How to create a Chen ER Diagram
  1. Open Microsoft Visio
    (Start -> Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Microsoft Office Visio 2003)
  2. Minimize Visio Window
  3. Link to http://www.cs.ecu.edu/~baa0612/ChenERD.vss
  4. Click the Save button
  5. Select My Documents
  6. Select the My Shapes folder
  7. Click the Save button
  8. Maximize the Visio Window
  9. Press CTRL + N to open a new Drawing
  10. Click the File menu, select Shapes, and then Open Stencil...
  11. Select ChenERD.vss and click Open
  12. Drag and drop Shapes onto Drawing to create Diagram

How to create a Crow's Foot ER Diagram
  1. Open Microsoft Visio
  2. Click the File menu, select New, then Database, and then Database Model Diagram
  3. On the menu bar, click Database, then Options, and finally Document
  4. In the new window, select the Relationship tab
  5. Check the Crow's Feet box under Show and click Ok
  6. Drag and drop Shapes onto Drawing to create Diagram
  7. Double click Entitys to adjust properties such as Name, Column, and Primary Key
  8. Double click Relationships to adjust properties such as Name

How to reverse engineer an existing Database
Sample DB
  1. Open Microsoft Visio
  2. Click the File menu, select New, then Database, and then Database Model Diagram
  3. On the menu bar, click Database, then Reverse Engineer...
  4. Select the correct Database type from the Installed Visio Drivers drop down list
  5. Select the correct Source from the Data sources list
    - If source is not present, click the New... button and locate the ODBC Driver
  6. Click the Next button
  7. Enter your User and Password and click Ok
    - If your database is not password protected, just click Ok
  8. Locate the File that contains your Database and click Ok
  9. Verify that appropriate check boxes are checked and click Next
  10. Click the Select All button and click the Finish button
  11. The diagram will be displayed, rearrange and modify as necessary