Preview Visio diagrams in Outlook 2007 even if you don't have Visio

If you have Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, you can preview Microsoft Office Visio diagrams that are attached to e-mail. You don't have to install Visio. You don't even need to download the free Visio Viewer. Outlook 2007 comes with several attachment previewers, so that you can preview many kinds of Microsoft Office files, including Visio diagrams.

If you want to open or make changes to a Visio diagram, you still need Visio installed. But if you just want to see what a diagram looks like, you can preview it instead.

What do you want to do?

Preview an attached Visio diagram in the Reading Pane

Preview an attached Visio diagram in an open message

Preview an attached Visio diagram in the Reading Pane

1. In the message list, select the message that has the attached Visio diagram that you want to preview.

2. In the Reading Pane, click the attached Visio diagram. If there are multiple attachments, you may need to scroll horizontally to find the attachment that you want.

   Note: A preview might not show the most up-to-date content in the file. To see the most complete, up-to-date content, you may need to open the file. Double-click the attachment to open it.

   Important: To help protect you from malicious code, active content that is embedded in e-mail attachments (including scripts, macros, and ActiveX controls) is disabled during a preview. You should preview or open attachments from trustworthy sources only.

3. To return to the message body, click the Message button.

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Preview an attached Visio diagram in an open message

1. Open the message that has the attached Visio diagram. Messages that have attachments are identified by a paper clip icon in the message list.

2. In the open message, click the attached Visio diagram to preview it.

   Note: A preview might not show the most up-to-date content in the file. To see the most complete, up-to-date content, you may need to open the file. Double-click the attachment to open it.

   Important: To help protect you from malicious code, active content that is embedded in e-mail attachments (including scripts, macros, and ActiveX controls) is disabled during a preview. You should preview or open attachments from trustworthy sources only.

3. To return to the message body, click the Message button.

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