About Visio

Visio Basic for Microsoft 365 is free for students, faculty and staff. A free limited online version of Visio allows Windows and Mac users to create, view and edit basic Visio drawings. 

Visio Plan 1 and Visio Plan 2 are available for purchase for faculty and staff. (Students are not eligible because of licensing restrictions.)  Plan 1 is $12.80 annually and Plan 2 is $26.93 annually. Compare Visio Options on the Microsoft 365 website. 

Features and benefits of the tool include:

Visualizing Complex Ideas

• Organize Visually: With Visio, you can organize complex ideas visually. It provides a canvas where you can create diagrams, flowcharts, timelines, floor plans, and more.
• Templates: Start with hundreds of templates to jump-start your projects.

Creating Professional Diagrams

• Shapes and Relationships: Easily add and connect shapes, text, and pictures to represent relationships in your data.
• Styles and Themes: Give your diagrams a professional look using styles, effects, themes, and backgrounds.

Data-Driven Visuals

• Dynamic Diagrams: Link your diagrams to data from Excel, Access, or SharePoint. Create dynamic visuals that update automatically.
• Business Intelligence (BI): Utilize Visio to visualize data-connected business process flows.

Collaboration and Sharing

• Cloud Integration: Save your diagrams to the cloud and share them with others through a browser, even if they don’t have Visio installed.
• Mobile Viewing: View your drawings on mobile devices for convenience.

Cross-Browser Compatibility

• Visio is cross-browser compatible, allowing you to work seamlessly across different devices and browsers.
• Microsoft 365 Integration: Collaborate on Visio diagrams directly from within Microsoft Teams.

Request Visio

To purchase a Plan 1 or Plan 2 Visio license, request a quote from our vendor, CDW, in the CU Marketplace. 

To Access Visio

Access Basic in Microsoft 365

• Launch and bookmark Visio https://visio.office.com. You can also navigate to it by logging into the Outlook web app (https://outlook.office.com/), select the waffle at the top-left and select Visio.

Access Visio Plan 1 and Visio Plan 2

• Follow the step above - you will see additional functionality added with your paid license.

You can also install Visio on your local computer if you are on a Windows PC.  Here are the steps to install:

• Go to: https://portal.office.com/account/
• Sign in with your university email address and password.
• Click on View Apps & Devices

• Select Install Visio

Visio Plan 1 or Plan 2 is the preferred product to use. If you need to order Visio Standard or Visio Professional you will need to email colorado@insight.com. Once your order is completed and purchased you will receive a license proof. When you receive the confirmation, email the OIT Service Desk with your computer name and your license proof attached and the software will be deployed to your device.