You can create and edit diagrams available from the Visio for the web templates page, such as Basic Diagram, Org Chart Diagram, process Steps, and Flowchart Diagram. All the rich diagrams you create in the Visio desktop app can be shared and viewed in Visio for the web. However, a small percentage of files created in the Visio desktop app may have limitations when it comes to editing them in Visio for the web. This article provides details of these limitations.
Features and properties optimized for Visio for the web
Files created in the Visio desktop app that contain the elements listed below can be edited in Visio for the web, but with certain limitations:
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Element |
Description |
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Object types: ActiveX controls, OLE objects, Ink Objects |
These object types are opened in Visio for the web with an optimized look; certain interactions related to them are not available. If any of these objects are placed on the canvas, you will get an error explaining that Visio for the web does not support the use of, or interaction with, that kind of object. |
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Shapes with certain styles and effects |
Shapes with certain advanced styles and effects (gradient fills, pattern fills, shadows, etc.) applied to them in the Visio desktop app are opened in Visio for the web editor with an optimized look and feel. |
Unsupported features and properties
The following is a list of advanced features that are not supported; files containing these features and properties will not open in the editor in Visio for the web:
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Feature |
Description |
|---|---|
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File formats |
The following file formats are not supported:
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Data-connected diagrams |
Diagrams with data connected to data sources including:
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Templates with solutions and add-ins |
Examples include organization charts, timelines, and some third-party solutions. However, many of these types of diagrams are now natively available in Visio for the web. You can create and edit them entirely in the web app, which also provides the added benefits of easy collaboration and cloud sync. |
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Diagrams with layers that have set the Color or Transparency properties. See Open Visio files that have a Color or Transparency layer property below to learn more about how to remove these layer properties. |
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Large diagrams |
Diagrams with more than 1,000 shapes on a page or more than 50 pages. |
Open Visio files that have a Color or Transparency layer property
Layers with the Color or Transparency property are not supported in Visio for the web. If an existing diagram has layers with these properties in it, but you want to be able to open it in Visio for the web, you must first remove them in the Visio desktop app. To do so:
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On the Home tab, in the Editing group, select Layers, then select Layer Properties.
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In the Layer Properties dialog box, check to see if any shapes are assigned to the layer.
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If a layer has shapes on it, do the following to assign the shapes to a different layer:
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To close the Layer Properties dialog box, select OK.
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Select the shapes you want to reassign.
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On the Home tab, in the Editing group, select Layers, then select Assign to Layer.
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In the Layer dialog box, select the layer you want to assign the shapes to.
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Select OK.
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In the Editing group, select Layers, then select Layer Properties again.
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In the Layer Properties dialog box, select the layer you want to delete, and then select Remove.
Tip: To delete all unused layers, in the Layer Properties dialog box, select Remove unreferenced layers, then select OK.
To learn more about layers, see Add a layer.
