Microsoft Visio is the leading business diagramming application worldwide, and is part of the Office 365 eco-system. It therefore has all of the document management and security credentials that goes with Microsoft 365 environment. But Visio is much more than just diagramming because it is a complete data visualization application, due to its smart shapes and programming interface. All of Visio shapes are controlled by their ShapeSheet, which contains formulas just like a worksheet in Excel, and can be edited in much the same way. If that is not enough, then there are application programmers interfaces (API) that can be utilised in Visio add-ins and applications, and even in web pages.
Custom Visio templates can speed up productivity dramatically, and really embody your business requirements and corporate branding.
Visio documents and shapes can be linked to data so that they always reflect the one truth by automatically updating the text, icons, databars, colors, and more, if necessary.
This will enable you to visualize your business in an intelligent and insightful way, that has never been previously possible. We can show you how to ensure that you are creating and utilizing these Visio data graphics in the most efficient manner.
Visio for Web can now be integrated in SharePoint pages or Teams to ensure that everybody can benefit from a visual interactive dashboard.
Latest blog articles about Visio
Positioning Visio Shape Text Block with a Control Handle
I was recently asked how a control handle can be added to a Visio shape so that it can be used to re-position the text block. Fortunately, it is extremely easy to setup, and requires just two formulas to be updated in the ShapeSheet. This is a great use of the SETATREF(…) function. (more…)
New Requirement for VBA Digital Signatures in Visio
Like most developers, I have to buy a new digital certificate every 3 years to sign my Visio add-ins and VBA projects. Usually that means verifying my bone fides, paying the fee and downloading the certificate, but security has been increased, and now, like everyone else, I have to use a USB key with it…
Custom Color Themes in Visio?
I was recently looking into custom color themes for corporate branding in desktop Microsoft Visio and became re-aware how different Visio still is from the rest of the Microsoft Office applications. A Visio page or document does not need to have any theme applied, but the documents of the other Office applications always have a…
Moving Phases/Separators in Visio Cross-Functional Flowcharts?
I use Visio Cross-Functional Flowcharts a lot, but there is one thing that really bugs me … you can move function bands\swimlanes around, but you can’t move the phases\separators in the same way. The phases/separators are containers just like the function bands\swimlanes, so why can’t I move them? Actually, it is quite understandable when you…
Using Notepad++ to Edit Visio ShapeSheet formulas
Visio shapes get their smartness from the formulas that are entered into the ShapeSheet, but editing these formulas can be extremely tricky and prone to error because of the lack of a modern programmer’s interface. Formulas can be quite long (up to 64k characters) but even medium size ones like the one in User.GetWorkdays cell…
Adding a second Function header bar to Visio swimlanes
I was recently asked if a second function header bar can be added to the swimlanes in the cross-functional flowchart templates in Visio. Some swimlanes can get quite wide, so it can be useful to have a duplicate function header shape on the far-side too. It is quite simple to duplicate the existing function header…