those of Shadows Expert:
- Planispheric astrolabe with ancient rete, universal astrolabe
- Vertical declining analemmatic sundial
- Bifilar sundials
- Interactive 3D view of sundials and multiple sundials
- Export of the 3D model to OBJ format, compatible 3D printing
- Drawing of azimuth and altitude lines on the sundial
- Sidereal hours, unequal hours
- Colored background outside solstice arcs
- Colored background between declination arcs
- Solar graph (azimuth-altitude) with horizon mask
- Lunar ephemeris
- Export of drawing layout in DXF and SVG
- Export of files for a laser cutter
- Tool for the calculation of sundial parameters from a photo
- Efficiency graph of a solar panel
- License can be installed on two of your PCs
Feature |
ShadowsFree |
Shadows Expert20 EUR |
Shadows Pro50 EUR |
| Database of 6300+ cities with latitude, longitude and time zone | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| User manual in English, 150 pages in color | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| User manual in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Czech | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| User interface translated in 18 languages | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Compatible with Windows 11/10, Windows 8.x and Windows 7 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Classical sundial, horizontal, vertical due south or declining | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Classical sundial, equatorial or polar | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hour lines of solar or mean time | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Declination lines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Declination line for an anniversary date | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Analemma curves (8-shaped) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export of data tables in Excel format | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Copy-paste of images in bitmap format | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Moveable free text frames | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Catalog of 950+ mottoes in Latin, English, French, ... | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Graph of the Equation of Time | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Drawing of a large size protractor | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Animation of the style' shadow | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rectangle or square sundial plate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Elliptical, hexagonal or octagonal sundial plate | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Declining-reclining sundial, declining polar sundial | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Spider sundial | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Italic and Babylonian lines | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Declination lines for declination angles or dates | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Declination lines for multiple anniversary dates | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Noon hour line for another location | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Image and clipart frames for decoration | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Export and copy-past of images in EMF (vector format) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Analemmatic sundial, horizontal or vertical | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Shepherd's dial, polar cylindrical sundial | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Armillary ring, vertical cylindrical sundial | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Simulation of the shadow of a roof on the sundial | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Mariner astrolabe | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Solar ephemeris | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Compass rose | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Map of sky, star finder with planet and moon positions | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Interactive 3D view of sundials with realistic shadows | ✓ | ||
| 3D view of multiple sundials | ✓ | ||
| Export of 3D model to OBJ format, compatible with 3D printing | ✓ | ||
| Simulation of realistic styles and shadows | ✓ | ||
| Unequal hours, sidereal hours | ✓ | ||
| Arcs of solar azimuth and altitude | ✓ | ||
| Colored background outside solstices | ✓ | ||
| Colored background between declination arcs | ✓ | ||
| Solar graph (altitude-azimuth of Sun over the year) | ✓ | ||
| Tool for calculating vertical sundial parameters from a photo | ✓ | ||
| Tool for calculating horizontal sundial parameters from hour line angles | ✓ | ||
| Lunar ephemeris | ✓ | ||
| Planetary ephemeris | ✓ | ||
| Generator of ephemeris tables | ✓ | ||
| Bifilar sundials | ✓ | ||
| Planispheric astrolabe | ✓ | ||
| Ancient rete with star pointers | ✓ | ||
| Universal astrolabe | ✓ | ||
| Export drawings in DXF in SVG format | ✓ | ||
| Export of files for laser engraver/cutter | ✓ | ||
| 2-year warranty on the license (Maintenance plan) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| License can be installed on only 1 PC | ✓ | ||
| License can be installed on 2 PCs | ✓ | ||