By Dale Farris, Secretary
Golden Triangle PC Club
March 2002

On January 7, 2000 Microsoft completed its $1+ billion acquisition of the Visio Corporation, thereby adding the wonderful line of Visio products to the ever increasing Microsoft Office family.

Visio is a vector drawing program that has been available for many years, originally developed by the ShapeWare Corporation that soon changed their name to the Visio Corporation, and now continued as a Microsoft component. The Visio group was added as a new division of Microsoft's Business Productivity Group, and Visio is now fully integrated into Microsoft's Office XP suite of applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, etc.)

At this point, Microsoft does not plan to include Visio products in any of their Office suites, but will continue to support Visio as a standalone product that will integrate with these Office applications when the Visio installation process recognizes these files on a drive. Whether this acquisition will result in reduction of the Visio line is too soon to tell, but at this point Microsoft intends to continue to upgrade this fine drawing program.

As far back as 1993, the Visio product line has been receiving rave reviews in the industry, both from critics as well as users. Visio has received the PC Magazine Editor's Choice award numerous times, InfoWorld's Product of the Year award, Windows User Magazine's Best award, PC Computing's "A" List award, Windows Magazine's Win100 List, as well the Washington Software Association Business Product of the Year award. These accolades are met with equal fanfare from users, especially long time users like me who have found this product to be so flexible and so easy to use.

Visio is a pioneering program that helps users easily create all sorts of business graphics diagrams, flow charts and other types of charts, and comes in different flavors. Visio Standard helps you create basic business graphics and serves as the platform for the other editions. The Professional edition creates diagrams of information systems as well as software development projects, and the Enterprise Edition allows information systems managers to map out and visually manage their complex computer network, including thousands of built-in shapes that look like the various types of workstation and other computer equipment that may be connected to a network. In the 2002 family of Visio products, the prior Visio Technical edition is no longer available.

The key aspect of Visio Professional 2002 is the approach to making it very easy for a user to create a diagram, using the ability to simply click on a desired shape, and then drag it and drop it onto the drawing page. Each shape comes with all sorts of built-in programmed features, such as the ability to re-size the shape, enter text into it, modify its border and background fill, and many others. In addition, those with the programming moxy can use Visio to alter pre-programmed aspects of a shape, as well as create and save newly programmed shapes.

In the 2002 versions of these editions, Visio continues to look and feel just like any other Office XP program, and can be set up to be directly accessible from within these other suite programs. Note that while the 2002 version of the Office suite is now labeled Office XP, the 2002 version of Visio is labeled Visio 2002.

Connecting shapes is as easy as selecting the connector tool, and then clicking on the shape you want to connect, and they automatically become connected. This feature comes in very handy when needing to diagram a business process.

During the mid to late 1980's, the quality movement was very strong in American business, and companies were eager to find computer applications that would allow their teams to easily and quickly diagram their key processes with a flow chart diagram. Visio's early growth was highly driven, in my opinion, by the need for this type of program, and Visio continues to support this important use, as well as so many more uses.

Adding text to shapes is as easy as typing it into the shape, and you have all the formatting control features you might want to apply to the text. Some shapes also come with an automatic re-sizing feature, which means the shape size adjusts as you type text into the shape.

You can also attach database attributes to shapes. If you want to create a room layout diagram and affix a product name and cost to each piece of furniture, you can use a Visio wizard either to create an on-screen report or to export the data for use with specific tables created by other database programs.

Visio is also ODMA-compliant, which means you can use Web-based and LAN document-management systems for tracking revisions and checking Visio drawings in and out. You can also use Visual Basic for Applications, built into the program, to create macros and customize applications.

You can also now make Visio more Web-savvy, by creating links within Visio charts that connect to Web resources, and by saving Visio files in HTML format to view in a browser.

NOTE: In the left frame of the home page of this site, click on the link to "Meeting Location" to see a map to the meeting place of the Golden Triangle PC Club (GTPCC). This map was created in Visio and saved as the HTML file you will open from this link.

Visio Professional has all the basic shape sets in the Standard Edition, but in addition, it has many more networking and telecommunication shapes, many targeted for network products. Many of these shapes come with pre-created fields that already include information such as model names, product descriptions, and part numbers. If you have your network information in a database file, a Visio wizard can use it to automatically create charts of your specific network configuration. 

There is also a wizard for mapping Web sites. You tell the wizard the URL, how many levels you want in the map, and formatting information such as the shape of the chart. The wizard then examines the site and automatically develops the map, which resembles a flow chart.

