VSD Viewer is a program designed to work with VSD files. The main advantage of this application is the ability to open, view and print Microsoft Office Visio documents without installing the program itself. Thanks to the application, any user can view presentations, projects and drawings created using Visio. In addition, the VSD Viewer has the functions of scaling and rotating images. You can download VSD Viewer for free on this site.
Unlike similar software, this application cannot be considered a stand-alone program; it is an ActiveX application designed to work together with the Internet Explorer 5 and higher browser. In order to open files with extensions .vsd, .vdx, .vtx and others, you need to double-click on them in the file manager. Files are opened in a browser window. Object properties are viewed when you open the Properties and Settings window.
If necessary, it is possible to set the visibility of layers, as well as their colors, on the “Layer Options” tab. The color and visibility of annotations is set in the Layout Settings tab. It is also possible to enlarge or reduce the image using the buttons on the toolbar. Using the toolbar, the user can pan, zoom, rotate, or mirror the image. If necessary, you can send the document by email directly from the program.
In addition to working with VSD files, the utility allows you to view files in TXT and RTF formats. There is support for both the old VSD format and the new VDX format.
Main advantages of VSD Viewer
- Reading and viewing Microsoft Office Visio files.
- Scaling and rotating an image.
- View RTF and TXT files.
- Setting the visibility and color of layers.
- VDX format support.
Thanks to the features of the program, it will be convenient for remote users to work with it, who together view one document or work with it at the same time.
Situations often arise when you come across a file extension that you have not yet encountered. This article will talk about the vsd format file. Files of this type are diagrams created by MS Visio. The product allows you to create process flow diagrams, figures, etc.
How to open the vsd extension?
In the case when the file needs to be opened exclusively for viewing without the ability to edit, it will be enough to install MS VisioViewer - this program is included in the Microsoft Office package and works as an add-on for the IE browser (Internet Explorer).
If you don’t have it, you can download it from official website .
Before the 2010 release, the office package supports IE viewer from versions 5 to 8, and starting from modification 2013, version 8 and higher is required. When launched for the first time, the program may ask for confirmation to activate the add-on.
The viewer allows you to scale the image without reducing quality, since Visio uses a vector image type. All the small functionality is presented at the top of the browser.
How to open a file with the vsd extension when you need to be able to edit the file? To use the full functionality and the ability to create diagrams yourself, you will need to install the full-fledged MS Visio program. In this case, all possibilities for creating and editing a file will be available to you.
Let's look at how you can open a vsd file in MS Visio 2013.
To create professional graphs, flowcharts, database models, drawings and other graphic diagrams on computers, Microsoft has developed a special format with the VSD extension. Using the Microsoft Visio program that works with this format, designers, computer program and network developers create reporting forms and presentations in the form of diagrams. The VSD file abbreviation stands for Visio Drawing File.
How to open
The file contains vector graphics, which means it can be opened by programs that work in this direction. But this is not easy, since the encryption algorithm is a trade secret. Some manufacturers have managed to create a number of utilities, but competing with a corporate giant is not easy.
Let's divide the utilities into two groups:
- For editing and viewing.
- For viewing purposes only.
Programs for viewing and editing
The main software is the Microsoft Visio program, which has full functionality for working with diagram files, which can be downloaded for preliminary review at . It is convenient because it contains many design templates with regular updates. The classic program for editing VSD files is expensive, but for specialists it is just right.
A number of independent development companies have offered their solutions:
Viewing utilities
There is a free version of the Microsoft utility for reading VSD documents only. You can purchase the program for personal, non-commercial use using this link. It's called Visio Viewer and is an add-on for the Internet Explorer browser, and each version has its own features. 
Important! Internet Explorer versions 5 to 8 only work with version 10 of Visio Viewer. To work with the Viewer utility of later releases, update the browser itself.
Let us note another, no less popular Microsoft product - the Word text editor. With its help you can view, move and, if you have full access to the diagram editor, then change the contents of the VSD in a Word document.
Some users may need to open a file with the extension VSD. Such a file is a product of the MS Visio program, contains vector graphics, and its contents can be viewed using specialized programs, often paid for. In this material I will tell you how you can open a VSD file, what programs and services will help us with this, and how to use them.
The abbreviation "VSD" is an abbreviation of the English words " Visio Drawing File" (Visio drawing file). A file with this extension is usually a product of the Microsoft Visio program pre-2013, since after 2013, due to the next update of the program, “vsd” was replaced by the more modern “vsdx” format. Previously, I reviewed online services for opening descriptions of PostScript drawings.
However, the VSD file is usually encrypted using a special encryption algorithm, so only a limited number of programs can open it and work with it.
How to open VSD format
Since, as mentioned above, the VSD file is encrypted, only a few programs can work with it and open it. Typically, the method of playing a vsd file is standard: you install and run one of the programs listed below, click on the “File” tab, and point the program to the path to your vsd file (or it may be enough to double-click on this file, the desired program will pick it up herself).
