In November, we released UML diagrams for the Visio web app. Since then, many of our users have been asking for the inclusion of Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERDs) to help them model their databases.
ER diagrams enable software engineers and system analysts to model and design their databases and information systems. These diagrams provide deep insight into the information that needs to be contained in the database and can also be useful in gauging problems in logic or deployment for existing databases.
Today, we are excited to announce that ER diagrams are now available in Visio for the Web and are much improved in Visio desktop. With this release, all Visio Plan 1 and Plan 2 users can visually represent how different entities relate to each other in a system or database by using ERD shapes, templates, and sample diagrams.
In Visio for the web, we now support two types of ER diagrams: Chen’s notation and crow’s foot notation.
Chen’s notation for a hospital management system
Crow’s foot notation for an inventory management system
To help you get started easily, we have provided a few starter diagrams to represent different scenarios for both Crow’s foot and Chen’s notation. Visit visio.office.com, select the preferred diagram template, and start modeling your systems or databases. Our support page provides even more details on how to create your ER diagrams.
For questions or feedback regarding Visio ERD templates and other features, please email us at tellvisio@microsoft.com. Keep visiting the Visio Tech Community, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay current on the latest Visio releases.