Visio 2000 vs. Visio 2003 vs. Visio 2007

[Jonathan Sachs]

I've used Visio for years by a combination of intuition, looking
things up, and applying brute force. I've decided now to get a
tutorial book and learn the program systematically. I'm going out for
tech writing work, and I want to feel comfortable about putting the
program on my resume.

I currently have Visio 2000 Professional. I need to decide whether
that's sufficient for my purposes, or whether I need to upgrade to
some version of Visio 2003, or buy a new copy of Visio 2007. If I
need a newer release, I need to decide which version (Standard or
Professional). I'd like to request advice on this.

I've looked at Microsoft's feature matrix, but it doesn't tell me a
lot. I don't know enough about the features to be able to judge how
important they are.

Here are my considerations:

1. I don't have to become a Visio expert. I just need to master the
features I will foreseeably need for work, and learn enough to
identify and teach myself additional features when I need them.

2. Money is tight, so I don't want to spend any more than I must to
meet my objective.

 

[John Goldsmith]

Hello Jonathan,

Well one thing is that you can upgrade from 2000 to 2007
(http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/visio/HA101650691033.aspx#4), so the
initial choice is between those two products (aside from second-hand).

In terms of Standard versus Professional, apart from the shapes available,
one of the main differences is Professional's data integration capabilities,
which although great in their own right, might not be necessary if you only
doing single

Anyway, let us know what type of technical writing you do as this will also
have an impact on the shape libraries (stencils) that you need.

Best regards

John


John Goldsmith
www.visualSignals.co.uk

 

[John Goldsmith]

You might want to call MS to be sure, but I'd be pretty surprised if you
couldn't upgrade from 2000 Pro to 2007 Standard.

In terms of the data integration angle, I should apologise for my unfinished
sentences...what I meant to say was that the integration side might not be
so useful if you're only producing single shapes or basic diagrams. However
it sounds like that's not the case. Regarding the two links the first
refers to new data capabilities in 2007 that make it much easier to link
shapes to data within other applications and stores. Previous versions such
as 2003 did have a Database Wizard (which remains in 2007) plus the ability
to communicate programattically, but undoubtly the ability to visually
represent, say Excel, SQL or SharePoint data has improved considerably. My
guess is that as a technical writer you'll be representing conceptual
networks rather than a physical ones with all of the associated data that
this would require. But of course only you can judge this.

Anyway, from your description I would say that you need to bite the bullet
and upgrade to 2007 Pro if only for the software shapes. However, I
understand it a significant investment when you're starting so I would
definitely recommend you download a trail version of Pro and see if it
really does do what you want:

http://us7.trymicrosoftoffice.com/product.aspx?re_ms=oo&family=visioprofessional&culture=en-US

Hope that helps.

Best regards

John


John Goldsmith
www.visualSignals.co.uk

 

[Jonathan Sachs]

Anyway, from your description I would say that you need to bite the bullet
and upgrade to 2007 Pro... download a trail version of Pro and see if it
really does do what you want:

Thank you for the advice. I think you've pointed me in the right
direction, although not exactly the direction you intended.

I'm going to stick with what I've got for now -- get a used book on
Visio 2000 Professional and learn that. THEN I'll download a trial
version of Visio 2007 Pro and see if I can learn its additional
features within the trial license's limitations without having to buy
anything at all. If so, I can wait to buy the upgrade until I need
it, or until I have money to invest in new tools.

 

[Mark Nelson [MS]]

If you're looking for books, the Inside Out series from Microsoft Press is
quite comprehensive.

http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/9802.aspx

--
Mark Nelson
Office Graphics - Visio
Microsoft Corporation

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[Jonathan Sachs]

If you're looking for books, the Inside Out series from Microsoft Press is
quite comprehensive.

That could be very useful information. I've been looking for a good
book on Visio 2000, and according to the user ratings on Amazon.com,
there aren't any. However, there is a "Visio Version 2002 Inside Out"
which gets four out of five stars. Do you think the differences
between Visio 2000 and 2002 are small enough to make that one a
practical choice?

 

[Mark Nelson [MS]]

There are many changes from release to release. However, since these two
versions share the same file format, you will find more similarities than
usual between two releases.

--
Mark Nelson
Office Graphics - Visio
Microsoft Corporation

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.