The Professional edition also includes shapes for the Unified Modeling Language (UML), a language that describes the building of complex software development projects. This also includes a wizard that checks UML diagrams for errors such as shapes that aren't connected.

New and Improved Features

Lines and text are smoother than in previous versions, and gradient fills appear clearer when viewed electronically.

Now supports over 16 million colors per document

Built-in access to clip art installed with Microsoft Office, as well as tens of thousands of images, sounds, and videos available online

Import images or photos directly from a scanner or digital camera

Crop, group, or change the fill, border, shadow, or transparency of imported graphics within Visio

Diagrams saved as Web pages include a custom properties viewer, built-in navigation, and improved hyperlink positioning. Multiple hyperlinks can be displayed for a single shape

Double-click a diagram within an Office document, and get access to more Visio tools for making updates and revisions

Choose Drawing Type dialog opens when Visio is launched to help users visualize and access the appropriate diagram template

Getting Started Tour provides an introduction to Visio, a sample diagram library, and the basic steps involved in creating Visio diagrams

Answer Wizard Help enables users to type questions directly into the Ask a Question box. A list of related Help topics appears, including links to new and updated topics on the Web

Find Shape tool provides search capabilities for installed shapes as well as additional shapes available on the Web. Download new shapes by dragging them from the results pane onto the page

Pan and Zoom, Custom Properties, and Drawing Explorer windows can be merged into a single, page-tabbed window and docked in the stencil pane to provide additional workspace

Search diagrams for information contained in custom properties, shape names, and user-defined cells, in addition to shape text

New Office XP look for improved usability and overall experience

Menus include the same personalization options that make Office applications easy to learn, prominently featuring the most-used items and keeping others easily accessible

Task pane helps users open or start documents, view the contents of the clipboard, perform searches, or insert clip art (Office XP required for clip art integration).

Common Office tools such as AutoCorrect behavior, familiar keyboard shortcuts, and the Office spelling checker are now built in to Visio

Visio articles, tips and tricks, product updates, and add-on solutions on the Microsoft Office Tools on the Web site help business users increase their productivity

Technical Visio articles are available through MSDN, TechNet, and the Microsoft Knowledge Base

Individual Visio solutions help you better understand ideas, information, and systems through tighter integration with other products and technologies. Many solutions have been improved to be easier to use and to help you work more effectively.

Microsoft Project integration

Import dates and tasks from Microsoft Project to create Visio timelines and Gantt charts

Export dates and milestones in a timeline to create a Gantt chart, and vice versa

Display an unlimited number of custom properties on organization charts. Users can change which properties are displayed after the diagram has been generated

3D directional maps

Create maps of small areas and other locations requiring detailed documentation

New shapes represent curved walls and office cubicles

Resize office layout shapes using new dimension labels or by specifying custom property values

Doors and windows automatically fall into place when dropped on a wall shape

Individual CAD entities can be converted into Visio shapes

Microsoft Exchange 2000 server shapes

New shapes represent Exchange objects in Microsoft Active Directory

Increased control over discovery and layout. A new List window enables easy navigation by displaying Web site elements in a tree view

Generate a complete report of all the links in a Web site, including broken links. The reporting tool can identify changes in a Web site since it was last diagrammed

Users can work more quickly by adding new fields consecutively to database tables or software classes

SQL Server support

Users can reverse engineer and diagram schema for SQL Server 2000, in addition to other databases

Building a database diagram from the Tables window is faster than in previous versions. Also, users no longer need to drag tables from the Tables window to create a diagram after reverse engineering a database

Users can reverse engineer and diagram Microsoft Visual Basic 6 and Visual C++ 6 projects. Support for Visual Basic 7, Visual C++ 7, and Visual C# will be provided through a service release when Microsoft Visual Studio.net becomes available

New shapes represent curved walls; any flat wall can be transformed into a curved wall. Users can easily change the curvature of curved wall shapes.

Visio automatically cleans up wall intersections, reducing the amount of cleanup required in creating building plans

Floor plan data import

Automatically populate floor plans with data stored in Active Directory, Exchange, Excel spreadsheets, Access databases, or other ODBC-compliant data sources

Floor plan color by value

Automatically assign colors to shapes, such as offices in a floor plan, based on custom property values

See all model space views supported by AutoCAD paper space

Component attribute management

Now displays component information in the Custom Properties window, eliminating the need for an external database

Engineers can manually tag process engineering components and selectively retag them. Tags can also be generated based on component custom property data.

