Visio, the diagramming tool for technical writers, business analysts, and web designers, is now in Beta. Some of the features look promising, especially for those who create complex data-driven visuals and need to share diagrams on the Web in real-time.
Top 10 benefits of Visio 2010
Here is a run-down of Visio 2010’s key features and benefits:
- Better Alignment — the new Quick Shapes Mini Toolbar, enhanced dynamic grid, automatic layout adjustment, and page Auto Size look promising.
- Conditions — you can display real-time data in diagrams, based on conditions, using your own choice of colors, icons, symbols, and data bars. Add legends to explain the data-linked graphics.
- Connect diagram to data sources (e.g. Excel) and publish to SharePoint Server. Web users can see your real-time information in their browsers at a high level, right on the diagram, or delve into the details – even if they don’t have Visio. They can pan and zoom in the diagram, follow hyperlinks in shapes, and refresh the data.
- Containers — these help organize different sets of shapes and clarify how they relate to each other in diagrams. Other options let you check diagrams against business rules and logic to ensure accuracy and consistency in diagrams.
Dashboards — create dashboards that contain interactive Visio diagrams. Visio Services and SharePoint Server integration supports visual mashups of actionable data and diagrams- Link data — ensure that linked data in your diagrams is up-to-date with Automatic Refresh. This lets you refresh data automatically at specific time intervals or manually.
- Ribbon — as in the rest of Microsoft Office, you can now group features in Ribbon tabs, use the enhanced Shapes window, and the new status bar lets you move quicker between diagrams.
- SharePoint — create and monitor SharePoint workflows with advanced templates that contains SharePoint workflow rules and logic; export and import workflows between Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2010 and Visio 2010. Store, share, and reuse business process diagrams and subprocesses through Visio 2010 integration with SharePoint 2010 Process Repository.
- Subprocesses— these help simplify large and complex diagrams by grouping related shapes visually and logically. A subprocesses is a mini-diagram on a separate page that links to a Subprocess shape in a larger diagram; the idea is that you can breaks complex processes into more manageable pieces.
- Template gallery — some nice and stylish pre-drawn shapes, sample drawings, and templates for IT, business, and process management
If the Subprocess feature (i.e. mini-diagram on a separate page that links to a Subprocess shape in a larger diagram) does what it says, then the upgrade may be worth the money. We’re still putting it through its paces, so it’s too early to make a judgment.
Download Visio 2010
Download Visio 2010 Beta here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=177573
What do you think?
What are you looking for in Visio 2010? Where does the current version let you down? Instead of using Visio, are there other diagramming tools you’d recommend.
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