Visio Level 2

Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2
Copyright © Element K Corporation

Microsoft® Visio® 2010
Level 2

Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2
Part Number: 3972EBEE
Course Edition: 1.0
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Project Team
Content Developer: Annie Kezia Anand and Satish S • Content Manager: Shalmraj R • Graphic Designer: Ganeshkumar B •
Project Manager: Gopalakrishnan A • Media Instructional Designer: Annie Kezia Anand and Satish S • Content Editor: Vanitha
Kesavan • Materials Editor: Mohammed Anas • Business Matter Expert: • Technical Reviewer: Shalmraj R • Project
Technical Support: Mike Toscano
NOTICES
DISCLAIMER: While Element K Corporation takes care to ensure the accuracy and quality of these materials, we cannot guarantee their accuracy, and all materials are provided without any warranty
whatsoever, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The name used in the data files for this course is that of a fictitious company. Any
resemblance to current or future companies is purely coincidental. We do not believe we have used anyone’s name in creating this course, but if we have, please notify us and we will change the name in
the next revision of the course. Element K is an independent provider of integrated training solutions for individuals, businesses, educational institutions, and government agencies. Use of screenshots,
photographs of another entity’s products, or another entity’s product name or service in this book is for editorial purposes only. No such use should be construed to imply sponsorship or endorsement of
the book by, nor any affiliation of such entity with Element K. This courseware may contain links to sites on the Internet that are owned and operated by third parties (the ″External Sites″). Element K is
not responsible for the availability of, or the content located on or through, any External Site. Please contact Element K if you have any concerns regarding such links or External Sites.
TRADEMARK NOTICES: Element K and the Element K logo are trademarks of Element K Corporation and its affiliates.
Visio is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries; the Microsoft products and services discussed or described may be trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All
other product names and services used throughout this course may be common law or registered trademarks of their respective proprietors.
Copyright © 2011 © 2011 Element K Corporation. All rights reserved. Screenshots used for illustrative purposes are the property of the software proprietor. This publication, or any part thereof, may not
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without express written
permission of Element K, 500 Canal View Boulevard, Rochester, NY 14623, (585) 240-7500, (800) 478-7788. Element K Courseware’s World Wide Web site is located at
www.elementkcourseware.com.
This book conveys no rights in the software or other products about which it was written; all use or licensing of such software or other products is the responsibility of the user according to terms and
conditions of the owner. Do not make illegal copies of books or software. If you believe that this book, related materials, or any other Element K materials are being reproduced or transmitted without
permission, please call (800) 478-7788.
ii Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

CONTENTS
MICROSOFT® VISIO® 2010- LEVEL 2
LESSON 1 - CREATING A CUSTOM SHAPE

A. Draw Basic Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Types of Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Drawing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
B. Enhance Basic Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Shape Operation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Developer Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
LESSON 2 - DESIGNING A CUSTOM STENCIL

A. Create a Custom Stencil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Document Stencil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
B. Customize a Stencil Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Shape Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
LESSON 3 - DESIGNING STYLES AND TEMPLATES

A. Define a New Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
B. Create a Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
LESSON 4 - DESIGNING A FLOOR PLAN

A. Create an Office Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
The Drawing Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
The Ruler Zero Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
The Convert to Walls Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
B. Work with Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
The Layer Properties Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Contents iii
CONTENTS
LESSON 5 - REPRESENTING EXTERNAL DATA IN VISIO
A. Generate a PivotDiagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
PivotDiagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Data Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
The PivotDiagram Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
B. Create an Organization Chart from External Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Hyperlinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
C. Import Project Plan Data into Visio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Gantt Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Timelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
D. Link to a Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
E. Import Excel Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
The External Data Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
The Data Refresh Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
LESSON 6 - SHARING YOUR DRAWINGS

A. Link a Visio Drawing to Other Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
B. Convert a Visio Drawing to Other File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
The PDF Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
The XPS Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
The DWG Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
The Save as Web Page Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
C. Print a Visio Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
The Print Preview Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
LESSON LABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

SOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
iv Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THIS COURSE

You used various templates to design and manage workflow and flowcharts. You may now
want to build upon the knowledge gained and work with many advanced features, including
using the drawing tools, creating and working with custom stencils and templates, and sharing
your Visio drawings for use in other applications.
When an architect builds a house, he starts with the foundation and then adds complex struc-
tures to complete it. Learning an application is similar to this. You can start with learning the
basics of the software; however, learning the advanced options will enable you to build a com-
plete document. This course will help you to build on the fundamentals of Microsoft Visio
2010 that you are familiar with.
Course Description
Target Student
This course is designed for a person who has an understanding of the basic workflow and the
concept of end-to-end flowcharting.
Course Prerequisites
To ensure your success, it is recommended that you take the following New Horizons course:
Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 1.
How to Use This Book

As a Learning Guide
This book is divided into lessons and topics, covering a subject or a set of related subjects. In
most cases, lessons are arranged in order of increasing proficiency.
Introduction v
INTRODUCTION
The results-oriented topics include relevant and supporting information you need to master the
content. Each topic has various types of activities designed to enable you to practice the guide-
lines and procedures as well as to solidify your understanding of the informational material
presented in the course.
At the back of the book, you will find a glossary of the definitions of the terms and concepts
used throughout the course. You will also find an index to assist in locating information within
the instructional components of the book.
As a Review Tool
Any method of instruction is only as effective as the time and effort you, the student, are will-
ing to invest in it. In addition, some of the information that you learn in class may not be
important to you immediately, but it may become important later. For this reason, we encour-
age you to spend some time reviewing the content of the course after your time in the
classroom.
As a Reference
The organization and layout of this book make it an easy-to-use resource for future reference.
Taking advantage of the glossary, index, and table of contents, you can use this book as a first
source of definitions, background information, and summaries.
Course Objectives
In this course, you will create custom elements and a custom template, represent external data
as a drawing, and share your work with others.
You will:
• create a custom shape.
• design a custom stencil.
• design styles and templates.
• design a floor plan.
• represent external data in Visio.
• share your work.
vi Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

