Dear colleagues,

Microsoft will retire the Visio Data Visualizer add-in for Excel. This change affects the ability to create and maintain data-linked diagrams in Excel using that add-in.

What is changing

On December 8, 2025, the add-in will be removed from the Excel add-in store, associated templates, and the Excel ribbon. However, users will have until March 2, 2026, to save any existing diagrams created with the add-in.
On March 2, 2026, the cloud service powering the add-in will be shut down. Existing diagrams embedded in Excel will no longer render or refresh.

Who is affected

Any Microsoft 365 user who uses or has used the Visio Data Visualizer add-in in Excel.

Action required

If you have existing Excel files that include diagrams created with Data Visualizer:

• • Open each file, then in the diagram area select the menu (…) and choose Open in web. This will generate a Visio (.vsdx) version of the diagram, which you should save to OneDrive or another secure location.
  • After March 2, 2026, the embedded diagrams will no longer load even though the underlying table data remains intact.
  • If you do not need editable diagrams, consider saving a screenshot or static image of the diagram as a backup.

Learn more: Retirement of the Visio Data Visualizer add-in for Excel and next steps

Timeline

• • December 8, 2025 — Data Visualizer add-in removed from store, templates and ribbon.
  • March 2, 2026 — Add-in service shutdown; embedded diagrams will no longer load.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please submit a ticket to the Enterprise Service Centre at https://uoft.me/m365help.

Kind regards,

Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI)
Information Technology Services, University of Toronto