Share Visio drawing files with everyone - Visio

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Share Visio drawing files with everyone

Applies to
Microsoft Office Visio® 2003 Microsoft Visio® 2002

You've created a draft project timeline in Visio that you want everyone on your team to look at. Some of the them, however, don't have Visio installed.

Does that mean that you have to print and distribute paper copies to everyone?

Not anymore. Refer your team members to Downloads on Office Online, where they can download Visio Viewer, and they'll be able to review an electronic version of the drawing whether they have Visio installed or not.

What is Visio Viewer?

Visio Viewer is an ActiveX® control that you install on your computer. With the control installed, you can open Visio drawing files and Visio XML drawing files.

When you open the Visio file, a Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 5 or later) window opens with the drawing in it.

Viewing a Visio timeline using Visio Viewer

Which version should your team install?

Your team should install the version of Visio Viewer that is at least as recent as the version of Visio used to create the file.

To open these files	With a computer with this operating system	Install this version
Visio drawing (.vsd) files saved in version 5.0, 2000, or 2002 Visio XML drawing format (.vdx) files saved in version 2002	Microsoft Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0	Visio Viewer 2002
Visio drawing (.vsd) files saved in version 5.0, 2000, 2002, or 2003 Visio XML drawing format (.vdx) files saved in version 2002 or 2003	Microsoft Windows XP, 2000, or Millennium Edition	Visio Viewer 2003

How to share Visio drawings with people who install Visio Viewer

You can share Visio drawings with people who have Visio Viewer in several ways:

You can send the drawing file to recipients as an e-mail attachment.
You can post the drawing file on an intranet site or to a shared network location.
You can incorporate a Visio drawing into a Web page in its native Visio file format.

To incorporate a Visio drawing into a Web page, you can embed a Visio Viewer control in the page, and then specify object parameters, such as the drawing you want to display and the background color.

To view a Visio drawing that has been incorporated into a Web page, your audience must have Visio Viewer installed. If you aren't sure that they will, you can also include a reference to the download location. Then, when people without Visio Viewer visit the page, they will be prompted to download it.

Tip Visio Viewer includes a sample file, Sample.htm, which is a Web page with an embedded Visio Viewer control and a reference to a Visio drawing. View the source code for this file (located at <Drive>:\\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Visio Viewer) to see how to insert a Visio Viewer control and set parameters manually.

For more information, see the article "Embed a Microsoft Visio Viewer 2002 control in a Web page" on the MSDN Web site.

Note If you save your drawing as a Web page from Visio 2002 or Visio 2003, the Visio Viewer is not required in order to view the .htm file.

What if Visio is already installed?

You can install Visio Viewer on a computer where Visio is already installed. The default behavior is different depending on the version of Visio Viewer installed.

Show Visio Viewer 2003

If you install Visio Viewer 2003, all Visio files will open by default within the Visio application.

To open a Visio file with Visio Viewer 2003

In Microsoft Windows® Explorer, right-click the file name, point to Open With, and then click Internet Explorer.
Note If a secondary menu doesn't open when you point to Open With, click Open With to open the Open With dialog box, click Internet Explorer in the Programs list, and then click OK.

Show Visio Viewer 2002

If you keep the default settings when installing Visio Viewer 2002, all Visio files will open in Visio Viewer unless you open them from within the Visio program. (This includes files with the .vsd, .vss, .vst, .vdx, .vsx, and .vtd file name extensions.)

During Visio Viewer 2002 installation, you have the option to keep Visio as the default program for opening Visio files. In this case, Visio files will always open inside the Visio program, unless you are opening a Visio file from inside a Web page using an embedded Visio Viewer control.

To keep Visio as the default program for opening Visio files

During the Visio Viewer installation process, when you see the option Open all Visio drawings, stencils, and templates in Visio Viewer by default, clear this check box.

To choose Visio as the default program for opening Visio files after Visio Viewer is installed

In Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs.
On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Visio Standard 2002 or Microsoft Visio Professional 2002, and then click Add/Remove.
Click Repair, and then click Next.

To choose Visio Viewer as the default program for opening Visio files after Visio Viewer is installed

In Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs.
On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Visio Viewer 2002, and then click Add/Remove.
Click Repair, select the Open all Visio drawings, stencils, and templates in Visio Viewer by default check box, and then click Install.
Note If the Open all Visio drawings, stencils, and templates in Visio Viewer by default check box is already selected, you may need to clear it and click Install. Then run the add/remove and repair process again and select the check box again.