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VanLueWalter-4646 asked ChelseaWu-MSFT commented

Exporting SharePoint 2013 workflows to Visio

I am working on converting some SharePoint 2013 Workflows to Visio so I can use the Workflow Converter from Nintex. I currently have SharePoint Designer 2013 64 bit & Visio 2013 Professional 64 bit. When I open SharePoint designer, then go into a 2013 workflow, the option to export to Visio is greyed out. If I open a SharePoint 2010 Workflow, then the Export to Visio option lights up. Any ideas?

office-sharepoint-onlineoffice-visio-itpro
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ChelseaWu-MSFT answered ChelseaWu-MSFT commented

Try installing the Service Pack 1 for Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2013 (64-Bit Edition) via the entrance below:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42009

After that, restart SharePoint Designer 2013 and then test again.

Also use a user account with higher privileges (global admin, for example) to prevent permission issue.


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I already installed the Service Pack for SPD & my account is a Global Admin.
I went ahead and tried to install the SP1 again & got the message that "No installed programs would be affected by this update"

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ChelseaWu-MSFT answered ChelseaWu-MSFT commented

If SharePoint Designer 2013 has been installed properly, then the problem is possible with Visio.

I have run some tests on different machines and confirms, the issue happens also when there is no Visio client installed on the same machine, or it cannot be identified by SharePoint Designer 2013.
A SharePoint 2010 workflow is exported as a Visio Workflow Interchange File (VWI), which cannot be opened using Visio. That is why it does not need Visio client to work.


Please double check as following:

  1. Make sure workflow function is working properly.

  2. Make sure Visio client is installed properly. Keep both SharePoint Designer 2013 and Visio 2013 clients open and check the result again.

  3. Try repairing the Visio client via Control Panel referring to this document: Repair an Office application. If the issue remains, completely uninstall, and then reinstall the Visio client.

In addition, here is the versions of clients I am testing with:

76947-screenshot-2021-03-12-095705.png


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Attached are my versions. I have tried Windows update but it doesn't find any updates to get to the version numbers that you show.
Do you have any download links?

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77264-2021-03-12-7-29-11.jpg


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There is no need for exact same versions of the clients to work. Here is another post with similar issue for your reference: SharePoint 2013 Designer - Import from Visio greyed out.

Visio is sold as a stand-alone application, which does not have a public link in Microsoft download center. You will need to download the client application for Visio via www.office.com once it is associated to your Microsoft account.

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Per my test, there might be quite a few reasons for this issue.
For example, if you once had another version of Visio clients (Microsoft 365, for example) installed on the same machine, you might be running into incompatibility problems, even if it has been uninstalled later.
Or you might need to configure Workflow Manager to use this feature.

In this scenario, I would suggest using “Save as Template” as a workaround.
Please see the reference here: Export Import SharePoint Designer Workflow - Part Two.

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Thanks for the suggestions but this still will not work.
I previously did have the O365 version of Visio so any thoughts on how to clear the incompatibility issues?
I can install workflow manager but we are using Office365 so again, it won't do any good.
The Nintex Workflow Converter was written to import the files that are created by using the Visio export in SharePoint designer so saving the workflow as a template won't work.

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