LESSON 1
LESSON 1 Lesson Time

45 minutes
Creating a Custom Shape

In this lesson, you will create a custom shape.
You will:
• Draw basic shapes.
• Enhance basic shapes.
Lesson 1: Creating a Custom Shape 1

LESSON 1
Introduction
You added shapes to Visio drawings by using master shapes from different stencils. However,
these masters may not always cater to your specific requirements, when you need unique
shapes for representing an idea in a diagram. In this lesson, you will create a custom shape.
Shapes are the most basic and integral part of Visio. Regardless of the type of drawing you are
working on, you may need to use different shapes. However, while working on drawings for
representing specific information, you may find that Visio does not provide the required shapes
from its collection of stencils. You may be unable to use the predefined shapes or modify them
to match your needs. Rather than trying to work with the given shapes, you can create a shape
to suit your specific needs.
TOPIC A
Draw Basic Shapes
You are equipped with the skill of creating a basic Visio drawing. Sometimes, you may need
to enhance your drawing by using unique shapes that are not available in Visio by default. In
this topic, you will draw a basic shape.
Children use a variety of building blocks in their play. Each small block helps them create a
new model. Similarly, drawing basic shapes will strengthen your abilities to put them together
for the creation of complex custom shapes.
Types of Shapes
Shapes can be broadly classified as open and closed shapes. An open shape is a shape that is
created from a line or an arc, but contains endpoints that are not connected. You can apply line
formatting to an open shape, but you cannot apply a fill or pattern. A closed shape is one that
is surrounded by a continuous outline, such as a rectangle or circle. Closed shapes can be filled
with a color or pattern.
2 Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

LESSON 1
Figure 1-1: Open and closed shapes.
A free form shape is one whose exact figure cannot be described. Shapes that are drawn freely using the mouse
are examples of free form shapes.
Drawing Tools
The drawing tools in Visio enable you to draw both open and closed shapes. These tools can
be accessed from the Tools group on the Home tab.
Drawing Tool Purpose

Rectangle Used to draw square and rectangular shapes.
Ellipse Used to draw oval and circular shapes.

LESSON 1
Drawing Tool Purpose
Line Used to draw basic lines. It can also be used to create lines with multiple
segments. Holding Shift while using this tool restricts you to draw lines at
angles that are multiples of 45º.
Freeform Used to draw multi-segment curved lines. It is used to create curves by

drawing freely with the mouse.
Arc Used to draw arcs and curved lines. It can also be used to create curves
with multiple segments.
Pencil Used to draw both straight and curved lines. It can also be used to reshape
existing lines and shapes.
How to Draw Basic Shapes

Procedure Reference: Draw Basic Shapes
To draw basic shapes:
1. Select a drawing tool.
• On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click the drawing shape drop-down
arrow, and from the displayed list, select the desired tool.
• On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click the drawing shape button to
select the tool that was previously used.
2. On the drawing page, click and drag to draw a shape of the desired dimensions.

LESSON 1
3. If necessary, modify the attributes of the shape using the Size & Position win-
dow.
ACTIVITY 1-1
Drawing Basic Shapes
Before You Begin:
Launch the Microsoft Visio application.
Scenario:
Your organization is undergoing a transition and is using a new logo to represent the change in
identity. Because you use the logo in all the diagrams that you create, you decide to draw the
logo in Visio. You want to start by drawing a few basic shapes.
What You Do How You Do It
1. Display the drawing page and draw a a. In the Backstage view, in the Other Ways
square of 2-inch dimension. to Get Started section, select Blank
drawing and click Create.
b. On the Home tab, in the Tools group,

click the Rectangle button to select the
Rectangle tool.
c. Place the cross hair mouse pointer at the

intersection of the 1-inch mark on the
horizontal ruler and the 10-inch mark on
the vertical ruler, click, hold down Shift,
and drag to draw a square of 2-inch
dimension.

LESSON 1
2. Make eight copies of the square. a. Hold down Ctrl and click and drag an
instance of the square half an inch to the
right of the original square.
b. Similarly, make seven more instances of

the square and arrange them in sequence
in three rows with three squares in each
row.
3. Rotate the squares. a. Select the View tab, and in the Show
group, from the Task Panes drop-down
list, select Size & Position.
b. Select the second square in the first row.

LESSON 1
c. In the Size & Position window, in the
Angle text box, click and type 10 and
press Enter.
d. Select the third square in the first row

and change the angle to 20 and press
Enter.
e. Similarly, change the angle attributes of

the remaining six squares with an incre-
ment of 10° each in the same order in
which the squares were duplicated.
f. Select the Home tab, and in the Editing

group, from the Select drop-down list,

LESSON 1
select Select All.
g. In the Arrange group, from the Position

drop-down list, select Align Center.
h. From the Position drop-down list, select

Align Middle.
4. Draw shapes on Page-2. a. On the page tab area, click the Insert
Page button.
b. On the Home tab, in the Tools group,

verify that the Rectangle tool is selected.
c. Place the cross hair mouse pointer at the

and drag to draw a square of 1.5-inch
dimension.

