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I want to create a .vsdx file (drawing) using Java. Visio 2013 uses Open Packaging Convention. I don't know from where to start, currently referring this link http://blogs.office.com/2013/01/29/10-tips-for-developers-working-with-the-visio-vsdx-file-format/.

I want to code this program in Eclipse using Java but the above link is explained totally using C# in Visual Studio. I didn't get any Java library for Visio 2013. Can someone help me and give some idea how should I create a .vsdx file in Java which will be supported by Visio 2013?

monu
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  • The structure and specifications of the vsdx document are publicly available. I will refer to Aspose.Diagram http://www.aspose.com/docs/display/diagramjava/Loading%2C+Saving+and+Converting because I found this tagged with aspose. – Saqib Razzaq Jan 26 '15 at 19:01
  • Thanks Razzaq, I think, by Aspose.Diagram i can surely do it. – monu Jan 27 '15 at 04:28
  • but, is there any open-source library? or a way to implement it by own. – monu Jan 27 '15 at 05:31
  • Apache POI libraries for Microsoft documents are very popular and open source. For Visio, they have POI-HDGF, I have added an answer now to list the available libraries. – Saqib Razzaq Jan 27 '15 at 07:25

2 Answers2

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There are some complications you should be aware of:

  1. Visio 2013 file format is specified in an XSD 1.1 schema. This version of XSD is not usable by JAXB, which means you will have to do a lot of manual work to get the data to resolve to Java objects.
  2. Aspose.Diagram has quite a few gaps in its functionality based on the brief evaluation I did on it a few weeks ago.
  3. The OpenXML4J stuff works fairly well for manipulating the OPC container, but there are a couple of conficts when using JAXB together with this (namely, the relationships within the XML documents themselves are not scooped and must be read in a second, straight DOM, pass).

My approach has been to hack the XSD Schema back down to a 1.0 version and using the N attributes of the objects to switch by type. When I have completed my work, I will be happy to share the XSD which would be usable by JAXB.

n8n8baby
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Here are the list of Java libraries available for handling Microsoft Visio documents.

  1. Apache POI-HDGF. It is open source. Reliable and widely used/developed by community.
  2. Aspose.Diagram for Java, but it is a commercial library. Only supports reading vsdx at the moment.

If anyone knows of any other library, please update the answer.

Saqib Razzaq
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    As per my understanding currently aspose does not support to save .vsdx . it is also disscussed here:- http://www.aspose.com/community/forums/thread/591404/export-to-vsdx-format.aspx – monu Jan 27 '15 at 09:57
  • Yes, you are right, it can only read vsdx. The save feature is expected late this year. – Saqib Razzaq Jan 27 '15 at 10:45
  • Wait for any POI expert, I have experience in Aspose components. – Saqib Razzaq Jan 27 '15 at 11:34
  • Thanks for your help. So if i want to save a file in vsdx format then do i have to code it by own. I am thinking to use openxml4j to manipulate packaging. – monu Jan 27 '15 at 11:36