Part of the Office suite, Visio is a diagramming tool professional use to convey ideas through professionally designed diagrams.
Whether you need to document workflow, develop a floor plan or make a flowchart, Visio can help. For example, a tech support department might use a cross-functional flowchart to document an escalation process.
Visio provides templates and stencils that can easily transform any concept into a visual diagram.
1. What is Visio?
Microsoft Visio is a diagramming application for easily creating various business engineering Software and Database Architecture. It also helps you prepare BPMN Models, Maps, and Diagrams.
It provides a comprehensive set of tools for making Flow Charts, Capture Brain Storming discussions, and more.
It offers a selection of templates and settings to fulfill the unique requirements of various sectors.
It is compatible with touch-enabled devices and AutoSaves your work by default. It has Shape Sheet IntelliSense that completes formulas as you type them and a Backstage view that allows you to preview your diagrams.
It is available as a desktop and web app in Microsoft 365, so you can access it anywhere. You can also share and edit diagrams in real-time with other users.
It supports Narrator and other accessibility features so people with disabilities can use it. The app can help you create diagrams of all kinds, including UML and Unified Process Diagrams (UPD).
It is easy to use, with a simple, intuitive user interface. Its basic features include creating shapes, connecting them, and adding text. You can also flip shapes and change their position or orientation on the page.
You can make custom shapes using a template or create one from scratch. You can also add data to your conditions and create a chart.
2. Flowcharts
Flow diagrams are a simple way to illustrate the steps in a process. The basic template in Visio includes shapes and symbols to make it easy to create the right diagram for your needs. You can also customize the layout to highlight the important information.
You can use Visio to prepare different types of business engineering software and database architecture models.
You can even draw diagrams to capture brainstorming discussions visually. You can easily share these diagrams with other users.
The best part about using Microsoft Visio Professional is that it works well with other Microsoft apps.
It is also easy to add shapes, text, and connectors. You can even assign hyperlinks to certain forms so that they direct to other pages or even emails.
Once you’ve figured out what type of chart you want to create, start with the appropriate template from the list of templates in the left panel.
Then drag and drop the shapes onto your document to build your chart. Once you’ve added all the forms, click on them to add text content and connect them with connectors.
You can also change your drawings’ background, page setup, borders, and color schemes with the Insert tab.
You can also create horizontal or vertical legends for your diagrams and link data to shape graphics. Finally, you can use the Review tab to add comments and check spelling.
3. Organizational Charts
Organizational charts (or org charts) are a visual way to represent reporting hierarchies. They can be based on information from an external data source, or they can be manually created. Creating an organizational chart using Microsoft Visio is relatively simple.
Select the “Hierarchy” graphic type from the SmartArt selection window, and then choose the appropriate layout.
The layout you choose will determine what shapes are available and how those shapes are positioned on the diagram. Visio’s default shape is a rectangle representing an employee or manager.
If you click the top position, you can enter that person’s name in the text pane and then click any other shape to add a direct report or assistant. The shape you add will automatically resize to fit the new text.
In addition, if the “Belt” style is selected, the employee’s name will be displayed first in the title bar. If you click the “Notch” style, the employee’s title will be positioned to the left of their name.
Visio supports five different org chart stencils, each with color-coded shapes. Each has a unique style, and the conditions within each stencil can be connected to form a hierarchy.
A text-based org chart may also be imported from an Excel spreadsheet or another data source.
This method works best if your data includes columns for each employee’s last name and first name and the terms of the managers to whom the employees report.
4. Floor Plans
Floor plans are 2D representations of a building’s interior and exterior. They include windows, doors, other structural elements, and furniture placements. Creating a floor plan in Microsoft Visio is easy.
The program offers various templates and stencils for working with floor plans, including maps and room layouts. There are also specialized shapes for representing walls, stairways and elevators.
If you’re working with an existing CAD drawing, use the Fit a CAD Drawing command on the Insert tab to scale the drawing to the dimensions of your Visio page.
Alternatively, you can create the picture with the Space Plan template and convert the rectangles to wall shapes using the Assign Categories command on the Design tab.
Once the walls are restored to shape, you can add shapes for doors and windows. You can even place office equipment by dragging and dropping the appropriate forms from the Shape Data pane.
Besides creating flow charts, org charts and floor plans, Visio can create other diagram types, such as network diagrams, UML diagrams and mind maps.
It can also import files in various formats, including Excel spreadsheets and Power BI dashboards. Moreover, the software allows users to link data with their diagrams using Visual Studio.