LESSON 1
d. In the Size & Position window, change the
Angle value for the square to 45 and press
Enter.
e. In the Tools group, click the drawing

shape drop-down arrow, and from the dis-
played list, select Ellipse.
f. Place the cross hair mouse pointer at the

and drag to the right to draw a circle of
1-inch diameter.

LESSON 1
g. Make a copy of the circle and place it one
inch to the right of the original circle.
h. In the Size & Position window, change the

Width value to 0.75 inches.
i. Verify that the Height value is changed to

0.75 inches.
5. Save the file. a. On the Quick Access toolbar, click the

Save button.
b. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the

C:\084599Data\Creating a Custom Shape
folder.
c. In the File name text box, triple-click and

type My OGC Logo Design
d. In the Save as type text box, verify that

Drawing (*.vsd) is selected and click
Save.

LESSON 1
TOPIC B
Enhance Basic Shapes
You created basic shapes. Formatting these shapes will add to the visual appeal of a drawing.
In this topic, you will enhance basic shapes, thus creating a custom shape.
While representing content as shapes or images, you may not always find the shape you need
among the built-in shapes provided by the application. Modifying these shapes can be
extremely time consuming. Rather than wasting your time trying to customize the predefined
shapes, you can format the basic shapes that you draw to create a shape of your own.
Shape Operation Commands

Shape operation commands enable you to create a shape from two or more overlapping shapes.
These commands perform geometric operations to merge multiple shapes into one. Some com-
mands also break shapes into smaller parts, which can be individually manipulated. Shapes
created using these commands can have multiple regions and lines, which can be individually
formatted.
Shape operation commands can be accessed from the Operations drop-down list in the Shapes
Design group on the Developer tab.
Command Used To
Union Create a shape from overlapping shapes using the perimeter of all the
shapes involved as the outline.
Combine Create a shape from overlapping shapes by removing the areas that overlap,
and retaining all the other areas.

LESSON 1
Command Used To
Fragment Create new shapes by breaking the overlapping shapes along the lines
where they overlap.
Intersect Create a shape from only the area that overlaps and deleting the remaining
area.
Subtract Create a shape by removing the overlapping areas from the shape that is
selected first.
Join Create a shape with only the outlines by combining the outlines of all the
selected shapes.
Trim Create new shapes by splitting the selected shapes at their intersecting
points. The resulting shapes are open shapes, which do not retain their fill.

LESSON 1
Command Used To
Offset Create similar shapes that are placed beside the selected shape. The dis-
tance between the original shape and the created shapes can be specified.
The Developer Mode

The Developer mode is turned on to enable the Developer tab on the Ribbon. You can do so
by checking the Run in Developer mode check box on the Advanced tab of the Visio
Options dialog box. The Developer tab provides access to advanced editing and formatting
tools such as the Document Stencil, shape operation commands, and drawing tools.
How to Enhance Basic Shapes

Procedure Reference: Modify a Basic Shape
To modify a basic shape:
1. Open the desired drawing.
2. If necessary, add shapes to the drawing page.
3. Select the desired shapes.
4. On the Developer tab, in the Shape Design group, from the Operations drop-
down list, select the desired shape operation command.
Procedure Reference: Switch to the Developer Mode

To switch to the Developer mode:
1. Select the File tab and choose Options.
2. In the Visio Options dialog box, select the Advanced tab.
3. In the General section, check the Run in developer mode check box and click
OK to include the Developer tab on the Ribbon.

LESSON 1
ACTIVITY 1-2
Enhancing Basic Shapes
Before You Begin:
The My OGC Logo Design.vsd file is open.
Scenario:
After drawing the basic shapes for creating the logo, you are ready to continue working on
them. You feel that formatting and enhancing the shapes will allow you to arrive at a reproduc-
tion of the logo.
1. Switch to the Developer mode. a. Select the File tab and choose Options to
display the Visio Options dialog box.
b. In the Visio Options dialog box, select the

Advanced tab.
c. Scroll down, and in the General section,

check the Run in developer mode check
box and then click OK.
2. Combine the nine squares to form a a. Display Page-1.

single shape.
b. On the Home tab, in the Editing group,
from the Select drop-down list, select
Select All.
c. Select the Developer tab, and in the

Shape Design group, from the Operations
drop-down list, select Combine.

LESSON 1
3. Fragment the shapes on the second a. Display Page-2.
page.
b. Select the Home tab, and in the Editing
group, from the Select drop-down list,
select Select All.
c. In the Arrange group, from the Position

d. In the Arrange group, from the Position

drop-down list, select Align Middle.
e. Deselect the shapes.
f. In the Tools group, select the Pencil tool.
g. Position the pencil mouse pointer half an

inch above the top vertex of the rotated
square. Click and draw a line through the
top and bottom vertices so that it inter-
sects the shapes and extends half an inch
outside the shape at the top and bottom.
h. Select the Pointer Tool.
i. Select all the shapes.
j. Select the Developer tab, and in the

Shape Design group, from the Operations
drop-down list, select Fragment.

