How to run multiple versions of Visio (298947)

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Order of installation

If you want to install and use more than one version of Visio on the same computer, install the earliest version first. For example, if you want to use both Microsoft Visio 2000 and Visio 2002 on the same computer, install Visio 2000 first. This order is required because of the way that Visio manages registry keys, file name extensions, and other settings for each version.

The following table shows the order that you should use when you install different versions of Visio.

   Visio          Installation 
   version        order
   ---------------------------
   5.0            First
   2000           Second
   2002           Third
   2003	          Fourth										
				

The rest of this article assumes that you have installed the versions of Visio in this order.

Visio folder locations

When you install Visio 2003, the default folder for Setup is Program Files\Microsoft Office\Visio11.

The default folder for Visio 2002 Setup is Program Files\Microsoft Office\Visio10.

The default folder for Visio 2000 Setup is Program Files\Visio.

The default folder for Microsoft Visio 5.0 is also Program Files\Visio. Choose a different folder location for Visio 2000, such as Program Files\Visio2000, if you install Visio 5.0 and Visio 2000 on the same computer.

Shortcuts on the Start menu

Visio 2003 uses the shortcut name on the Microsoft Office menu. Visio 2002 and Visio 2000 use the same shortcut names on the Start menu to start programs. Because of this behavior, when you install Visio 2002, the Setup program overwrites the shortcuts for the earlier versions of Visio.

Note The Microsoft Visio shortcut on the Start menu always points to the Visio 2000 or Visio 2002 product that you most recently installed or repaired.

If you rename the shortcuts for the earlier versions of Visio before you install Visio 2002, you can use the shortcuts for all sets of programs on the Start menu. To avoid confusion, we suggest that you add the version number to each renamed shortcut. For example, rename the shortcut that points to Visio 2000 as Microsoft Visio 2000 before you install Visio 2002. Additionally, you can move the Visio 2000 shortcuts to a subfolder on the Start menu.

If you manually move the shortcuts for either Visio 2002 or Visio 2000, and then you reinstall the product or repair the shortcuts, the shortcuts will be re-created on the Programs submenu on the Start menu.

Error message when you start Visio

If you run an earlier version of Visio and then start Visio 2002 or Visio 2003 on the same computer, you may receive the following error message in a Windows Installer dialog box: Then, you receive one of the following error messages in another dialog box: Note The Edition is Standard or Professional, depending on the edition of Visio that is installed on your computer.

This behavior occurs because Visio 2002 or Visio 2003 must reregister itself in the Microsoft Windows registry. If you start Visio 2002 or Visio 2003, its resiliency features check the appropriate registry entries. If the appropriate version is not the associated program for the .vsd file type, Visio starts the Windows Installer to correct the registry keys.

If you do not want to receive these error messages every time that you start Visio 2002, create a new shortcut for Visio 2002 that manually registers the product. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Quit Visio.
2. Right-click an empty area of your Windows desktop, click New, and then click Shortcut.
3. Click Browse.
4. Locate the folder where you installed Visio 2002. Click the Visio.exe file, and then click OK.
5. In the Type the location of the item box, you see the complete path of the Visio.exe file in quotation marks. The path looks similar to the following: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Visio10\visio.exe"
   
   Put the insertion point in the Type the location of the item box, press the RIGHT ARROW key to move to the end of the file path, and then type /r.
   
   Your entry will look similar to the following:

   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Visio10\visio.exe" /r

6. Click Next.
7. In the Type a name for this shortcut box, type a name, and then click Finish.
8. Run Visio 2002 by using the new shortcut on your Windows desktop to manually reregister Visio 2002 every time that it is run.

Note Using this method to start Visio 2002 causes Visio to open with a blank screen. You must use the File menu to create a new project or to open an existing project.

Double-click behavior of drawing files in Windows Explorer

When you double-click a Visio drawing in Windows Explorer, or when you click a drawing from the recent documents folder in Windows, the following rules apply:

• If a version of the program is running, the drawing opens in that version.
• If no version of the program is running, the drawing opens in the version of the program that you most recently installed.
  
  -or-
  
  The drawing opens in the last version of the program that was running. Every time that you start the Visio program, it registers itself as the version to use to load a drawing.

To reassociate drawings with a particular version of Visio, start that version of Visio. Alternatively, run the Visio Setup program, and then click Repair. This registers the file associations for that version of Visio. For more information about how to make file associations, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: