Microsoft Visio Professional 2003

Office Visio 2003 Professional is an exceptionally flexible diagramming tool based on the concept of smart shapes. Shapes can be positioned, sized, labelled, connected and grouped to create many different diagram types. Office Visio 2003 Professional comes with hundreds of templates, including building plans, electrical diagrams, organisation charts and website maps. Each template has an extensive range of appropriate shapes, so you can create professional-quality diagrams by drag-and-drop. Templates are rich, each having its own online help and sometimes dedicated menus, giving Visio the feel of a specialist package in whatever area the template covers. Diagrams can get large and complex, but this version of Visio benefits from a handy Pan and Zoom tool that presents a miniature view of the entire diagram, making it easy to navigate to the right spot and to enlarge or reduce the scale.

This is a product that works on all sorts of levels. Occasional users can easily dip into Visio and quickly create a diagram. Developers on the other hand can create new shapes using the new ShapeStudio add-on, automate diagrams with Visual Basic for Applications, or embed diagrams in other applications via the Visio ActiveX control. A free viewer enables diagrams to be shared with those who do not own the full Visio product. Office Visio 2003 Professional has new templates for documenting business processes, as well as enhancements to many of the existing templates. Tablet users can create hand-drawn shapes. There is also support for collaboration by tracking changes, or those with Windows Server 2003 can use document workspaces to enable features such as team working and change notification. The only caveat with Visio is that a lot hinges on the quality of the templates, so if you have a particular use in mind it's worth checking that a suitable template exists. This professional version has the widest range, including topics such as engineering, networking and software development, while the standard version has a more limited range. As a general-purpose diagramming tool Office Visio 2003 Professional is outstanding. --Tim Anderson

Microsoft Office Visio 2003 is a diagramming application that helps business & technical people document, design, communicate, and automate complex ideas, processes and systems so they can take more effective action.

Document and design complex ideas, processes and systems
Visio helps you easily create business and technical diagrams to think through, better understand, and design complex ideas, processes and systems – it’s a single diagramming tool for all business and technical users.

Communicate information clearly and collaborate more effectively
Diagrams created in Visio enable you to communicate complex information clearly, concisely and effectively in a way that text and numbers alone cannot. Visio diagrams add the power of pictures to presentations, documents, spreadsheets and email messages, giving your work immediate impact.

Integrate and automate systems and processes
Visio can be tied directly to data sources to provide always up-to-date diagrams and can also be customized to meet the unique needs of an organization. Incorporate Visio into powerful, connected .NET solutions to address specific business needs, and into the other applications within the Office system, like Word, PowerPoint or Excel.

For technical users, Visio Professional provides you with dedicated diagramming capabilities across multiple technical categories. Whether you are an electrical engineer, a building floor planner, or a software developer, you can use Visio Professional to create the diagram for the project.

New and improved features include:

• A Rack Diagram template.
• Updated network shapes.
• An improved Web site mapping solution.
• A Microsoft Windows XP user interface (UI) template.
• Improved support for incorporating data into building plans.

For technical users, Visio Professional provides you with dedicated diagramming capabilities across multiple technical categories. Whether you are an electrical engineer, a building floor planner, or a software developer, you can use Visio Professional to create the diagram for the project.

New and improved features include:

• A Rack Diagram template.
• Updated network shapes.
• An improved Web site mapping solution.
• A Microsoft Windows XP user interface (UI) template.
• Improved support for incorporating data into building plans.

A diagramming program that can help you create business and technical diagrams that document and organize complex ideas, processes, and systems.