Visio to Dive into Data

Data-driven diagramming and user interface improvements are planned for Visio 12, the next version of Microsoft’s software for drawing business and technical diagrams. Currently in closed beta with release likely in late 2006, Visio 12 could broaden Visio’s audience to users who analyze or visualize corporate data. However, Microsoft is counting on software vendors and systems integrators to integrate Visio with other products that make effective use of Visio’s new features and to support specialized design tasks.

Data-Driven Diagrams for Analysis, Updating

Visio 12 delivers new features for generating diagrams from data. Specifically, the new version can create shapes from an external data source, which can reside in Excel, a SharePoint Portal Server list, or an ODBC-compliant database manager such as SQL Server. Once a diagram is generated, Visio 12 can periodically synchronize it with the data table, creating and deleting shapes to reflect the current data. Potentially, the feature can simplify keeping a diagram such as an office plan or parts list up to date by eliminating manual data reentry and redrawing. The feature works with any type of diagram; Visio 2003, in contrast, can generate only specific types of diagrams (such as organization charts and network diagrams) from external data.