Microsoft Visio 2013 Step by Step

As with most tutorial resources, the user is required to have a basic understanding of: (a) computer navigation; (b) framework (what actives are to be performed); (c) sequence (when) of activities to be performed; (d) what (or who) resources to assign to the activities; and (d) at what level of grandularity to plan said activities (& to measure performance).In short, no one resource can answer all questions to the satisfaction of all users. Be prepared to invest time to master the content of this resource.

The Step by Step series of books has long been my "go-to" learning resource for MOS Exam prep, so it was natural for me to turn to a Step by Step book when wanting to learn Visio 2013. What I found is this particular book is, by far, one of the best organized and logically structured tutorial books that I've encountered. Kudos, Scott Helmers - great job!

Disclaimers first.My review is based on my own learning style. Your mileage may vary, although the problems I describe seem likely to affect any reader to some extent.I haven't looked at other Visio books yet. Amazon's reviews made this one appear to be the best, and it may well be... it just isn't that great.Next, the good stuff. The book is extremely thorough, and I believe it's extremely accurate. I can tell that the author knows his subject inside out, and has spent a great deal of effort on this work.Finally, the bad stuff.I've been using Visio for over ten years, but I have never learned it systematically. I thought it was time I filled in the gaps in my knowledge.Given my needs, I find the book very frustrating. It approaches Visio one feature at a time: the Ribbon, the template view, etc. For me, that's the wrong end of the telescope. I know everything I need to know about how the program's features work, as such. I want to learn how to DO things. For example, how can I draw a freeform connector and control its shape? If learning that involves learning something about the Ribbon or the template view, fine, but I'll never want to read a lesson about those features by themselves.So the book isn't written for people like me, whose knowledge of Visio is deep but spotty.I don't think it's written for beginners, either. No one is likely to retain much from a lesson that explains all the different things Visio's Ribbon can do before they've learned how to draw a circle.Veteran users may find useful information here, but the book is written as a series of follow-along tutorials, and veterans will find the unfamiliar bits widely spaced and hard to locate. One wonders whether the author even thought about who he was writing for.I'm going to skim through several more chapters, but at some point I'm probably going to set this book aside and look for one that discusses how to use Visio for meaningful work -- not just what Visio does.

There is so much to Visio now. Excellent intro and training. I often felt the practices could have been more in depth but they did the job. You can't stop at the book, you need to practice and use

Great book for self learning. I use this book for a college course. Students follow the book, download the files, and do the assignments, step bu step. If they have questions,then they learn more. I will recommend this book to everyone.

The book is well written, with lots of illustrations. There are example files that one can download, which enhances the learning process. My only disappointment was with the print quality of the book. Any moisture on the page will smear the print. The print quality of the screen shots is mediocre.

I will use it to learn modern tools for presentation and compare with PPT and Canva.

The book is a good way to explore the capability of Visio as well as learn the necessary steps to get the best results. I keep it handy and read it often as I strive to develop tools to help illustrate complex tasks in a technical world.

Bought for my wife who has been asked to use Visio by her employer. I purchased the manual based upon:1. my knowledge of these manuals from my time as an IT trainer.2. my wife would receive no formal training.3. she needed to hit the ground running4. these manuals assume no previous product knowledge.My wife is now using Visio with great confidence and has found the book, together with the downloadable exercises to be and I quote "better than a course because I can learn at my own pace and I can use Visio properly rather than using help and hoping for the best"Buy a copy, its a great investment, its not the cheapest but as in all things you get what you pay for.

Article arrived promptly and as described. No complaints. One happy customer.

Well written. Simply laid out.

Must read book

Perfectly explained and well laid-out. Left me wondering why Microsoft doesn't apply the same approach to all its products. x