OLE boils down to linking and embedding, both of which support editing in place. Which technique should you use? It depends on the number of documents that will include the Visio information and how frequently you expect to revise the information.

• Link a saved Visio diagram when you want to use it in one or more other documents. When you update the original Visio file, the diagram will be updated in every document that contains it. Likewise, when you update the diagram within another document, the original and any other linked diagrams will also be updated.
• Embed an existing Visio shape or drawing in another document when you want to be able to edit the Visio information without leaving the application's document. This is probably the most common way to place Visio information into another program—pasting Visio shapes into an Office document automatically embeds them.
• newfeature!   Create a Visio diagram in place when you don't want to switch between different application windows. You can start Visio from within another application to add and edit shapes—and if you're working in a Microsoft Office document, more Visio tools are available than in previous versions. Your shapes are saved with the application's document, not as a separate Visio drawing file.

One benefit of linking instead of embedding is that the document in which you use the Visio data stores only a reference to the Visio data. This keeps your document file size smaller and more manageable. However, applications keep track of links using the file name and location of each linked file—the link will be broken if you change the file name of the original diagram or move the files.

The main advantage of embedding is that you can maintain separate versions of a Visio diagram for different purposes. An embedded shape or diagram isn't linked to the original Visio drawing file, so you can make changes there that don't affect any of the embedded copies. In addition, an embedded diagram is available even if the original file is not. For example, you can print a Word document that contains an embedded Visio diagram from any computer, whether or not Visio is installed and the original Visio diagram file is on the computer. Of course, because the entire Visio diagram must be embedded in the document, the document's file size can increase dramatically.

You can also embed, link, and import objects created in other programs into Visio. The basic principles are the same. For details, see "Embedding and Linking Microsoft Office Documents in Visio."

Does Visio Have a Viewer?

No. Microsoft hasn't developed a Visio viewer, which would enable users who don't have Visio installed to view Visio diagrams. A viewer hasn't been created for Visio because it's an unexpectedly complex development task. Visio diagrams include much more than shape data. Behind the scenes, many Visio diagrams include formulas, VBA macros, or other add-on code. For a viewer to provide an accurate view of a Visio diagram, it would need to include most of the Visio application, which would negate the advantage of having a simple viewer.

There are several ways you can share Visio diagrams with users who don't have Visio. You can export the diagram in a graphic format that can be placed into another application. For example, you can export a Visio diagram as a bit map that can be inserted into a Word document or other application. You can also save the diagram as a PDF file that can be viewed in Adobe Acrobat Reader or save the diagram as an HTML file that can be viewed in any Web browser. For details about these options, see the corresponding topics later in this chapter.

InsideOut