Visio has published the XML Schema Definition (XSD) files for the Microsoft Visio 2010 XML Drawing (.vdx) format. This schema is also known as DatadiagramML. The .XSD files allow developers to better understand the structure of Visio XML documents and design solutions that work with the .VDX file format. The DatadiagramML Schema for Visio 2010 consists of three .XSD files: visio.xsd is the core schema used by Visio 2003 and later visio12.xsd is the set of extensions used by Visio 2007 and later visio14...

Visio has long been the tool of choice for documenting processes. Ever since the introduction of workflow support in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, we have been hearing from customers, “wouldn’t it be great to visualize SharePoint workflows in Visio like flowcharts? Wouldn’t it also be great to go from Visio business process diagrams to executable workflows on SharePoint?” In Visio Premium 2010, we have partnered with the SharePoint Designer team to bring you that...

In Visio 2010, we completely revamped the Visio user interface and adopted the Office Fluent UI or the “Ribbon”. With the Office Fluent UI, Visio’s extensive capabilities are organized into logical, easy to find groups that help you accomplish tasks efficiently. The breakdown of each of the core tabs in the Visio 2010 Ribbon was explained in a previous post . Although the Office Fluent UI was designed to help make the Office applications easier to work with, we realize that there...

Visio had the opportunity to present at Microsoft's SOA & BP conference last November on using Visio as a Business Process Analysis Tool. A video of that presentation is now available for viewing. Mark Nelson from the Visio team describes how Visio 2007 helps bring BPA to the masses through its in-box feature set and robust solutions platform. Also Keith Sharp from partner Ascentn demonstrates their AgilePoint BPM product, which is built on the Visio platform.

A recent newsgroup post described a problem getting the Dynamic Grid feature to work with images. The user inserted pictures into their diagram and wanted the same alignment aids that Visio provides for regular shapes. This can be done with a small modification of the image shapes. First let's look at the Dynamic Grid behavior for regular Visio shapes (i.e. shapes with geometry). The shape on the right is being dragged near the shape on the left. When the Dynamic Grid is turned on (Tools > Snap...

Microsoft has significantly updated its Visio product information on the web. Check out the new site at http://www.visiotoolbox.com . You will find articles, training and downloads that provide a wealth of information on Visio 2007. Those that found the previous IT Toolkit valuable will appreciate the free products and promotional offers on the site. Note that some items require you to register on the site first.

In the previous post we reviewed the problems users were encountering with the CAD Integration feature set in Visio 2003 and the fixes that were made in Visio 2007. In this post we look at the remaining issues with CAD and Visio. Converting CAD drawings to Visio shapes Visio 2003 changed the way that CAD drawings are converted to Visio shapes. Instead of converting each entity and adding it as a Visio shape, the entities are converted in bulk to an intermediate document and then the entire document...

Visio has long had the ability to display, import and export CAD drawings stored in the DWG and DXF file formats. If you are unfamiliar with the ways that Visio can work with CAD drawings, please read through this previous post . In Visio 2003 the CAD feature set was overhauled to improve performance and reliability plus provide a better mapping of Visio shapes to CAD entities on Export. There were changes in the CAD Display Properties and Conversion dialogs as well. Unfortunately there were a number...

It's been about a year since the release of Visio 2007 and Office 2007, and Microsoft has now published Service Pack 1. Here is the download link for English. You can choose another language from this link as well. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=496BC7C1-ABD7-4BC7-8366-B8A4CC85803B&displaylang=en The goals of this service pack are to provide compatibility for upcoming releases such as Windows 2008 Server, improve security and address key performance and reliability issues...

The Early Bird registration for the 2008 Visio Conference ends November 30. Sign up by then for a discounted rate. More information about the specific agenda, tracks and sessions is now available on www.msvisioconference.com . In addition to the general sessions, there are tracks for Business Solutions, Solution Developers and End Users. Find out how to get the most out of Visio 2007 and integrate Visio into your organization. This is also your first opportunity to learn about what's coming in the...