LESSON 1
4. Add color to the shapes. a. If necessary, select the right half of the
rotated square.
b. Select the Home tab, and in the Shape

group, click the Fill drop-down arrow, and
from the displayed gallery, in the Stan-
dard Colors section, select Orange, which
is the third color.
c. Select the left half of the outer circle and

fill it with the same color.
d. Select the left half of the rotated square

and apply the Dark Red color, which is
the first color in the Standard Colors sec-
tion of the color gallery.
e. Select the right half of the outer circle

and apply the Dark Red color.

LESSON 1
f. Select the left and right halves of the
innermost circle.
g. In the Shape group, click the Fill drop-

down arrow, and from the displayed
gallery, in the Theme Colors section,
select Accent2, Lighter 40%, which is the
seventh color in the fourth row.

LESSON 1
5. Combine the shapes to form a custom a. Select all the shapes.
shape.
b. On the Home tab, in the Arrange group,
from the Group drop-down list, select
Group.
c. Copy the shape.
d. Display Page-1.
e. Paste the shape.
f. Select all the shapes on the page.
g. In the Arrange group, from the Position

h. From the Position drop-down list, select

Align Middle.
i. In the Arrange group, from the Group

drop-down list, select Group.
j. Select the Rectangle tool, place the

mouse pointer on the 2-inch mark on the
the vertical ruler, and draw a square of
3-inches dimension.

LESSON 1
k. In the Size & Position window, set the
Angle value to 45

LESSON 1
6. Format the logo. a. Select all the shapes.
b. In the Arrange group, from the Position

c. From the Position drop-down list, select

Align Middle.
d. Deselect the shapes and select the

rotated square.
e. In the Arrange group, from the Send

Backward drop-down list, select Send to
Back.
f. In the Shape group, click the Fill drop-

down arrow, and from the displayed
select Accent2, which is the seventh color
in the first row.
g. Select all the shapes.
h. On the Home tab, in the Arrange group,

from the Group drop-down list, select
Group.

LESSON 1
i. Resize the shapes to a width and height of
3 inches by using the Size & Position win-
dow.
j. Close the Size & Position window.
k. Save the file and close it.
Lesson 1 Follow-up
In this lesson, you created a custom shape. Creating a custom shape allows you to go beyond
using the predefined shapes available in Visio to represent specific information in your dia-
grams.
1. In what ways will using drawing tools in Visio change your typical work pattern?
2. What do you think are the advantages of using the shape operation commands?

NOTES

LESSON 2

45 minutes
Designing a Custom Stencil

In this lesson, you will design a custom stencil.
You will:
• Create a custom stencil.
• Customize a stencil master.
Lesson 2: Designing a Custom Stencil 23

LESSON 2
Introduction
You created custom shapes. Now, you may want to use these shapes in other drawings rather
than create them each time. In this lesson, you will design a custom stencil that contains the
custom master.
Although Visio has several shapes that you can use in drawings, you would have created com-
plex shapes for specific requirements in several instances. Also, the need may arise to use
these complex shapes in many of your drawings. Preserving these complex shapes and reusing
them, rather than re-creating them, will save you significant time.
TOPIC A
Create a Custom Stencil
You created a custom shape for use in a Visio drawing. You may soon realize that you need to
use this shape continuously across many drawings. In this topic, you will create a custom sten-
cil that holds the shapes you often use.
Just as you shelf the most frequently used ingredients in the most accessible place in your
kitchen, you may want a special stencil that enables you to store frequently used shapes and
complex shapes that you create. This will allow you to access, modify, preserve, and use them
when the need may arise in your drawings later, thus saving time and maintaining consistency.
The Document Stencil

The Document Stencil is a stencil that contains the masters of all shapes used in a drawing.
When a shape is dragged onto the drawing page, Visio creates a copy of the master in the
Document Stencil. Editing a master in the Document Stencil ensures that all instances of the
shape in the drawing are modified accordingly. Thus, the shapes inherit the formatting and
other properties from the master on the Document Stencil.
Figure 2-1: The Document Stencil displaying the masters of shapes used in a drawing.

LESSON 2
How to Create a Custom Stencil
Procedure Reference: Create a Custom Stencil
To create a custom stencil:
1. In the Shapes window, from the More Shapes menu, choose New Stencil (US
units).
2. Right-click the title bar of the newly created stencil and choose Save.
3. In the Save As dialog box, in the File name text box, type the desired name.
4. If necessary, navigate to the desired location.
5. Click Save to save the custom stencil.
You can lock or unlock stencils anytime by right-clicking the stencil icon on the title bar and
choosing Edit Stencil. Stencils must be unlocked to add new masters or edit existing masters in
the window.
6. If necessary, right-click the title bar of the customized stencil and choose Edit
Stencil to lock the stencil.
Procedure Reference: Copy Shapes to a Custom Stencil

To copy shapes to a custom stencil:
1. Open a Visio file.
2. In the Shapes window, from the More Shapes menu, choose New Stencil (US
units).
3. On the drawing page, select the shape you want to copy to the custom stencil.
4. Hold down Ctrl and drag the shape to the New Stencil (US units) stencil.
5. Right-click the shape on the stencil and choose Edit Master→Master Properties.
6. In the Master Properties dialog box, in the Properties section, in the Name text
box, type a name for the shape.
7. Click OK.
8. Right-click the title bar of the custom stencil and choose Save to save the changes
to the stencil.
9. If necessary, copy a shape from the Document Stencil of another file.
a. On the View tab, in the Window group, select Arrange All to display all the
windows together.
b. In the window from which you want to copy a shape, display the Document
Stencil.
• From the More Shapes menu, choose Show Document Stencil.
• On the Developer tab, in the Show/Hide group, check the Document
Stencil check box.
c. From the Document Stencil, drag the desired shape to the custom stencil of
any other window. The shape is copied to the custom stencil.
d. Save the changes made to the custom stencil.