What programs will help us open VSD? I would highlight the following tools:
- Microsoft Visio Viewer is a free tool created by Microsoft specifically for viewing Microsoft Visio editor files with the “VSD” extension. It exists in the form of an add-on to the Internet Explorer browser, which allows you to open files with the “VSD” extension using this browser. Download and install this tool, then, while in Explorer, simply double-click on this file, IE will open, and in it the contents of the VSD file. You can move the image, scale it, view shape properties, and so on;
- LibreOffice is a suite of office programs distributed completely free of charge. Available for different OS versions, it is a free alternative to the paid Microsoft Office. Allows you to open the contents of a .vsd file;
- Microsoft Visio is a basic vsd file program, an editor for vector graphics, diagrams and flowcharts. The full functionality of the product is paid, but purchasing this program for the sake of several views of the vsd files we need does not seem optimal;
- iGrafx FlowCharter is a utility created for process mapping, a graphical modeling tool, and is used as an auxiliary tool in business activity. The product is also paid;
- CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X7 (X8) is the famous graphics editor Corel Draw. You can only download a trial version of the product for free, although you can search for free versions of it online;
- SmartDraw is a vector graphics creation tool and VSD extension viewer. There are two versions - downloadable (for Windows OS) and network (cloud). You can download a free trial version.
How to open .vsd online
You can view VSD online using the Ofoct network service, or by installing special extensions on your browser for viewing VSD files online (extension for Google Chrome and extensions for Mozilla Firefox). Usually, after installing the specified extensions, you can view .vsd online using the functionality of your browser.
Online services to convert VSD to PDF
Various online converters available on the Internet will help you convert VSD to PDF. In particular, we can note the online converters Zamzar and CoolUtils, which work on a similar principle.
- You log in to the site and use the “Browse” button to upload the required vsd file to the resource;
- Select the conversion format (in this case “pdf”) and click the “Convert” button (or “Download converted file”).
- As a result, you receive the required pdf file.
Conclusion
Above I have listed both desktop and network tools that will help you open a VSD file. Although most programs are paid, there are also free alternatives that allow you to view the contents of vsd files. You can also take a closer look at various online services and extensions for your browser - they will effectively help you open files with the VSD extension.
In contact with
Most programs on your computer are opened by double-clicking with your left mouse button on the utility icon, but this rarely applies to files with the vsd extension. The fact is that by default, software designed to view vsd files is not installed on the PC. Next, we will consider utilities that are guaranteed to open or convert vsd documents into another extension you require. But first, let's figure out what this format is.
What is vsd: description of the extension
VSD is an acronym for Visio Drawing File and belongs to a category called vector graphics.
It was developed by Visio, which later came under the control of Microsoft. This extension converts documents containing information about projects of developed diagrams, which contain various diagrams and graphs that help in planning various types of human activities, for example, in developing a business project.
What programs open the vsd extension
For convenience, we will classify programs according to the following criteria:
- Programs, which allow not only viewing files with this extension, but also performing other actions with them, for example, editing. Microsoft Visio belongs to this group.
- Utilities, which do not allow additional manipulations with the document, but only allow viewing it, for example, Microsoft Visio Viewer or LibreOffice.
- Software, which opens vsd on mobile devices, such as Nektony VSD Viewer.
Utilities with full functionality
The undisputed leader in this segment is certainly the brainchild of Microsoft Corporation - a program called Microsoft Visio. The great advantage of the utility is that the interface is user-friendly and user-friendly, it is very easy to navigate, and if you still get confused in it, a special training menu will help you.
The purpose of the program is to use it to create a variety of flowcharts, as well as network diagrams and various diagrams for business projects. So that you don’t have to figure out how to build a typical flowchart or network diagram, the software has in its database a wide range of all kinds of templates created for a wide variety of tasks. Of no small importance is the fact that these templates are constantly changing and updated to meet modern requirements.
You will probably like the fact that after you download the utility installation file from the official website of the developer, Microsoft Corporation, all documents that can be opened thanks to Microsoft Visio begin to automatically run in it. You can use the software not only on Windows, but also on Linux, as well as on Mac OS.
The main drawback of the Microsoft utility is that it is paid for. In order to be able to officially use the full functionality of the program, you need to pay approximately eleven to twelve thousand rubles.
You can download the file for installing a trial version of the software on the following page on the Internet: https://products.office.com/ru-ru/visio/flowchart-software.
There is another program that, in many respects, is an analogue of the Microsoft Visio discussed above. It's called iGrafx FlowCharter. With its help, you can not only open documents containing the vsd extension, but also manipulate them, for example, change something in them, and then save the changes without any problems.
The disadvantage is the same as that of Microsoft Visio - the need to pay for the right to use the software. You can take advantage of a period of thirty days, which are provided by the developers so that you can fully evaluate and take advantage of the functionality of the utility. Then you must make a choice: will you buy a license for the program or will you be forced to refuse to work in it.
You can download the file for installing iGrafx FlowCharter software by following this link: http://www.igrafx.com/products/process-modeling-analysis/flowcharter.
The vsd extension can be interacted with, among other things, by such a well-known utility that specializes in working with graphic objects as CoreDraw. With CorelDraw you will get rich possibilities for editing and changing your file. The software has, perhaps, only one drawback - its excessively high cost.
You can find and install a trial version of the utility on your electronic device by following this link: http://www.coreldraw.com/ru/free-trials/.
View-only utilities
This group includes the following programs:
Programs that open vsd on mobile devices
The first on the list of such software is the Omni graffle program, which you can test on your device equipped with iOS by downloading it from the following link: https://www.omnigroup.com/releasenotes/omnigraffle-mac.
An application called Nektony VSD Viewer. You can download this application by following the link: https://nektony.com/products/visio-viewer-mac.