Document File Formats

Formats in which documents are saved in the Diagrams application depends on which version of Visio is used.

• With Visio 2010 it is possible to switch between binary and XML format. To do this just toggle the option Save documents in Visio XML format in Diagrams Options.

The setting provides the possibility to choose if drawings, templates and stencils should be stored in binary (*.vsd, *.vst, *.vss) or XML format (*.vdx, *.vtx, *.vsx).

It is recommended to save documents in a binary format which is more efficient and improves performance of Save Work and Open operations. For that reason it is used by default in the Diagrams application.

• With Visio 2013 installed the Visio 2013 file formats (*.vsdx, *.vstx, *.vssx) are enforced. The setting mentioned above is not available in this configuration.

  When the old file format is opened in Diagrams with Visio 2013 it will be automatically converted to the new file format on Save Work. From this moment on it will become impossible to open using Diagrams with older Visio versions.

It is possible to check in which format the document was last saved by querying SCHFF (schematic file format) attribute of SCDIAG, SCTEMP or SCSTEN. It can have the following values:

0 - Visio XML format

1 - binary format

2 - Visio 2013

When Save Work is performed all opened documents (also unchanged) with file format not corresponding to the Save documents in Visio XML format setting will be saved again in an appropriate format.

Note:
It is not possible to use Diagrams with two Visio versions installed. This will result in unexpected behavior.