Office Visio Pro 2003

This is a product that works on all sorts of levels. Occasional users can easily dip into Visio and quickly create a diagram. Developers on the other hand can create new shapes using the new ShapeStudio add-on, automate diagrams with Visual Basic for Applications, or embed diagrams in other applications via the Visio ActiveX control. A free viewer enables diagrams to be shared with those who do not own the full Visio product. Office Visio 2003 Professional has new templates for documenting business processes, as well as enhancements to many of the existing templates. Tablet users can create hand-drawn shapes. There is also support for collaboration by tracking changes, or those with Windows Server 2003 can use document workspaces to enable features such as team working and change notification. The only caveat with Visio is that a lot hinges on the quality of the templates, so if you have a particular use in mind it's worth checking that a suitable template exists. This professional version has the widest range, including topics such as engineering, networking and software development, while the standard version has a more limited range. As a general-purpose diagramming tool Office Visio 2003 Professional is outstanding. --Tim Anderson