Visio began as a standalone product produced by Shapeware Corporation; version 1.0 shipped in 1992. A pre-release, Version 0.92, was distributed free on a floppy disk along with a Microsoft Windows systems readiness evaluation utility. In 1995, Shapeware Corporation changed their name to Visio Corporation to take advantage of market recognition and related product equity. Microsoft acquired Visio in 2000, re-branding it as a Microsoft Office application, like Microsoft Project; however, it has never been included in any of the Office suites. Microsoft included a Visio for Enterprise Architects edition with some editions of Visual Studio .NET 2003 and Visual Studio 2005.
Along with Microsoft Visio 2002 Professional, Microsoft introduced Visio Enterprise Network Tools and Visio Network Center. Visio Enterprise Network Tools was an add-on product that enabled automated network and directory services diagramming. Visio Network Center was a subscription-based website where users could locate the latest network documentation content and exact-replica network equipment shapes from 500 leading manufacturers. The former has been discontinued, while the latter's shape-finding features are now integrated into the program itself. Visio 2007 was released on November 30, 2006.
Microsoft Visio first adopted ribbons in its user interface in Visio 2010. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook (to some extents) adopted ribbon with the release of Microsoft Office 2007. Other applications like Visio and OneNote, however, did not complete the adoption until 2010.
Versions
Visio v1.0 (Standard, Lite, Home)
Visio v2.0
Visio v3.0
Visio v4.0 (Standard, Technical)
Visio v4.1 (Standard, Technical)
Visio v4.5 (Standard, Professional, Technical)
Visio v5.0 (Standard, Professional, Technical)
Visio 2000 (v6.0; Standard, Professional, Technical, Enterprise) – later updated to SP1 and Microsoft branding after Visio Corporation's acquisition
Visio 2002 (v10.0; Standard, Professional)
Visio for Enterprise Architects 2003 (VEA 2003) – based on Visio 2002 and included with Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Architect edition
Office Visio 2003 (v11.0; Standard, Professional)
Office Visio for Enterprise Architects 2005 (VEA 2005) – based on Visio 2003 and included with Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite and Team Architect editions
Office Visio 2007 (v12.0; Standard, Professional)
Visio 2010 (v14.0; Standard, Professional, Premium)
Visio 2013 (v15.0; Standard, Professional)
There are no Visio versions 7, 8, or 9, because after Microsoft acquired and branded Visio as a Microsoft Office product, the Visio version numbers followed the Office version numbers. Version 13 was skipped.
In 7 May 2001, Microsoft introduced Visio Enterprise Network Tools (VENT), an add-on for Visio 2002 scheduled for release on 1 July 2001, and Visio Network Center, a subscription-based web service for IT professionals who use Microsoft Visio for computer network diagramming. VENT was discontinued on 1 July 2002 because of very low customer demand.
