On 02 Aug 2023, Stanley M. Max made a presentation at Towson University (located in Towson Maryland) before the TUgis 2023 conference. (TUgis stands for Towson University GIS.) Stanley spoke about a Visio mapping project that he worked on with David J. Parker. Stanley originated the idea for this mapping project and initiated the process. However, the programming involved in the project was beyond Stanley’s skillset, so he looked on the web for a Visio expert to do that portion. He found David Parker’s information, and Stanley asked David if he would be willing to take over the programming to complete what needed to be done to bring the project to fruition. David kindly agreed with the request.
What follows is a slightly edited abstract of the talk:
Microsoft Visio is a powerful diagramming program used to produce visuals like organization charts, flowcharts, and floorplans. It has many advanced features enabling power users to carry out sophisticated quantitative analysis and generate state-of-the-art graphics. At the same time, newcomers to the program can get started fairly quickly and easily using basic, easy-to-learn procedures. Since Visio forms part of the Microsoft Office family, the program shares characteristics familiar to computer users of all levels. Visio can be used for mapping projects — which provides the central focus of this TUgis project. For a task primarily involving mapping, then, certainly, ArcGIS provides the superior package. However, the versatility that Visio offers — since so much more can be done with it than just mapping — makes Visio an extraordinarily helpful tool for education.
In our project we used Microsoft Visio to produce a map of all 27 member states of the European Union (EU) following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the bloc in 2020. We have associated this map with a legend containing the names of these 27 countries. When you click on a country’s name, the country is highlighted on the map and a table pops up containing these key demographic items for the country:
- Population, which Stanley input.
- Area in km², which again Stanley input.
- Percent of the total EU population, calculated by a formula embedded in Visio. David Parker programmed Visio to make this calculation.
- Percent of the total EU area, also calculated by Visio. Again, David carried out the Visio programming.
- Population density, again calculated and again via David’s programming skills, to show the number of people per square kilometre.
This project combines computer mapping, contemporary European politics, and demography. It serves as a case study of Visio’s usefulness in an educational setting.
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