You don’t need a graphic design background to distill complex information into neat, clear models.

All the headaches you remember from trying to diagram in other apps have been solved for. Let’s dive a little deeper into why you might want to use it. To help you get started, Microsoft offers a wide range of templates for business and IT use cases. Org charts are just one example.īut in my experience, the real reason most people use Visio is to help make sense of much larger, more intricate concepts. Visio works great for quickly getting your ideas onto paper. Text allows you to label shapes and relationships and add details and notes to your diagrams.įull disclosure: I created this diagram in no more than five minutes. In Visio, you can use straight, right angle, and curved connectors to join shapes together clearly at each node.

But you can choose from a huge library of shapes for different use cases.Ĭonnectors represent relationships between the shapes. If you’re building an organizational chart, for example, these can be simple rectangles that stand in for teams. Shapes represent topics, components, and other relevant entities. Visio projects combine just three types of objects. The modern UI will be familiar to anyone who has worked with Word or Publisher-the only difference is that the toolkit and options are specifically tailored to diagramming. Whichever Visio Plan you buy, you can quickly create industry-grade flowcharts, timelines, and SDL diagrams. Visio is a diagramming and process-mapping application that integrates with other Office apps. In short, Visio makes it easy to convey complex flows visually. That’s what Visio is built for: things like mapping out seating arrangements, diagramming IT systems, or creating visuals that need to meet industry standards.

Paint 3D and Word are great for basic visuals, but they’re not really meant for sophisticated diagram creation. Let’s be honest-you’re putting a low ceiling on the quality of your diagrams and setting yourself up for frustration with these tools. This 3D modeling tool is far more advanced than Paint for making art. Want to make a professional diagram or flowchart in Office 365? You’ll want to check out the paid app Visio.

Visio pro 365