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Rating: 
Summary: Good primer on Visio 2002
Review: "Step by Step" offers a good primer on Visio 2002 for the beginning user. A particular strength was the insight into how this most recent version of the product integrates with XP.
Rating:
Summary: Good if you learned how to switch your PC on just Yesterday
Review: For my personal use I would rate this book as 2. However I have to acknowledge that it is a high quality production with lots of nice pictures to assist people who don't know how to save a file of change the color of their text.
If you've ever used MS office products such as Word or Powerpoint about 50% of the information in this book will be redundant.
Can anyone recommend a book which explains how Visio 2002 uses the MS Repository? This book didn't even mention the Repository.
Rating: 
Summary: No 30-day Demo!
Review: I bought this book for the 30-day demo so I could actually work through the steps to learn the program as the book was designed. However, when I followed the instructions to install the trial version, I was redirected to the Microsoft website where I was told the 30-day demo was no longer available. The software was not on the CD that accompanies the book. The cover of the book states: "CD-ROM includes practice files plus free trial software!" Don't buy this book if you actually want to learn by using the software. You could use it as a reference but there are probably better reference guides available.
Rating:
Summary: Strictly For Beginner
Review: I purchased this book hoping for a better understanding of Visio 2002, expecially in reference to Web Site Mapping. It was very disappointing to say the least. Not only did I not get any information or a better understanding of the function, it was not even discussed in the book. For a manual described as "step-by-step" the author seems to have missed some very major steps. If you have never used or seen Visio then maybe it will prove helpful to you. If you have used any of the previous versions of Visio this book is a WASTE of your time and money.
Rating: 
Summary: Moving to 2002 Step by Step.
Review: I started working with Visio with version 5; I was able to create basic layouts of networks but wanted more. I then upgraded to Visio 2000 and started reading books on what the features could do. With the installation of Visio 2002 and this book I now know there is so much I can do. From the creation of the diagram and the adding of shapes you'll learn at your pace and you can re-do any section over again you until you understand the concepts. The authors' layout the book in a format that makes the learning fun and easy. You'll also learn about connecting the shapes together, project scheduling, setting up the organizational charts, creating an office layout or network diagram. The book even shows how to integrate the application with Office XP and customizing the templates. An excellent tool for the beginner but every level should be able to find something in here. The book comes with practice files and for my money this was well worth the price.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book for the computer novice but not for professionals
Review: The authors of this book assume that you are a novice or a beginner programmer and I have to question whether novice or beginner programmers are going to be designing software using Visio. When I read this book, I quickly became bored. I already know how to save a file to the hard drive so why waste my time reading about it. In Chapter 1 through 4 the authors explain the various features of Visio and explain the basics of Visio, such as creating a diagram, adding shapes to a diagram, formatting shapes and diagrams, and connecting the shapes. I did learn some new tricks in these chapters. In Chapters 5 through 9, the authors try to teach you how to use Visio for a specific solution. For example in Chapter 5, the Authors instruct you on Creating Project Schedules. Some advanced features are explained in Chapter 10 which is the last chapter in the book. Pros: The authors do give you some useful tips and if you follow the examples you will learn Visio in a hurry. The color illustrations are excellent (with the exception of the appendix at the end of the book). Cons: The authors assume you just bought your PC yesterday and the early chapters in the book are too basic for any experienced developer. The shapes in Appendix B are not legible. The 30-day demo did not load on my Windows XP machine.
Rating:
Summary: Good book for the computer novice but not for professionals
Review: The authors of this book assume that you are a novice or a beginner programmer and I have to question whether novice or beginner programmers are going to be designing software using Visio. When I read this book, I quickly became bored. I already know how to save a file to the hard drive so why waste my time reading about it. In Chapter 1 through 4 the authors explain the various features of Visio and explain the basics of Visio, such as creating a diagram, adding shapes to a diagram, formatting shapes and diagrams, and connecting the shapes. I did learn some new tricks in these chapters. In Chapters 5 through 9, the authors try to teach you how to use Visio for a specific solution. For example in Chapter 5, the Authors instruct you on Creating Project Schedules. Some advanced features are explained in Chapter 10 which is the last chapter in the book. Pros: The authors do give you some useful tips and if you follow the examples you will learn Visio in a hurry. The color illustrations are excellent (with the exception of the appendix at the end of the book). Cons: The authors assume you just bought your PC yesterday and the early chapters in the book are too basic for any experienced developer. The shapes in Appendix B are not legible. The 30-day demo did not load on my Windows XP machine.
Rating:
Summary: Great Lessons! Plan your time with care.
Review: This book does a great job outlining the objectives to be covered with each lesson. The lessons are well thought out, easy to follow and cover a variety of practical techniques. I also appreciated the book binding which allows the book to remain open and flat while typing and learning! The trial version lasts 30 days, starting from date of activation (which is required to get full functionality of the trial version of the product). While 30 days may seem like a fairly generous timeframe, time can easily slip away and before you know it, there are just a few days left before the trial version ends. I would strongly recommend one of the following: 1) Get a full version of Visio 2002 and just install the practice files so there is no time contraint or 2) Use the trial version, but read through the lessons first, before installing and using the trial. Either way, you will have more time to do the lessons you want, and will have time to review and re-do those of most interest. Definitely well worth it to get a manual like this with practice files.
Rating:
Summary: Great Lessons! Plan your time with care.
Review: This book does a great job outlining the objectives to be covered with each lesson. The lessons are well thought out, easy to follow and cover a variety of practical techniques. I also appreciated the book binding which allows the book to remain open and flat while typing and learning! The trial version lasts 30 days, starting from date of activation (which is required to get full functionality of the trial version of the product). While 30 days may seem like a fairly generous timeframe, time can easily slip away and before you know it, there are just a few days left before the trial version ends. I would strongly recommend one of the following: 1) Get a full version of Visio 2002 and just install the practice files so there is no time contraint or 2) Use the trial version, but read through the lessons first, before installing and using the trial. Either way, you will have more time to do the lessons you want, and will have time to review and re-do those of most interest. Definitely well worth it to get a manual like this with practice files.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to Read
Review: This book is excellent for beginner who never use Visio before. It is to the point and it has clear and nice colorfull example.
The instruction is very easy to understand. The acompanied cdrom is very helpfull to do the exercise. The opening in each chapter is rather hard to understand though, but once you do the exercise, you will understand it. This book does not cover any advanced features except the last chapter, which is customizing shapes and templates, but it give you a good feeling of becoming familiar with Visio. Once you finish reading this book, you will be more comfortable to read more advanced Visio books.
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