LESSON 2
Undock Stencils
While working on a drawing, you may sometimes find it more comfortable to have the
stencil that you want positioned in some other location rather than the left edge of the
window. To undock the desired stencil, you can right-click the title bar of the stencil
and choose Float Window. This stencil can now be moved anywhere on the drawing
page, or can be docked in another location to suit your needs.
ACTIVITY 2-1
Creating a Custom Stencil
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Designing a Custom Stencil\OGC Logo Design.vsd
Before You Begin:

The Microsoft Visio application is open.
Scenario:
Your organization is participating in a charity event featuring teams from various other compa-
nies in the area. You are the leader for your team—The Red Rangers. You decide to use your
organization’s logo as your team’s emblem for the event. You also wish to save the changes
you make so that you can use it in all the future drawings. To enhance your logo, you further
plan to camouflage it with the logo you had used the previous year.
1. Create a custom stencil. a. Select the File tab and choose Open.
b. In the Open dialog box, navigate to the

C:\084599Data\Designing a Custom Stencil
folder.
c. Select the OGC Logo Design.vsd file and

click Open.
d. In the Shapes window, from the More

Shapes menu, choose New Stencil (US
units).

LESSON 2
e. Observe that a new stencil titled Stencil3
is added in the Shapes window and a
small red asterisk is displayed at the right
corner of the title bar indicating that the
stencil can be edited and shapes can be
added to it.
f. Right-click the title bar of Stencil3 and

choose Save to display the Save As dialog
box.
g. Navigate to the My Shapes folder. The My

Shapes folder is created in the C:\
Documents and Settings\<User Name>\My
Documents folder when Visio is installed.
h. In the Save As dialog box, in the File

name text box, click and type My Mas-
ters
i. In the Save as type drop-down list, verify

that Stencil (*.vss) is selected and click
Save to save the custom stencil.
2. Add shapes to the custom stencil. a. On the drawing page, select the logo.
b. Hold down Ctrl and drag the shape to the

My Masters stencil.
c. On the drawing page, verify that the

shape is selected, and on the Home tab,
in the Arrange group, from the Group
drop-down list, select Ungroup.
d. Deselect the shapes.

LESSON 2
e. Click on the circumference of the largest
circle to select it.
f. Drag the selected circle to the My Masters

stencil.
g. Select all the shapes on the drawing page

and group them.
h. Drag the grouped shapes to the My Mas-

ters stencil.

LESSON 2
3. Name the master shapes. a. On the My Masters stencil, right-click the
Master.2 shape and choose Edit Master→
Master Properties to display the Master
Properties dialog box.
b. In the Master Properties dialog box, in

the Properties section, in the Name text
box, type Logo and click OK.
c. On the My Masters stencil, right-click the

Master.3 shape and choose Edit Master→
Master Properties to display the Master
Properties dialog box.
d. In the Master Properties dialog box, in

the Properties section, in the Name text
box, type Emblem and click OK.
e. Similarly, name Master.4 as Badge
f. On the title bar of the My Masters stencil,

click the Save Stencil button.
4. Add shapes from the Document Sten- a. Select the File tab and chose Open.
cil to the My Masters stencil.
b. In the Open dialog box, select the Org
Chart.vsd file and click Open.
c. Select the View tab, and in the Window

group, click Arrange All.
d. In the Org Chart window, in the Shapes

window, from the More Shapes menu,
choose Show Document Stencil to display
the Document Stencil.

LESSON 2
e. From the Document Stencil, drag the
Team frame shape to the My Masters
stencil of the OGC Logo Design window.
f. Save the changes made to the My Masters

stencil.
g. Close the Org Chart.vsd file.
h. Save the file as My OGC Logo Design in

the VSD format.
TOPIC B
Customize a Stencil Master
You added custom shapes as masters in a custom stencil. The master shape that you added
may not have the properties required for a stencil master. In this topic, you will customize a
stencil master.
Although you have created custom shapes, you might still want to edit them. For example, you
may wish to change the default color, add connection points to a master, or change the behav-
ior of a master by editing it. By customizing a stencil master, you can ensure that it exhibits
the desired properties when placed on the drawing page.
Shape Behavior
Shape behavior determines how shapes act when subjected to specific actions. By setting the
behavior for shapes in a stencil master, you can make the stencil master display the desired
properties. You can set properties to customize common behavior such as enabling or disabling
resizing of a shape, the response of a shape when it is double-clicked, and a shape’s behavior
when it is placed on the drawing page.

