Microsoft Visio 2010Basic Tasks in Visio 2010

In this lecture we’ll learn

• What is Visio? • Find and apply a template • Create a new diagram • Open a diagram • Save a diagram • Add a shape • Add a connector between two shapes • Add text to shapes or to the page • Add data to a shape • Connect data sources to shapes • Format your diagram • Print your diagram

What is Visio?

• Visio 2010 is a graphical and drawing applicationthat helps you to visualize, explore, andcommunicate complex information. With Visio, youcan transform complicated text and tables that arehard to understand into Visio diagrams thatcommunicate information at a glance.

• Visio provides modern shapes and templates for adiverse set of diagramming needs, including ITmanagement, process modeling, building andarchitecture, UI design, human-resourcemanagement, project management, and more.

Find and apply a template

• Visio 2010 allows you to apply built-intemplates, to apply your own custom templates,and to search from a variety of templatesavailable on Office.com. Office.com provides awide selection of popular Excel templates,including process diagrams, network diagrams,and floorplans.

Applying Template• To find and apply a template in Visio, do the following:• On the File tab, click New. • Under Choose a Template, do one of the following:

▫ To use one of the built-in templates, under Template Categories, click the category that you want, and then click the template that you want and click Create.

▫ To reuse a template that you’ve recently used, under Recently Used Templates, click the template that you want and then click Create.

▫ To use your own template that you previously created, under Other Ways to Get Started, click New from existing, navigate to the file that you want and click Create New.

▫ To find a template on Office.com, under Other Ways to Get Started, click Office.com templates, select the template that you want, and then click Download to download the template from Office.com to your computer.

• Note You can also search for templates on Office.com from within Visio. To search for templates on Office.com, under Other Ways to Get Started, click Office.com templates. In the Search Office.com for templates box, type one or more search terms, and then click the arrow button to search.

Create a new diagram

• Click the File tab. This opens up the Backstage view.• Note You are in the Backstage view when you first

open Visio. If you have just opened Visio, proceed to the next step.

• Click New.• Under Choose a Template, below Other Ways

to Get Started, click Blank drawing.• Click Create.• When the diagram template opens, most of the

space is taken up with a blank diagramming page. Along the side is the Shapes window, which contains several stencils full of shapes.

Shapes Window

The stencils are identified by title bars at the top of the Shapeswindow; you might need to scroll the title bar pane to see them all.When you click a stencil title bar, the shapes appear in the pane below.

Open a diagram

• Click the File tab, and then click Open.

• In the left pane of the Open dialog box, click the drive or folder that contains the drawing.

• In the right pane of the Open dialog box, open the folder that contains the drawing that you want.

• Click the drawing and then click Open.

Save a diagram

• You can save your diagram as a standard Visio file that you can share with other people who have Visio. In addition, there are many different formats that you can save your diagram in directly from the Save As dialog box.

• Click the File tab.

• Click Save As, and then select a format in the Save as type list.

Save a diagram

• The different formats are useful for different ways of using or sharing your diagram.

• Standard image file including JPG, PNG, and BMP formats.

• Web page in HTM format. Image files and other resource files are saved in a subfolder of the location where you save the HTM file.

• PDF or XPS file

• AutoCAD drawing in DWG or DXF format.

Add a shape

• From the Shapes window, click and hold the shape that you want.

• Drag the shape onto the diagram page.

Use the Shapes window to organize

and find shapes

• The Shapes window organizes shapes and providesways for you to find more shapes. Shapes areorganized in stencils. Every diagram templateincludes one or more stencils with shapes that arerelevant to the diagram type.

• To find more shapes, you can browse the shapes youhave installed or you can search your computer orthe Internet. When you need more working room foryour diagram, you can minimize the Shapeswindow and still have access to the most-usedshapes.

What are stencils?

• Stencils contain a collection of related shapes. For example, ina workflow template there is a stencil that contains all thework flow object shapes, another that contains work flowsteps, and a stencil with a collection of arrow shapes toindicate direction. In a home planning template, there is astencil for walls, one for furniture, one for garden accessories,and so on.

• Stencils are stacked one over the other in the Shapeswindow. The shapes from only one stencil at a time aredisplayed. To see the shapes for a stencil, click the stencil’stitle bar. The title bars always stay at the top of the Shapeswindow, but if there are several, they can be hidden to leaveroom to display the shapes. If stencil title bars are hidden, ascroll bar appears next to the title bars so you can scrollthrough them.

Browse for more shapes

• Any stencil can be opened in any diagram, even diagrams not based on templates that include the stencil by default. You can browse all the available templates from the Shapes window.

• In the Shapes window, click the More Shapestitle bar.

• A menu opens that shows categories that are similar to the template categories.

• Point to a category, then browse the stencils in the category and click to open one in your diagram.

Find shapes installed with Visio

• The Search for Shapes feature uses the Windows Search service to search the Visio stencils that are installed on your computer. The Windows Search service must be running to enable quick searching.

• When you first start Visio, the Search for Shapes box is hidden to leave more room for shapes.

• In the Shapes window, click More Shapes, and then click Search for Shapes.

• In the Search for Shapes box, type one or more words that describe the shape you want. You can separate the words with spaces, commas, or semicolons.

• For example, to find shapes that represent office chairs, type office chair.

• Click the magnifying glass icon or press ENTER. • The results are added to a search results stencil.

