Octo for Visio and the company's diagrams

The drawing comes from the data. The one who says it is right is you.

A .vsdx is a ZIP with XML: each shape is a Shape, each link is a Connect. Octo generates org charts from the HR spreadsheet, checks the network diagram against the inventory and draws the process in BPMN from a list of steps, checking the rules before opening Visio. Publishing the org chart, choosing which source counts and approving the process stay with the people in charge.

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.vsdx format2013since Visio 2013: OPC package, ZIP with XML

Visio LTSC 20242029mainstream support until Oct 9, 2029

Visio 2016, 2019 and 20210versions still supported on Oct 30, 2026

Sources14listed at the end of the page

What Octo does with Visio and diagrams.

Six possible deliverables, drawn from the research. All of them start from where the data comes from, all of them check before drawing, and all of them go to review by whoever answers for the drawing.

Drawing inventory

Lists .vsdx, .vsd and .vsdm in a folder or library, with pages, last edit and macros. A drawing with VBA does not run in Visio for the web.

Deliverable: spreadsheet per drawing and a list of macros

Org chart from the spreadsheet

The HR spreadsheet (id, gestor_id) becomes a .vsdx with boxes and glued connectors, after checking for a single root, an existing manager and cycles.

Deliverable: drawing + report by level and department

Network checked

Reads shapes and Connect from the network diagram and compares them with the inventory: extra equipment, missing equipment, wrong IP, missing link and loose connector.

Deliverable: list of differences for the person in charge

Process in BPMN

A list of steps, lanes and decisions is checked (start, ends, gateways, reachability) and drawn with Visio's BPMN stencil, on a workstation with someone in front of it.

Deliverable: .vsdx and PDF for the process owner

Batch replacement

Logo, footer, brand color or department name replaced in hundreds of drawings, by editing cells and text in the XML, with a copy before and a diff after.

Deliverable: changed drawings + list of what changed

Personal data kept out of the drawing

The generator rejects spreadsheets with CPF (Brazilian taxpayer ID), email, phone or salary; a network diagram with IPs is flagged as sensitive information before it circulates.

Deliverable: a drawing with only what it needs to show

Eight arms, one checked drawing.

The same Octo cycle, applied to diagrams. Each arm has a narrow role; the ones who publish, choose which source counts and approve the process are people.

Discovery
Surveys what already exists

Drawings by format, with or without macros, where they are, who edited them and which Visio versions are in use.
Data
Pins down where each drawing comes from

HR spreadsheet, network inventory, list of steps, and the field that identifies each shape.
Security
Looks after what the drawing shows

Removes unnecessary personal data, flags macros and network diagrams with IPs, asks for minimum permission.
Architecture
Chooses the path

Files directly for batches and services; COM on a workstation for BPMN and PDF; the company's .vsdx template.
Development
Writes the script

Generators and auditors with a check before drawing and a report after.
Review
Checks by content

Opens it in Visio, checks glue and text and compares counts with the source. "The file opened" is not a check.
Release
Delivers the file

Delivers .vsdx and PDF. Publishing on the intranet or sending outside requires a person's approval.
Documentation
Records how to redo it

Source of each drawing, date, who approved and the command that generates it again.

Octo does not decide what gets published, does not choose which source counts when they differ, does not store credentials and does not run Visio automation without someone in front of the computer.

Every task, its own path.

The criteria Octo uses to choose, with the reference from Microsoft and from the libraries cited in the research.

Task	Path	Notes
Generate drawings in batch, without Visio	XML directly in the `.vsdx` package	The path Microsoft indicates for services
Fill the company template	`vsdx` library (Python, BSD)	Connector support "still incomplete"
Read shapes and links	`Shape`, `Cell`, `Connect`	Follow the relationships, not the file name
Draw BPMN with the official stencil	COM: `Page.Drop`, `GlueTo`	Professional or Plan 2; workstation with a person
Check BPMN rules	Process > Check Diagram	Desktop only; checks only the graphics
Export PDF	`ExportAsFixedFormat`	Graph does not convert Visio to PDF
Org chart from a spreadsheet, by hand	Organization Chart Wizard	Excel, text, Exchange or ODBC
Store and list drawings	Microsoft Graph, `driveItem`	No Visio-specific API
Interact with a drawing on the web	Visio JavaScript API 1.1	Classic SharePoint Online pages only, with a deadline

From the hand-made drawing to a drawing that rebuilds itself.

Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results on your team.

A proposal, not a promise

1 Today

Inventory and check

Octo shows which drawings exist and which no longer match reality, without changing anything.

Spreadsheet per drawing, with macros and version
Network checked against the inventory
List of loose connectors

Gain: knowing what the drawing still gets right

2 Next

Generation from the data

Org chart, network and process come from the spreadsheet and the inventory, with a check before drawing.

The company's .vsdx template
A report on every generation
Minimum personal data

Gain: the team reviews the spreadsheet, not box by box

3 Later

Drawing with a log

Each published drawing has a source, date, who approved and the command that rebuilds it.

Periodic network check
Org chart rebuilt on every HR change
Versioned process with approval

Gain: a drawing that keeps up with the company

Confirmed by a source.

Every point below has a source published by Microsoft (Learn and Support), by the package's official repository (PyPI, NuGet, PowerShell Gallery) or in Brazilian federal law. The examples are scripts to follow, not runs. The sources are in the next section.

points with a published source, each with its reference shown alongside.

ConfirmedVSDX is a ZIP with XML: Visio 2013 introduced .vsdx in place of .vsd and .vdx, based on OPC and XML; every ShapeSheet cell becomes a Cell element with the N attribute.Source: learn.microsoft.com, Introduction to the Visio file format
ConfirmedEnd of support: Visio 2016 and 2019: extended support ended on Oct 14, 2025. Visio 2021: support ended on Oct 13, 2026. Visio LTSC 2024: mainstream support until Oct 9, 2029.Source: learn.microsoft.com/lifecycle
ConfirmedUnattended COM is not supported: Microsoft neither recommends nor supports Office automation from a non-interactive component (ASP.NET, DCOM, services) and points to editing the format directly for services.Source: learn.microsoft.com, unattended automation of Office
ConfirmedGraph does not convert Visio: Graph's format conversion does not list vsd or vsdx among the sources for PDF, and it has a 2 MB limit.Source: learn.microsoft.com, driveitem-get-content-format

What Octo does, and what stays with you.

Octo prepares everything, but it does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.

Octo prepares

Surveys, organizes and produces the files: documents, spreadsheets, presentations, schedules, inventories and check reports, on file and through the APIs, without sending or publishing anything.

Deliverable: material ready to check

Your team checks

Whoever is accountable for the document, the spreadsheet or the schedule checks what Octo delivered before approving. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.

Step: checked by the person accountable

Who signs and approves

Octo does not sign, approve or send. The document owner reviews and signs; the project manager approves the baseline; the Microsoft 365 administrator grants consent for permissions; the data protection officer approves anything that goes out with personal data.

Approval: document owner and 365 administrator

Sources.

Microsoft documentation on learn.microsoft.com and in support, plan and lifecycle pages and the repositories of the libraries cited, consulted on Oct 31, 2026.

Introduction to the .vsdx formatOPC package, Cell, Section
Manipulate the format programmaticallyPackage parts
Schema, Connect_TypeFromSheet, ToSheet
[MS-VSDX]Open specification
Visio plansPlan 1, Plan 2, Microsoft 365
Visio service descriptionWeb and desktop
Lifecycle, Visio LTSC 2024Until Oct 9, 2029
Lifecycle, Visio 2021End of support on Oct 13, 2026
BPMN in VisioCheck Diagram
Organization Chart WizardExcel, text, ODBC
Unattended automationCaveat about COM
Visio JavaScript APIClassic pages, deadline
Graph, format conversionNo Visio
vsdx library0.6.1, BSD

Your diagrams, generated from the data and checked.

The assessment starts with an inventory of the drawings and a read-only check of the network diagram against the inventory. You get what still matches, what has aged and the questions only your team can answer, and you decide with that in hand.

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