Generate Visio ERD from existing MySQL Database

Question

Is there a simple way to generate an ERD in Visio from an existing MySQL Database? I'm aware that this is possible in MySQL Workbench, but I have a requirement for it to be done in Visio. Or otherwise can I convert an ERD made in MySQL Workbench to a format Visio can open?

Solution 1

Yes, it can be done in Visio. You need to use the reverse engineer feature.

Here is a blog post explaining the basic steps:

http://maniish.wordpress.com/2007/11/24/reverse-engineer-mysql-in-visio-2007/

Solution 2

The above is all correct. You also must pay special attention to your application's architecture. We fought the MySQL ODBC configured UserDSN not being visible in the Reverse Engineer dialog, including using multiple versions of ODBC. We finally figured out we had to install 32 bit ODBC drivers on a 64 bit Windows machine because the Visio 2K10 that was installed was a 32 bit app.

At first we installed 64 bit ODBC because this was a 64 bit machine (sounded logical). I finally found an article that mentioned the app architecture was the determining factor for ODBC. After installing the 32 bit MySQL ODBC drivers (right over the top of the previous ones) and delete/recreate the DSN connection, the drivers were visible in the dialog and the Reverse Engineer process worked.