1. Jump-start diagramming with a diverse set of pre-drawn shapes and templates
2. Find and access the features and tools you need more quickly
3. Create and modify diagrams faster with new and improved tools and automatic drawing features
4. Simplify large and complex diagrams by grouping related shapes visually and logically
5. Make your diagrams appealing and professional looking in seconds
6. Bring your diagrams to life with dynamic visuals and shapes that are connected to real-time data
7. Share interactive, refreshable, data-linked diagrams with others through their browser
8. Ensure accuracy and consistency in diagrams using diagram validation
9. Model Microsoft SharePoint workflows in Visio and then run and monitor them on SharePoint Server 2010
10. Create actionable, visual mash-ups that combine rich Visio diagrams with other application services in SharePoint Server 2010
1. Jump-start diagramming with a diverse set of pre-drawn shapes and templates
Visio 2010 helps you to start diagramming quickly with a diverse set of modern, pre-drawn diagramming shapes and templates for IT, business, process management, and more. Choose from a variety of templates and sample diagrams on the New tab—including business, flowchart, process management, engineering, project scheduling, networking, software and database design, map, and floor plan templates—and you’re on your way. Visio 2010 also includes new, advanced templates for SharePoint workflows, Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), and Six Sigma to help you model and share your processes more efficiently.
The improved organization and presentation of features and tools in Visio 2010 makes every step in creating a diagram easier and more intuitive. With a more logical grouping of features in tabs on the ribbon, you can find everything you need in one place to complete a diagramming task. The enhanced Shapes window helps you to quickly find and organize your shapes. And the new Status Bar helps you move within and between your diagrams more efficiently than ever.
Integration of the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface in Visio 2010 groups features and tools more logically. Each tab on the ribbon contains the most common and frequently used commands for a task. The Home tab hosts commands for common drawing tasks and tools. Other tabs include the Data tab, which provides everything you need for creating dynamic, data-driven diagrams, and the Process tab, which includes Diagram Validation and other features helpful for creating business process diagrams.
Whether you are creating a diagram from scratch or adding and deleting shapes in an existing diagram, Visio 2010 helps you place, connect, and align shapes quickly and accurately with features such as the Quick Shapes Mini Toolbar, enhanced dynamic grid, Auto Align & Shape, automatic layout adjustment for added or deleted shapes, and page Auto Size.
As you point to a shape on the Quick Shapes Mini Toolbar, a live preview of the shape and the connector appear on the page. The Quick Shapes Mini Toolbar contains the first four shapes from the Quick Shapes area of the active stencil in the Shapes window.
Subprocesses and containers are time-saving features in Visio 2010 that simplify diagram creation and add clarity to your diagrams. As a diagram grows larger or becomes more complex, subprocesses and containers can help you keep information more organized and understandable.Break complex processes in diagrams into more manageable pieces using subprocesses. A subprocess is a re-usable mini-diagram that resides on its own page but links to a Subprocess shape in a larger diagram. Visio makes it easy for you to quickly create subprocesses as you are working. Create a subprocess from scratch or from selected shapes, or link a Subprocess shape to an existing page that already contains a subprocess mini-diagram.
Containers clarify how different sets of shapes relate to each other in diagrams and help you organize sets of shapes logically and visually without having to group them. Because the shapes in a container do not belong to a group, you can quickly add, reorder, and remove shapes simply by dragging them into, within, or out of the container.
Visio 2010 helps you make diagrams look great with a wide range of design options, including modern shapes and visuals, a rich gallery of themes, and Live Preview. The Live Preview feature in Visio shows you how any formatting options such as themes, fill colors, lines, alignment, and positioning will look on the drawing page before you commit to them.
When you click a theme, the color and text formatting for that theme automatically appear in the Shapes window and on the drawing page.
You can further enhance your diagram’s appeal by applying attractive backgrounds, borders, and titles that share the same look. After you choose a background, additional themes with background colors appear in the Themes gallery. When you choose a theme, the background automatically takes the color from the theme.
Gaining a clear and complete view of information that matters to your business often requires both a high-level perspective and detailed data. But moving between a diagram and one or more data sources can be cumbersome and time consuming. With just a few clicks, Visio 2010 helps you see the entire picture by gathering detailed data from one or multiple data sources into one dynamic, data-driven diagram. The Data Selector wizard helps you quickly integrate data from Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, or any Object Linking and Embedding Database (OLEDB) or Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) data source into your diagram. You can then keep the linked data in your diagrams up to date without any additional effort using Automatic Refresh.
Once you’ve linked your diagram to a data source, you can add meaningful graphics that show key data right within the shapes of your diagram. Display real-time data within your diagrams—based on conditions you define—using color, icons, symbols, and data bars. Then, add a legend to explain the meaning of your data-linked graphics. Because the graphics are automatically linked to a data source, the displayed visuals stay current.
