Using Vision to Create E/R Diagrams

1. Start Visio – Start > Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Visio 2003
2. Choose Database category (on left)
1. Choose Database Model Diagram
3.  Choose Conventions/ Notation to use – Database > Options > Document
1. On the General tab, make sure “Relational” chosen
2. On the Relationship tab, make sure “Relationships”, “Crows Foot”, “Show Verb Phrase”, and “Forward Text” are selected (not inverse)
4. Adding entities – click on entity icon in left panel and drag to desired location, then update properties:
1. Under definition, type Conceptual Name in
2. Under Columns, type info for each attribute – Physical Name, choose data type, check if Required and/or PK
5.  Adding Relationships – click on relationship icon in left panel, drag the end with the x to the entity that is referenced (border will turn red), then drag other end to the referencing entity (entity with the foreign key (FK)). Then update properties:
1. Under Name, type Verb Phrase
2. Under Miscellaneous, select most appropriate cardinality (for the direction of the reference – the cardinality from the referenced to the referencing)
3. Under Referential Action, select the most appropriate handling
6. For any Optionalities that come out wrong that are not controlled by the cardinality, adjust using whether the FK column is required in the referencing entity.
7. Save – File > Save> specify filename