Is there an Official MS Visio Qualification. MCP or something?

[Carl Ambrus]

Basically as above. I'm quite advanced in Visio, and wanted an official
qualification plus some more formal training in VBA and Macros. Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[John Goldsmith]

Hello Carl,

I believe there will be one although, as far as I'm aware, I don't think
it's public yet. In the meantime you might be interested in the third
paragraph of this link:

http://blogs.msdn.com/visio/archive/2007/04/17/new-resources-for-visio.aspx

Best regards

John


John Goldsmith
www.visualSignals.typepad.co.uk
www.visualSignals.co.uk

 

[John Goldsmith]

Sorry, my mistake. It became available in September last year:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-545.mspx

Best regards

John


John Goldsmith
www.visualSignals.typepad.co.uk
www.visualSignals.co.uk

 

[Joe Mako]

John,

Thank you for these links. I understand this certification is not aimed at
the casual user, but I too am interested in a Visio certification. It seems
like this is a MCTS cert, but I do not see it listed on
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcts/default.mspx . The links on
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-545.mspx for "Preparation tools
and resources" do not provide resources related to this certification. The
best resource I could find was the "Microsoft Office Visio 2007 Solution
Providers Training" at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...1e-581e-4029-9839-8f45de10b4c2&DisplayLang=en
(from your post). Other than "Visualizing Information with Microsoft Visio
2007" by David J Parker, are there any other study preps of self-paced study
books available or planned? (I saw www.pass4sure.com links on search, but
that does not look reliable) After considering all these questions, it seems
to me that Microsoft is not promoting this certification.


Best Regards,
Joe Mako

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

70-545 is the only exam available for Visio certification and is aimed at
the programmer rather than the power user.
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-545.mspx gives a good overview
of the exam content, but not much detail. Knowledge of DVS is a good
starting point for taking the exam. DVS (Developing Visio Solutions) is
available as a book through Microsoft Press or is available online through
MSDN. Graham Wideman's book is a good supplement to DVS. David Parker's book
is also good to fill in some of the programming details.

Personally, I'm looking forward to a power user certification for Visio. I
do not think 70-545 covered as much shape development as it could have. Of
course, I can think of a couple of people who would say there was not enough
emphasis on deployment. ;-)

John... Visio MVP

Need stencils or ideas? http://visio.mvps.org/3rdparty.htm
Need VBA examples? http://visio.mvps.org/VBA.htm
Visio Wishlist http://visio.mvps.org/wish_list.htm

 

[David Parker]

John John!
You know that I actually think that the developer exam could be split into
two:
One for ShapeSheet development and one for automation!
There are distinct deployment issues that should be covered in both...

I also agree that there could be a power user cert too.

What we need is more people taking the existing exam and asking for more.

It's a good time to encourage any would be Visio developers to attend the
conference next month.
http://www.msvisioconference.com/

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

;-)

You are showing your hand. "distinct deployment issues"? Do you not mean
"Distinct DEVELOPMENT issues" ?

The conference is a little over three weeks away and it may be short notice
for some, but for anyone who is serious about Visio Development or use they
really should attend. The presentations are only part of the conference
benefits. It is an oppurtunity to make contact with the people actually
creating Visio and other Visio developers or users.

As to taking the exam; the prepartion required is a good way to review Visio
development and get a better understanding of what you know. Eventually we
will have a certification for Visio Power User.

John... Visio MVP, VPU*

* Yes David, you can say I am certifiable. ;-)

Need stencils or ideas? http://visio.mvps.org/3rdparty.htm
Need VBA examples? http://visio.mvps.org/VBA.htm
Visio Wishlist http://visio.mvps.org/wish_list.htm

 

[Philippe C.]

From an employer's point of view it is interesting that a programmer knows
both. Otherwise he will allways use the method he knows best.
From my point of view it sucks. My employer has turned to Java, and I don't
have access any more to Visual Studio.

 

[Joe Mako]

So I looked into DVS (Developing Visio Solutions), and I only see 2003
version on MSDN. Is there a 2007 version available?

From what I could find on Graham Wideman's book, it also seems to be on
Visio 2003 (www.diagramantics.com).

Are there any plans to update these resources for 2007? If so, do you
recommend I wait, or go ahead and get the 2003 version if it will be a
while?


Best Regards,
Joe Mako

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

The general information is unchanged, so both are good references. The
enhancements can be found on MSDN. No official word if DVS will be updated.
We are still working on Graham for an update.

John... Visio MVP

Need stencils or ideas? http://visio.mvps.org/3rdparty.htm
Need VBA examples? http://visio.mvps.org/VBA.htm
Visio Wishlist http://visio.mvps.org/wish_list.htm