LESSON 2
Figure 2-2: The Behavior dialog box displaying properties that can be set for a master
shape.
The Behavior dialog box consists of three different tabs where you can set the behavior prop-
erties of a shape.
Tab Allows You To

Behavior Specify whether the shape behaves as a 1-D or 2-D shape, the display of handles
when selected, the behavior of connectors when the shape is connected to other
shapes, and the sizing and positioning attributes. You can also specify how the
shape behaves when it is grouped with other shapes.
Double-Click Specify the behavior of the shape when it is double-clicked. Common double-click
behavior that can be assigned to a shape include opening the shape’s text block for
editing, opening the ShapeSheet, and running a macro.
Placement Specify the behavior of a shape when it is placed on the drawing page, and when
it is moved, or connected to other shapes.
How to Customize a Stencil Master

Procedure Reference: Edit a Master Shape
To edit a master shape:
1. From the More Shapes menu, choose My Shapes→Custom stencil.
2. Right-click the master shape that you want to edit and choose Edit Master→Edit
Master Shape to open the shape on the drawing page.
3. If necessary, edit the shape as desired.
4. Close the drawing page.
5. In the message box, click OK to update the changes.
To rename a master shape, right-click it and then choose Rename Master.
6. Right-click the stencil title bar and click Save to save the changes.

LESSON 2
7. Right-click the master shape and choose Edit Master→Master Properties to dis-
play the Master Properties dialog box.
8. Set the desired properties.
• In the Properties section, in the Name text box, type a name for the master
shape.
• In the Prompt text box, type a brief description of the master that will get
displayed when the mouse pointer is placed on the shape.
• In the Align master name section, select an option to align the name of the
master shape with the icon representing it.
• In the Search section, in the Keywords text box, type the desired keywords.
9. Click OK to apply the changes.
10. Add new connection points.
a. In the drawing, select the shape to be edited.
b. On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click the Connection Point tool.
c. Hold down Ctrl and click the desired location on the selected shape to add a
new connection point.
Procedure Reference: Set the Behavior of a Custom Master Shape

To set the behavior of a custom master shape:
1. Select the master shape.
2. If necessary, select the shape, and on the Home tab, in the Arrange group, from
the Group drop-down list, select Group to group the individual shapes in a mas-
ter.
3. On the Developer tab, in the Shape Design group, click Behavior.
4. In the Behavior dialog box, set the necessary options.
• On the Behavior tab, set the desired interaction style and group behavior.
• On the Double-Click tab, set the response of the shape to a double-click
action.
• On the Placement tab, set the desired placement behavior options.
The Group only option in the Behavior dialog box is used to select the entire group of shapes;
individual shapes within the group cannot be selected.
5. Click OK to set the behavior for the shape.

LESSON 2
ACTIVITY 2-2
Customizing a Stencil Master
Before You Begin:
The My OGC Logo Design.vsd file is open.
Scenario:
You have saved your organization’s logo as a custom master shape. However, you want to
make changes to the color of the master so that it suits your team—The Red Rangers. In addi-
tion to this, you wish to add a few other behavior to your shape.
1. Edit the Logo master shape in the My a. Verify that the My Masters stencil is open.
Masters stencil.
b. In the My Masters stencil, right-click the
Logo master shape and choose Edit
Master→Edit Master Shape.
c. In the My Masters.vss:Stencil:Logo win-

dow, select the group of shapes.
d. Select the Home tab, and in the Arrange

group, from the Group drop-down list,
select Ungroup.
e. Deselect the shapes and select the outer-

most square.

LESSON 2
f. On the Home tab, in the Shape group,
click the Fill drop-down arrow, and from
the displayed gallery, in the Theme Col-
ors section, select Accent1, which is the
sixth color in the first row.
g. Deselect the shape.
2. Add connection points to the master a. On the Home tab, in the Tools group,
shape. select the Connection Point tool.
b. Select the outer square shape, hold down

Ctrl, and click the top vertex of the
square.

LESSON 2
c. Hold down Ctrl and click the vertex on the
left.
d. Similarly, add connection points to the

other two vertices.

LESSON 2
3. Combine the Logo and Team frame a. Drag the Team frame master and place it
master shapes. at the center of the logo on the drawing
page.
b. At the bottom of the Team frame shape,

double-click the text “Team Title” and
type The Red Rangers
c. On the Home tab, in the Font group, from

the Font Size drop-down list, select 14
pt.

LESSON 2
4. Group the two master shapes. a. Select all the shapes and group them.
b. Select the Developer tab, and in the

Shape Design group, click Behavior.
c. In the Behavior dialog box, on the Behav-

ior tab, in the Group behavior section,
from the Selection drop-down list, select
Group only to specify that only the entire
group of shapes can be selected and indi-
vidual shapes within the group cannot be
selected, and click OK.
d. Close the My Masters.vss:Stencil:Logo win-

dow.
e. In the Microsoft Visio message box, click

Yes to update the logo.
f. Save the changes made to the My Masters

stencil and close the file.
Lesson 2 Follow-up
In this lesson, you designed and customized a stencil. Creating a custom stencil that contains
frequently used custom shapes will provide you with easy access to such shapes whenever you
need them for use in any diagram.
1. Give examples of instances when you would opt to create custom stencils and which
shapes you would want to save in them.
2. Which shape behavior do you expect to set for your custom master shapes? Why?

