Microsoft recently announced the ability to access the shapes in the document stencil whilst using Visio for Web … if you have a Visio Plan 2 license. So, I thought I would make it clear what that means for custom shape developers. There are now three licenses that provide the ability to edit Visio diagrams in the web browser.
- Visio in Microsoft 365 – now provided to all commercial M385 subscribers, it is a light version of Visio for Web
- Visio Plan 1 – a subscription that provides Visio for Web in a browser, with more templates and features than Visio in M365
- Visio Plan 2 – a subscription that provides Visio for Desktop on Windows, in addition to Visio for Web in a browser anywhere
Typically, Visio solution developers create smart custom shapes that are deployed as masters in a stencil. None of the licenses currently provide the ability to deploy custom stencils for use by Visio in the web browser, however Visio Plan 2 license holders can access custom masters in the document stencil. This increases the ability of these users to use custom Visio documents on non-Windows devices. However, Visio in M365 users cannot edit Visio documents with custom masters, and Visio Plan 1 users cannot access the local document stencil.
The Learn More link provides information about the types of diagrams that are supported in Visio in Microsoft 365.
However, it is possible to provide custom shapes that can be used in Visio in M365 by removing all the custom masters. This is not suitable for all types of diagrams since it increases the file size, and requires users to copy or duplicate existing shapes. It can break many solutions that require shapes to be instances of masters.

Of course, the viewing experience is the same for all the different type of Visio license holders, and they can all add comments.
Visio Presentations for the Microsoft Ignite The Tour 2020
Just when we thought the pandemic was coming to an end, another variant appears to scupper our plans. So, resuming in-person events is delayed, and the world isn’t safe until the world is immunised. Therefore, I decided to make the presentations that I was going to be presenting on the abandoned Microsoft Ignite The Tour…
Visio in Microsoft 365? What’s that?
Now that a version of Visio is being rolled out as part of the commercial subscription of Microsoft 365, what is the difference between it and the Visio Web App that is delivered by Visio Plan 1 and Visio Plan 2 subscriptions? Moreover, can a Visio diagram created by an M365 user be round-tripped with…
Visio ShapeSheet Functions T – Z
The seventh, and final, 25 of the Visio ShapeSheet functions that start with the letters T – Z are visually described in the Visio document below that is available for download. Please see the general introduction to this series at ShapeSheet Functions A-Z for more information. (more…)
Visio ShapeSheet Functions S
The sixth 19 of the Visio ShapeSheet functions that start with the letter S are visually described in the Visio document below that is available for download. Please see the general introduction to this series at ShapeSheet Functions A-Z for more information. (more…)
Visio ShapeSheet Functions O-R
The fifth 33 of the Visio ShapeSheet functions that start with the letters O through to R are visually described in the Visio document below that is available for download. Please see the general introduction to this series at ShapeSheet Functions A-Z for more information. (more…)
Visio ShapeSheet Functions L-N
The fourth 34 of the Visio ShapeSheet functions that start with the letters L through to N are visually described in the Visio document below that is available for download. Please see the general introduction to this series at ShapeSheet Functions A-Z for more information. (more…)
Leave a Reply