The just-posted Service Release 1 (SR1) for Visio 2002 fixes bugs and enables users to check documents in or out from SharePoint Portal Services folders. The service release also adds support for entering Hebrew text, and it can use the ClearType functionality of Windows XP to triple the horizontal screen resolution of text on LCD displays. The service release comes in two editions, one for Visio Standard and one for Visio Professional.

Companies using Visio could also benefit from a new, free Visio Viewer Web Component. Posted separately from SR1 as an unsupported technical preview, this component allows users with Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher to view native Visio 5, 2000, or 2002 drawings in a browser window without having a copy of Visio on their computers. The Visio Viewer will also make it easier to incorporate Visio files into a Web portal, similar to the way the Adobe Acrobat viewer allows sites to incorporate PDF files. The Visio Viewer Web Component currently supports drawings with text in Western European languages as well as Japanese and some other East Asian languages.

The Visio 2002 service releases are available on CD-ROM or can be downloaded from office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/V10R1PEN.aspx (for Professional) and office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/V10R1SEN.aspx (for Standard).

The Visio Viewer Web Component technology preview is available for download at office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/VWC10.aspx.