Search for more shapes on the

Internet

• In the Shapes window, click More Shapes.

• Click Find Shapes Online.

• A browser opens and displays a page where you can search for shapes online.

Minimize the Shapes window to make

more diagramming room

• Click the Minimize the Shapes window arrow in the upper corner of the Shapes window.

• The window is minimized to a single vertical row of shapes.

• You can still drag shapes out of the window, and even change stencils or browse for more stencils by clicking the Stencil icon at the top of the minimized window.

• To open the window to full size, click the Expand the Shapes window arrow at the top of the window.

Add a connector between two shapes

To add a shape to the drawing page so that it is automatically connected when it is added to the page, do the following:

• Drag a first shape onto the drawing page.

• Hold your pointer over the shape that is already on the page. Notice that small blue arrows appear on the four sides of the shape. These are AutoConnect arrows that you can use to connect shapes.

Contd…

• Move the pointer to cover one of the arrows.• A mini toolbar that contains four shapes appears,

and a preview shape might also appear on the page.As you move the pointer over the shapes in the minitoolbar, previews of the shapes appear. The shapeson the toolbar are the top four shapes from theQuick Shapes area.

• Click one of the shapes in the mini toolbar to add itto the page.

The Service Request shape with the AutoConnect arrows shown.

Add a connector between two shapes

To automatically connect two shapes when you drag the second shape onto the page, do the following:

• Drag one shape onto the drawing page.

• Drag a second shape onto the drawing page and hold it so it covers the first shape, but do not drop it yet. Notice that the AutoConnect arrows appear.

Contd…

The Analyze shape is placed on the bottom AutoConnect arrow on the Service Request shape.

• Move the second shape down over theAutoConnect arrow that points in the directionthat you want, and drop it on the arrow.

The Analyze shape is spaced a standard distance from the Service Requestshape, and is connected automatically.

Add a connector between two shapes

To connect two shapes that are already on the page, do the following:• Hold the pointer over one of the shapes that you want to

connect. • When the AutoConnect arrows appear, move the pointer

over an arrow that is pointing toward the other shape that you want to connect to.

• Click and hold the AutoConnect arrow, and then drag a connector from it to the center of the other shape.

• When the arrow is over the center of the other shape, a red border appears around the shape. Drop the connector to attach it, or "glue" it, to the shape.

Add text to a shape

• Select the shape that you want to add text to.• Type the text that you want.• When you start typing, Visio switches the

selected shape to text editing mode. To add another line of text, press ENTER.

• Click an empty area of the page, or press ESC when you are finished.

• Select the shape again. A small yellow control handle appears in the text area. Drag the yellow control handle to move the text.

Add text to the page

• On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click the Texttool.

• Click an empty area of the page. A text box appears.• Type the text that you want.• On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Pointer

Tool to stop using the Text tool.• The text box now has the characteristics of other shapes.

You can select it and type to change the text, you can drag it to another part of the page, and you can format the text by using the Font and Paragraph groups on the Home tab. In addition, when you hold the pointer over the text, AutoConnect arrows appear so you can connect the text to other shapes.

Add data to a shape

To enter data into a data property or field that a shape already has, do the following:

• Select a shape on the drawing page.

• Right-click the shape and click Shape Data.

• In the Shape Data window, in the property row that you want, enter the data that you want.

Add data to a shape

To define a new data property or field for a shape, do the following:• Select a shape on the drawing page.• Right-click the shape and click Define Shape Data.• In the Define Shape Data dialog box, click New• In the Label box, delete the default text and type a name for

the property.• In the Type list, select the type of data that you want to be

entered into that property.• Tip If you want the property to accept text (like a person’s

name) as the type of data, select String.• In the Value box, type the value of the data that you want.• Click OK.• Right-click the shape again, point to Data, and this time click

Shape Data.

Shape Data window

• The Shape Data window opens and displays all the data that has been defined for the shape. If all of the shapes have specific information, you can leave the Shape Data window open and click the shapes you are interested in to see the data that they contain.

Format your diagram

To apply a background to your drawing, do the following:

• Click the Design tab.

• In the Backgrounds group, click Backgrounds.

• Click the background that you want. A new background page is added to the diagram, which you can see in the page tabs along the bottom of the diagramming area.

Format your diagram

To apply a border or title to your drawing, do the following:• On the Design tab, click Borders & Titles.• Click the title that you want. • The title and border are added to the

background page (named VBackground-1 by default). To change the title and other text, you must make the changes on the background page; you can't change the title on any other pages.

• At the bottom of the diagramming area, click the VBackground-1 tab.

Contd..

• Click the title text. The entire border is selected, but if you start typing it changes the default title text.

• Enter the title that you want.

• To edit other text in the border, first select the entire border, and then click the text you want to change and start typing.

Format your diagram

To apply a unified color scheme and other formatting effects, do the following:

• On the Design tab, in the Themes group, hold your pointer over the various themes. A preview of the theme shows up on the page.

• To see other available themes, click More .

• Click the theme you want to apply to the diagram.

Print your diagram

• Click the File tab and then click Print.• To print the diagram, click Print.• In the Print dialog box, do the following:

▫ In the Name box, select the printer that you want (if it is not already selected).

▫ Under Page range, specify the pages in the drawing that you want to print.

▫ Under Copies, specify the number of copies that you want to print.

• Click OK when you are ready to print.