NOTES

LESSON 3

30 minutes
Designing Styles and

Templates
In this lesson, you will design styles and templates.
You will:
• Define a new style.
• Create a template.
Lesson 3: Designing Styles and Templates 39

LESSON 3
Introduction
You created a custom stencil to contain shapes that you use frequently. While using such cus-
tom elements to create a drawing, you may also want to easily format complex drawings to
suit your preferences. In this lesson, you will design custom styles and templates.
Working in an organization might involve the use of standard logos, shapes, and colors in all
your documents. Formatting each page in a document to conform to the organization’s stan-
dards can be quite cumbersome. Instead, you can create a style and apply it uniformly to all
the pages of the document. You can also create a template to easily access various custom
shapes and stencils.
TOPIC A
Define a New Style
You saved a custom stencil with a custom shape. Now, you may want all the shapes in your
drawings to have a similar formatting. In this topic, you will define a new style.
Imagine you have to deliver a presentation on the organization’s workflow to the new employ-
ees. You have already created the organization’s workflow and as you flip through the various
pages of the drawing, you notice that a different style is applied to the shapes on each page.
Changing the styles manually to meet your requirements will be time consuming. Using Visio,
you can create a new style and apply it across all the pages.
Styles
A style is a collection of text, line, and fill properties that can be applied to shapes in a draw-
ing. Visio provides you with a set of predefined styles. You can edit these predefined styles or
define new styles by using the Define Styles dialog box. The options in the Define Styles dia-
log box allow you to specify the properties to be included in the style. The Define Styles
dialog box also allows you to display the Text, Line, and Fill dialog boxes, where you can
choose specific settings for text, line, and fill formatting individually. Additionally, you can
apply a style to a shape by selecting a combination of the predefined or custom text, line, and
fill styles.
Figure 3-1: The Define Styles dialog box displaying options to specify settings when
creating or modifying styles.

LESSON 3
Style Options in Visio
The Style and Define Styles buttons and the Style drop-down list are not available in
the Visio interface by default. They need to be added to the Quick Access toolbar or
the Ribbon.
How to Define a New Style

Procedure Reference: Apply a Style to Shapes
To apply a style to shapes:
1. Select the shapes to which you want to apply a style.
2. On the Quick Access toolbar or on the Ribbon, from the Style drop-down list,
select a style.
Procedure Reference: Create a New Style

To create a new style:
1. If necessary, open a drawing.
Ensure that no shape is selected while creating a new style. Otherwise, the style created will be
specifically applied to the shape selected.
2. If necessary, turn on the Run in developer mode option.

3. On the Quick Access toolbar or the Ribbon, click the Define Styles button.
4. In the Define Styles dialog box, set the desired options.
• In the Style section, in the Name text box, enter the desired name for the
custom style.
• If necessary, from the Based on drop-down list, select a predefined style to
create a new style based on existing ones.
• In the Includes section, check or uncheck the desired check box to include
or exclude that component from the custom style.
• In the Change section, set the formatting for the custom style.
— Click Text to set the text style. In the Text dialog box, set the desired
text formatting and click OK.
— Click Line to set the line style. In the Line dialog box, set the desired
line patterns and click OK.
— Click Fill to set the fill style. In the Fill dialog box, set the desired fill
pattern and click OK.
Editing a Predefined Style

Rather than creating a new style from scratch, you can edit the properties of a pre-
defined style. To do this, you can use the Style dialog box. This dialog box can be
displayed using the Style button, which can be added to the Ribbon or Quick Access
toolbar. The Style dialog box enables you to change the text, line, and fill attributes of
the selected style. This changes the formatting of all the shapes to which the style is
applied. However, you can retain the manually applied formatting for shapes by check-
ing the Preserve local formatting check box.

LESSON 3
ACTIVITY 3-1
Defining a New Style
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Designing Styles and Templates\Conference Setup.vsd
Before You Begin:

1. The Microsoft Visio application is open.
2. Verify that Visio is running in the Developer mode to perform this activity.
Scenario:
A new employee at your organization has given you the conference hall setup that he created.
On examining the drawing, you find that the shapes have different text styles and line styles
applied to them. Because this does not follow your organization’s standard formatting guide-
lines, you offer to standardize the appearance of the shapes.

LESSON 3
1. Add a new tab to the Ribbon. a. Select the File tab and choose Options.
b. In the Visio Options dialog box, select the

Customize Ribbon tab.
c. In the Visio Options dialog box, in the

Customize the Ribbon list box, select
Icon Editor.
d. Below the Customize the Ribbon list box,

click New Tab.
e. In the Customize the Ribbon list box,

verify that New Group (Custom) is
selected, and below the list box, click
Rename.
f. In the Rename dialog box, in the Display

name text box, type Tools and click OK.
g. Similarly, rename New Tab (Custom) as

Additional Tools
2. Add the Style drop-down list to the a. In the Customize the Ribbon list box,
Additional Tools tab. select Tools (Custom).
b. In the Visio Options dialog box, from the

Choose commands from drop-down list,
select All Commands.
c. In the Choose commands from list box,

scroll down and select Define Styles.
d. Click Add.

LESSON 3
e. In the Choose commands from list box,
scroll down and select Style, which has an
arrow at its right.
f. Click Add and then click OK.
3. Create a style. a. Select the File tab and choose Open.

C:\084599Data\Designing Styles and
Templates folder and open the
Conference Setup.vsd file.
c. Select the Additional Tools tab, and in

the Tools group, click Define Styles.
d. In the Define Styles dialog box, in the

Style section, in the Name text box, type
OGC Style and click Add.
e. In the Includes section, uncheck the Fill

check box, so that the style does not
include fill settings.

LESSON 3
4. Set the text and line styles a. In the Change section, click Text.
b. In the Text dialog box, on the Font tab, in

the Font settings section, in the Font
drop-down list, scroll down and select
Times New Roman.
c. From the Size drop-down list, select 14 pt

and click OK.
d. In the Define Styles dialog box, in the

Change section, click Line.
e. In the Line dialog box, in the Line sec-

tion, from the Dash type drop-down list,
scroll up, select 00: None, and click OK.
f. In the Define Styles dialog box, click OK

to close it.
5. Apply the custom style to the shapes a. Select all the shapes in the drawing.
in the drawing.
b. Select the Additional Tools tab, and in
the Tools group, from the Style drop-
down list, select OGC Style.
c. Save the file as My Conference Setup in

the VSD format and close the file.

