.vsdx.vsdm.vstx.vstm.vssx.vsd.vss
VSDX and VSD files: what they are and how to open them
A VSDX file is a Visio diagram, such as a flowchart, floor plan or network map. Open it offline on Android or Windows in Universal File Opener, without Visio, with its pages, shapes and text drawn as saved.
Check your Visio file here
Nothing is uploaded. This page names the type and shows its details; to view it, use an app below.
What is a Visio file?
Visio is Microsoft’s diagramming program. A VSDX holds one or more pages of shapes, and each shape comes from a reusable master, so one router or desk can appear a hundred times. VSSX and VSTX are stencil and template versions of the same format.
Visio 2013 introduced VSDX to replace the older binary VSD, and both turn up. Desktop Visio is paid and runs on Windows only. Visio on the web comes with Visio plans and with work or school Microsoft 365 plans, not with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family.
What is inside
A VSDX is a ZIP package of XML parts. Each page, master, theme and picture is its own file, and shapes hold their geometry in cells with formulas. Rename the file to .zip and you can browse the parts. The older VSD is a binary format.
Universal File Opener draws the saved values: masters, styles, paths, groups, text and embedded pictures. It does not recalculate formulas or rebuild every effect, so unsupported geometry and theme variations can differ from Visio. Macros never run. Binary VSD files show page text and a saved preview picture, not rebuilt shapes.
network.vsdxa ZIP package (PK)├─ visio/document.xmlsettings and the list of pages├─ visio/pages/page1.xml: the shapes on each page├─ visio/masters/reusable shapes├─ visio/theme/colors and fonts└─ visio/media/embedded picturesHow to open a Visio file
Windows
- Microsoft VisioPaid, with Windows desktop and web versions. Opens and edits Visio diagrams.
- Universal File Opener for WindowsOursDraws the pages offline with shapes, text and pictures, and fits the page to the window. Read only.
Mac
- LibreOffice DrawFree. Opens VSDX and VSD files, though complex diagrams can look different.
- draw.ioFree. Imports VSDX and VSD into a diagram you can edit.
Android
- Universal File OpenerOursDraws the pages offline with shapes, text and pictures. Free to open and read only.
In a browser
- Visio on the webNeeds a Visio plan or a work or school Microsoft 365 plan, with the file in OneDrive or SharePoint. Old .vsd files need a Visio plan.
- draw.ioRuns in the browser and imports VSDX and VSD files into an editable diagram.
Won’t open?
Windows has no program for it
Windows has no built in viewer for Visio files. Use Universal File Opener for Windows, or import the file into draw.io or LibreOffice Draw.
Shapes look different or are missing
Unsupported geometry, effects and theme variations can differ from Visio, and curves of some kinds are drawn as control polygons. Ask the author for a PDF when exact appearance matters.
A page or picture is blank
When a page or picture cannot be read, the app keeps what it decoded and shows a notice. A very large diagram can hit the reader’s limits.
An old VSD shows only text
Binary Visio files show page text and a saved preview, without rebuilt shapes. Open and resave them as VSDX in Visio, or ask for a PDF.
Macros in a VSDM do not run
Macros, external links and other active content never run. The diagram itself still displays.
Convert a Visio file
- To PDF or an imageIn Visio choose File, Export. Universal File Opener does not convert Visio files.
- To an editable diagramImport the VSDX into draw.io or LibreOffice Draw. Check connectors and text after the import.
Visio files in our apps
Universal File Opener draws Visio diagrams offline on Android and Windows, with pages, master shapes, text and embedded pictures. Binary VSD files show page text and a saved preview. Files are read only.
All Android tools and limits for Visio files
- Draws modern Visio pages with master shapes, styles, paths, groups, text and embedded pictures, and lists stencil masters.
Limits
- Unsupported geometry, effects and theme variations can differ from Visio. Macros and external resources never run.
- Binary VSD files show page text and a saved preview, not rebuilt shapes. Older versions can be refused.
- No editing and no conversion.