In your quest to create a Visio-based application you’re not likely to find yourself stranded on a Visio-based-island. You’ll probably find yourself strolling through a land filled with other software products that need to join you on your journey.

So if your wanderings take you through the towns of Access, Excel, Active Directory, SQL Server, MOM, Exchange, Reporting Services, or SharePoint, then you’ve stopped at the right place to get directions!

The good citizens at Visimation have authored eight — that’s E-I-G-H-T-! — articles to guide you on your path towards integrating Visio with Microsoft technologies…

For ten years, my good friends and associates at Visimation have been one of the premier Visio-expertise companies in the world. They are a jovial bunch that really know what they’re doing when it comes to visualization. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, they work closely with our lovable Big Brother, and have created thses articles for MSDN.

This fantastic set of articles discusses integration scenarios and possibilities, as well as technical details, samples and how-tos. Without further ado, here are the links to the article!

Integrating Visio 2007: Introduction to Integrating Visio with Other Microsoft Programs

An overview of the integration opportunities between Visio 2007 and other Microsoft products. (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb232815.aspx)

Integrating Visio 2007 and Access 2007

Use Automation code to create a Visio drawing from data defining the contents of a drawing and the connectivity between shapes stored within Access tables. (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa722522.aspx)

Integrating Visio 2007 and Active Directory

Learn about several ways to integrate Microsoft Office Visio 2007 with Active Directory, to create data-driven diagrams that can update data directly in Active Directory. (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb245820.aspx)

Integrating Visio 2007 and Excel 2007

Visio 2007 and Excel 2007 provide built-in integration capabilities. See an example of linking data in Visio to Excel by using the Visio Data Selector and an example of creating and populating an Excel Bill of Materials by using Automation code. (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa701255.aspx)

Integrating Visio 2007 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005

Learn how you can integrate Microsoft Office Visio 2007 with Microsoft SQL Server 2005, to create data-driven diagrams from stored SQL data. (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb267248.aspx)

Integrating Visio 2007 and MOM, Exchange, and Reporting Services

Learn about the native integration among Visio, Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 (MOM), Exchange, and Reporting Services, and about some additional ways that these programs can be integrated by using Visio Automation (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb264455.aspx)

Integrating Visio 2007 and Project 2007

Microsoft Office Project 2007 and Microsoft Office Visio 2007 provide integration capabilities that previous versions did not provide. You can take advantage of these capabilities by using a combination of native features and COM add-in features. (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa827350.aspx)

Integrating Visio 2007 and SharePoint Products and Technologies

Learn about enhanced features for integrating Microsoft Office Visio 2007 with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb229690.aspx)

For more on Visio and SharePoint, see:

• SharePoint Planning Visio Diagrams
• Visio Services and SharePoint 2010