Published: October 1, 2001 Applies to: Microsoft Visio 2002 Microsoft Visio 2000 Summary: This article describes how you can create customized Visio solutions to meet specific business needs for the telecommunications, government, financial, manufacturing, insurance, healthcare, and automotive industries. Lennar Digital Sylenth1 Vsti V1.2.1 Repack-Amplify there. Mygig Software Update V9 80710102 more. For the latest information, please see and. Microsoft Technology Used Microsoft Visio Microsoft Access Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel Microsoft Visual Basic Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Microsoft Visual C/C++ Microsoft ActiveX Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft Active Directory Visimation Profile Visimation specializes in Microsoft Visio consulting, custom development, training, and services. On This Page Introduction A Microsoft ® Visio ® solution combines shapes and Automation to solve various business and technical problems, as well as improve productivity.

The off-the-shelf Visio product contains numerous drawing templates that meet the basic needs of most users for creating organizational charts, space plans, flow charts, network diagrams, and more. One of the main strengths of Visio products is that the platform enables developers to create customized Visio environments. Customizing Visio For the purpose of this article, the term Automation refers to the extension of Visio functionality through custom development and integration. Through Automation, you can add new forms to Visio, connect externally to a database, create SmartShapes symbols enforcing rules and bounds on drawings, and integrate with other applications. You can use the Visio graphics engine, the core of Visio, for your own program's graphics, custom user interfaces, data management, and file management environments. The graphics engine also exposes Visio objects (for example, shapes, masters, menus, and toolbars), properties, methods, and events.

Figure 1 shows the Visio development environment. Figure 1 A diagram of the Visio platform and its components As a developer, you need to determine how much native Visio functionality can be used as the basis for your custom solution and how much new functionality you must develop. Typically, you'll get superior results in less time by leveraging the built-in functionality in Visio. If your solution is complex, however, you should consider developing a custom interface using Visual Basic (.DLL), VBA, or C++ (.VSL), to better control the look, feel, and functionality of the application and shapes.