Ways to Include Visio 2000 Diagrams in Other Documents

Will you reuse your diagram? Will you edit it often? Will you take your presentation on the road? This article describes the best method for creating diagrams based on your goals.

Choose the Best Method

• Your goals for the Microsoft Visio diagram and the document you're including it in will determine the best method for including it. To choose a method, answer these questions:

• What do you intend to do with the document that includes the diagram? Is it a presentation you'll be taking on the road? Will it end up as a page on a Web site?

• What do you expect the life cycle for the diagram to be? That is, will you use it only in this particular document, or will you reuse it in other contexts?

• Will the content change frequently? And if so, will you want to edit only one master version of the drawing?

The following table matches goals with appropriate methods.

Copy a Diagram and Paste It into a Document

Use the Copy and Paste commands to include a diagram in a document when you want the diagram to be in a graphics format other than the Visio format. For example, if you paste a diagram into a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation as a picture, you can use PowerPoint picture tools to edit the diagram. You can also "ungroup" the picture and edit it using PowerPoint drawing tools.

For advice about when to copy and paste a diagram, see Choose the Best Method.

Pros and Cons of Copying and Pasting

To copy a diagram and paste it into a document

1. In Microsoft Visio, display the diagram you want to copy.

2. Select the content you want to paste into the document.

3. On the Edit menu, click Copy.

4. Open the document into which you want to paste the diagram and display the slide, or click in the document where you want the diagram to appear.

5. On the Edit menu, click Paste Special.

6. Click Picture or Picture (Enhanced Metafile), and then click OK.

7. Edit the picture you pasted using the document's picture or drawing tools.

Note: If you choose Paste instead of Paste Special from the Edit menu in the document, you embed the diagram in the document.

Embed a Diagram in a Document

You can embed an existing Microsoft Visio diagram in a document. You can also create a new embedded diagram from within the document where you want the diagram to appear.

When you embed Visio diagram data in another document, the data becomes part of the document file.

For advice about when to embed a diagram and when to create a diagram from within a document, see Choose the Best Method.

Pros and Cons of Embedding

Note: For embedding to work, both programs must support the program integration technology, OLE. Microsoft Visio and all of the Microsoft Office programs support OLE.

To create and embed a new diagram

1. Display the slide or click in the document where you want to embed the diagram.

2. On the Insert menu, click Object.

3. Click Create New. Click Microsoft Visio Drawing and then click OK.

   The Visio drawing window opens in the document.

4. Select the template you want, create the diagram, and then click anywhere outside the drawing page to return to the document's program.

Note: If you create and embed a new diagram from within a document and decide you might want to use the diagram outside of the document, you can save it. Select the diagram and, on the document program's Edit menu, point to Visio Object, and then click Open. On the Microsoft Visio File menu, click Save Copy As. Type a name for the file, choose a location, and then click Save.

To embed an existing diagram

1. Display the slide or click in the document where you want to embed the diagram.

2. On the Insert menu, click Object.

3. Click Create From File.

4. Type the file name and path or click Browse to locate the file, and then click OK.

To edit an embedded diagram from within the document

1. In the document that contains the diagram you want to edit, double-click the diagram.

   The diagram opens in a small drawing window and the Visio 2000 menus and toolbars temporarily replace most of the document's menus and controls.

2. Edit the diagram.

3. Click anywhere outside of the drawing window to return to the document's menus and toolbars.

Link a Diagram to a Document

When you link a diagram to a document, the document contains only a reference to the diagram file rather than all of the diagram's data. To display the diagram in the document, the document's program must locate the diagram file.

When you edit the original diagram in Microsoft Visio, the linked copy of the diagram in the document reflects the changes.

For advice about when to link a diagram, see Choose the Best Method.

Pros and Cons of Linking

Note: For linking to work, both programs must support the program integration technology, OLE. Microsoft Visio and all of the Microsoft Office programs support OLE.

To link a single-page diagram to a document

1. Display the slide or click in the document where you want to link a diagram.

2. On the Insert menu, click Object.

3. Click Create from file. Type the file name and path or click Browse to locate the file.

4. Select the Link to file check box, and then click OK.

To link a multipage diagram to a document and display a specific page

1. Open the diagram you want to link and display the page that you want to appear in the other document.

2. Make sure nothing is selected. On the Edit menu, click Copy Drawing.

3. Without closing Microsoft Visio, display the slide or click in the document where you want to link the diagram.

4. On the Edit menu, click Paste Special.

5. Select Paste Link, select Microsoft Visio Drawing Object, and then click OK.

To update a linked copy when you've changed the original diagram

1. In Microsoft Visio, save the original diagram that includes the changes.

2. In the document that contains the linked copy, on the Edit menu, choose Links.

3. For Source File, select the linked copy of the diagram. Click Update Now, and then click OK.