Your Visio manual will get you going and, thanks to a very mature design, you'll be able to get work done almost immediately.
But, as I recently discovered, there's a lot more to learn about Microsoft Visio 2002.
Surprise. There are more tools available than appear on the screen. I hadn't noticed the option to see more icons. There are lots more.
I had figured out the various logics of connecting shapes (static and dynamic), but they are spelled out clearly in the book (chap 8). That chapter also covers how to make and save your own shape designs.

New Territory (for me)
I bookmarked the section on finding objects. The Find Shape tool initiates the search function. I clicked, I told it I wanted a PDA (palm-type device), and seconds later there appeared in the stencil area a picture of a PDA. Great!
How about a phone? Same drill. Within seconds I got a portable phone. Ok, I was thinking house-type phone, but this will do for now.
But Visio also will look for objects stored at the Microsoft site. I connected to the Internet and ran the phone search again. Up pops an office-type phone (with all the buttons to transfer calls) and another cell phone design.
I found the section on creating new stencils very useful. You'll learn step by step how to create a new stencil with all the shapes you typically use. Don't forget, Microsoft stores lots of extra shapes on its Website.
Many of you work in a corporate setting where it is expected that your work will have a consistent look. Easily done with custom templates (see chap 12).
I was not aware Visio had Wizards. Perhaps that's because they are four levels down in the menu structure. So I learned from this book
I revisited Visio's charts and graphs feature. Powell says "think of Visio 2002 as being a 'Cadillac' of chart making and chart manipulation, whereas Excel falls more into the 'Pinto" category" (p. 256). Visio does offer a lot of control (although so did Harvard Graphics). You will learn how to custom-make each chart.
Powell shows you how to customize Visio 2002 (chap 20) and play with Mind Maps (chap 27). That section left me wanting to know more about the subject of "mind mapping." Sorry, no references cited. I will have to start a fresh search on my own. I've been to seminars on the topic but everyone seems to want to sell you a mind map, not tell you how to do it yourself.
I visited several of the references in the resources section (App. A). I downloaded the free Visio Smart Clip Art add-in from the Microsoft site. Cool.
Special Edition Using Microsoft Visio 2002 will show you the boundaries of Visio and guide you in getting your work done. I think I have a pretty good grasp of what Visio will and will not do. Isn't that what a book like this is supposed to do?

Special Edition Using Microsoft Visio 2002 by Keith Powell (2002). Que. 514 pages. $35.