Enhanced control of pipe layout with support for junctions, as well as splitting and healing of pipe segments by valves and other process engineering components

Visio Network Center provides access to new and updated network diagramming solutions, up-to-date equipment shapes, and network diagramming guidelines and examples for IT professionals. A one-year subscription is included with the Visio Network Tools add-on to Visio 2002 Professional.

Library of more than 20 network diagram templates integrate with the AutoDiscovery and Layout solution to help users accomplish specific network documentation tasks.

New Exchange 2000 shapes help users document Exchange objects and attributes added to the Active Directory schema

Property information available through the Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is now added to workstation and server devices documented with the AutoDiscovery and Layout solution

Large directories can be imported more quickly and documented in diagrams of smaller file size thanks to an optional delay in property import

Users of the Active Directory solution can now view the contents of the Configuration container, including sites, subnets, and more, through a new tab on the Browse Directory dialog

Drawings created by dragging and dropping shapes from stencils can be seamlessly exported to LDIF format using the Export Changes function, then imported into Active Directory with the LDIFDE utility

Visio Network Equipment shape library now includes more than 25,000 shapes, an increase of more than 3,000 shapes since the release of Visio Enterprise 2000

Find Shape feature enables users to search for network equipment shapes stored both on the local machine and on the Web. Users download new shapes by dragging them from the Find Shape pane onto the page

Designed for business professionals and technical professionals
Provides advanced network diagramming solutions and includes a one-year subscription to the Visio Network Center for diagramming resources, updated solutions, and manufacturer-specific network equipment shapes

Available in 13 languages

Interoperability and Customization

XML file format enables interoperability with other XML-enabled applications and facilitates storage and exchange of diagram-based information, including data not associated with a page or shape

Over 90 new Automation properties and methods provide access to more Visio diagram data

Enables developers to extend and enhance Visio programmatically through COM add-ins

Developers can extend and enhance Visio functionality using built-in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) 6.3

Microsoft Authenticode technology allows developers to digitally sign the VBA projects in their solutions using a digital certificate that identifies the developer as a trusted source. If a signed project has been altered, a user can choose to disable macros in a Visio document

Administrators and/or users have the option of removing Visual Basic for Applications from Office installations on a user, group, or organization-wide basis.

Auto Update utility analyzes a user’s Visio installation, recommends relevant updates, and makes them immediately available for download and installation

Save current files at the time an error occurs in an application. As a result, users spend less time recreating their diagrams

For added assurance and diagnostic help, users can prompt Visio to automatically report application errors to Microsoft

Users can choose to safely shut down a non-responding application while initiating recovery of the document

Choose how often files are automatically saved. If an error occurs, the recovered file is opened, and users have the option of discarding the file, saving it over the original, or saving it as a separate file

Visio can be deployed using Windows Installer technology. Windows Installer simplifies desktop management. End users can install additional Visio features on demand—features are added only as needed or as disk space allows. IT administrators can use Install on Demand to determine which features to deploy to different groups of users, thus improving manageability. In addition, the self-repair feature reduces support costs—Visio detects and fixes missing or corrupt files, so users don’t waste time troubleshooting.

Visio uses the Office Installation Wizard, which provides control over customized installations, including silent and unattended installations.   

SMS-based deployment

Systems Manager Server (SMS) support simplifies installation. Organizations can create packages for automatic deployment to specified user groups on the local network and at remote sites.

System administrators can more effectively install and run Visio in a secure Windows environment. Features such as install on demand and detect and repair are now accessible to users without local administrator privileges. Multiple, concurrent users will benefit from improved Terminal Server support

Bottom Line Recommendation

Non-artists needing to create professional business graphics will find their answer in Visio, while professionals or technicians will also find the program allows them to use their additional skills to further modify and develop Visio to suit their higher level needs. This is an ideal program for creating all sorts of quick and easy diagramming chores, as well as highly complex diagrams.

Basic Operation

The art of using any Visio product begins with the concept called drag-and-drop drawing. To draw anything in any Visio edition, you simply drag pre-drawn shape symbols, called SmartShapes, from many task-specific stencils onto a drawing page. In addition, Visio also provides all the necessary tools to create highly unique shapes, such as a line tool (line, arc, freeform, and pencil) and a rectangle tool (rectangle and ellipse). You can change the line style, color and ends, as well as the line style of the shape.  

