Tutorial on using Visio to create a normalized conceptual schema.
For this activity you will need Microsoft Visio, which is installed on the WIU network/Citrix system. If you are
working from home/dorm and do not have Microsoft Visio installed on your personal computer, you will need
to remote into the WIU network/Citrix system.
Open Visio by clicking on the Visio icon on the desktop,
.
Create a new document. Save as ConceptualSchemaUsername. Remember, save often.
Click on File, Shapes, Database, ORM (Metric)
Drag the Entity shape,
, to the working grid. Double click on the object and enter the text, MemberID.
Click off the object. In this diagram ,each oval represents an attribute (or field) of an entity. In this example,
MemberID is an attribute (or field) that describes the entity, Member.
Drag another entity shape to the working grid and place below the MemberID attribute (or field). Enter the
text, MemberName. Other attributes describing the Member could be added. In this example, we will use only
these two attributes.
Drag the subtype connector,
, to the working grid. Attach the bottom of the arrow to one of the one of
the markers on the MemberName attribute and the top of the arrow to one of the markers on the MemberID
attribute. The head of the arrow indicates the primary key. This shows that the member’s name is dependent on
the member’s ID. To highlight or emphasize MemberID as the primary key, shade the box with light blue.
Select the MemberID object. Click on the color button and select a light blue.

Use the text box tool,
, to add the text, Member, as the name of the entity. Click on the pointer,
turn off the text mode. You will not be able to edit a shape or text box unless you click on the pointer.
, to
Using the same approach, add another entity. Typically an entity will have more than two attributes, but for this
example, only two attributes are used. The RegistrationNo is the primary key for the ClubRegistration entity.
Create each entity displaying each attribute and identifying the primary key.
Relationships must exist between the entities if a relational database is to be created. There is a one-to-many
relationship between the Member and the ClubRegistration entities.
Each member can register into several clubs
Each club registration is associated with a single member.
In the process of normalizing, this relationship is replaced with a foreign key. A foreign key is a subset of a
primary key in a different entity (table). The primary key (MemberID) is selected from the entity on the “one”
side of the relationship (Member) and added to the entity on the “many” side of the relationship
(ClubRegistration) as the foreign key. Shade the foreign key with yellow.
Drag the constraint connector,
, to the working grid. Connect the MemberID in the Member entity to
the MemberID in the ClubRegistration entity. The dashed line represents the relationship showing the
ClubRegistration table is joined to the Member table through the MemberID field.
Right-Click on the dashed line and select Format, Line.
Select Weight 5
. Click on Apply, OK.