All Visio editions share many standard features that are flexible and easy to master, such as moving a shape onto the page, so anyone with any degree of experience with a PC can probably very quickly create graphics and drawings in this intuitive program. A dynamic grid is also built into all Visio programs, meaning the shape will automatically "stick" to the grid, greatly aiding in arranging or lining up the shapes. Shape extension lines show you where to drop the shapes with respect to the other shapes on the page, and automatic line routing keeps shapes connected as you move them around the page.

Arranging and ordering the shapes is also very easy, with the many built-in tools that allow for all sorts of grouping and aligning of shapes. After creating the drawing, the program then allows for all the control you need to make the drawing fit to whatever size page you wish, with settings for margins, fitting the drawing to the page, changing the page size, the paper size, and paper layout.

The many stencils included in each Visio edition each contain a collection of shapes related to the stencil title, and you can open other stencils to work with other shapes, as well as create and save customized shapes in customized stencil sets.

Add-On Functionality

With Visio's many years of success, this has driven interest by many companies to create still more add-on shapes and other complex features that are designed to work in Visio. These vendors are accessible at the main Visio web site (see below) via links to their sites where they sell their add-ons. Whenever one product begins to attract the interest of the "add-on market," this is a sure sign the product is a key leader in its field, which is certainly the case with Visio.

Setup and Install

Although the install process will likely run smoothly, users should be aware that since Visio is a Microsoft product, the install process will seek to integrate this program into existing Office suite programs that may already have been installed on the machine. Over time, look for Microsoft to even further merge and blend Visio into Office, although it will likely continue to be sold as a standalone product.

Users of existing versions of Visio, either an earlier version of the same edition, or another edition, are also encouraged to read the install and setup instructions or call technical support to be sure you understand how loading another edition of Visio on a machine with a different edition of Visio will work. Essentially, this means the next edition of Visio will merge with the existing edition, since each installs into the same Visio folder in the Program Files folder. This means adding another edition to an existing edition will provide you with all the additional shapes and stencils in the additional edition.

The Visio Family

In addition to Visio Professional 2002, Microsoft now also sells the following other editions of Visio 2002.

Visio Standard 2002 - basic fundamental program engine and design
Visio Enterprise Network Tools 2002 - thousands of additional IT shapes

Price

$499.00 retail price for Visio Professional 2002
$249.00 upgrade

$199.00 retail price for Visio Standard 2002
$  99.95 upgrade

$500.00 retail price for Visio Enterprise Network Tools 2002 (MUST have Vision Professional 2002)

$999.00 retail price for Visio Professional 2002 PLUS Visio Enterprise Network Tools 2002
$749.00 upgrade

Note: Street prices may vary, so shop around.

System Configuration Requirements

Visio Professional - 200 MHz or higher processor
Visio Standard - 166 MHz or higher processor

Windows 98, 98 SE, 98 ME, NT 4 (SP 6 or later), 2000, XP or later

Windows 98, or Windows 98 Second Edition - 24MB RAM plus an additional 16MB RAM for Visio Standard and an additional 48MB for Visio Professional

Windows 98 ME, or Microsoft Windows NT 4 - 32MB RAM plus an additional 16MB RAM for Visio Standard and an additional 48MB RAM for Visio Professional

Windows 2000 Professional - 64MB RAM plus an additional 16MB of RAM for Visio Standard and an additional 48MB RAM for Visio Professional

Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP Home Edition - 128MB of RAM plus an additional 16MB RAM for Visio Standard and an additional 48MB for Visio Professional

Visio Professional
170MB free hard disk space plus an additional 48MB for Visio Professional

Visio Standard
110MB free hard disk space plus an additional 16MB for Visio Standard
Hard disk space will vary depending on configuration; custom installation choices may require more or less.

CD-ROM drive
VGA (640 × 480) or higher-resolution monitor with 256 colors
Super VGA (800 × 600) recommended
Microsoft Mouse, IntelliMouse, or compatible pointing device
Systems running Windows NT 4.0 SP6 must have Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 SP1 or later.

Some Internet functionality may require Internet access and payment of a separate fee to a service provider; local or long-distance charges may apply

9600 or higher-baud modem

Microsoft Exchange, Internet SMTP/POP3, IMAP4, or other MAPI-compliant messaging software required to use e-mail features

Contact

Order Online at Microsoft Corporation
www.shop.microsoft.com
www.microsoft.com/office/visio

You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.