LESSON 3
TOPIC B
Create a Template
You created a custom style. Like styles, the predefined templates provided in Visio sometimes
may not fulfill your needs. In this topic, you will design a custom template.
Creating a custom template is an easy and consistent way to incorporate custom elements into
new documents. Custom elements might be your own logo, sections of standardized text, or a
consistent set of formats. By creating a template, you can get the precise results you need for
your drawings.
How to Create a Template

Procedure Reference: Create a Template
To create a template:
1. Open a drawing that you want to use as a template.
2. From the More Shapes menu, choose the desired stencil.
3. If necessary, create a background page for the template.
4. If necessary, add pages to the file.
5. Select the File tab and choose Save As.
6. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the desired folder location.
7. If necessary, enter a name for the template.
8. From the Save as type drop-down list, select Template (*.vst) and click Save to
create the custom template.

LESSON 3
ACTIVITY 3-2
Creating a Template
Before You Begin:
Scenario:
Your organization has set a new policy that requires all documents to carry a watermark of
your organization’s name. To add a watermark to every page that you create is a tedious task.
Having a template with the watermark will enhance your efficiency.
1. Add a custom stencil to the drawing. a. Open a blank drawing.
b. In the Shapes window, from the More

Shapes menu, choose My Shapes→My
Masters.
c. Observe that the My Masters stencil is

added to the Shapes window.
2. Add the Logo master and a back- a. Select the Design tab, and in the Back-
ground to the drawing page. grounds group, click the Backgrounds
drop-down arrow, and from the displayed
gallery, in the Backgrounds section,
select Solid, which is the first background
in the first row.
b. Drag the Logo master to the top-left cor-

ner of the drawing page.

LESSON 3
3. Add a watermark to the background. a. Display the VBackground-1 page.
b. Select the Home tab, and in the Tools

group, select the Text tool.
c. Place the mouse pointer on the 1-inch

mark on the horizontal ruler and the
7-inch mark on the vertical ruler, click
and draw a bounding box of 7-inches
width and 1.5-inches height.
d. In the text box, type Our Global Com-

pany
e. In the Font group, in the Font Size drop-

down list, click and type 54 and press
Enter.
f. On the status bar, click Angle to display

the Size & Position window.
g. In the Size & Position window, set the

Angle value for the text to 45
h. In the Font group, click the Text dialog

box launcher to display the Text dialog
box.
i. On the Font tab, in the General section,

set the Transparency value to 80
j. Click Apply and then click OK.
k. Click the Pointer Tool to deselect the

text.

LESSON 3
4. Save the drawing as a template. a. Display Page-1.
b. Observe the overall appearance of the

drawing page.
c. On the Quick Access toolbar, click the

Save button.
d. In the Save As dialog box, verify that the

C:\084599Data\Designing Styles and
Templates folder is selected, and in the
File name text box, click and type My
Template
e. From the Save as type drop-down list,

select Template (*.vst) and click Save.
f. Close the file.
Lesson 3 Follow-up
In this lesson, you created custom styles and templates. Using custom styles and templates,
you can maintain consistency across drawings that you create.
1. Which style attributes do you think you will specify when you create a custom style?
Why?
2. On your job, under what circumstances will you create a template?

NOTES

LESSON 4

1 hour(s)
Designing a Floor Plan

In this lesson, you will design a floor plan.
You will:
• Create an office layout.
• Work with layers.
Lesson 4: Designing a Floor Plan 51

LESSON 4
Introduction
You created a custom template to suit your needs. When working on a complex drawing, there
may be times when you need to edit certain portions of it without affecting the rest of the
drawing. In this lesson, you will design a floor plan by assigning shapes to different layers.
Imagine you are working on the blueprint of a new project. As the project nears completion, a
minor alteration is required to enhance the quality of the plan. Though time consuming, you
have to carry out the alteration and ensure that other components remain unchanged. Visio lets
you simplify your task by assigning different components to different layers so that the layers
can be manipulated independent of each other.
TOPIC A
Create an Office Layout
You created custom shapes and templates. You might use these shapes and templates to create
a drawing of a layout to manage space effectively. In this topic, you will create an office lay-
out.
You may be planning to renovate your office or home. Your architect or interior designer will
probably suggest that you give a simple representation of what you desire to build a plan
based on your requirements. Visio provides tools that can be used to draw the basic layout of
each room.
The Drawing Scale

The drawing scale describes the ratio by which a real object is magnified or shrunk when it is
represented in a drawing. Drawings that contain scaled shapes are called scaled drawings.
Most templates in Visio have predefined drawing scales; however, you can change the scale in
any drawing. You can also set a different drawing scale for each page in your drawing. When
you drag a shape onto a drawing page, the shape resizes to match the drawing scale settings.
The Ruler Zero Point

The location at which the zero values on the horizontal and vertical rulers intersect is called
the ruler zero point. In Visio, by default, it is located at the bottom-left corner of the drawing
page. The ruler zero point is used to measure the distance at which a shape is placed. How-
ever, this point can be relocated anywhere on the drawing page to suit your needs.
The Convert to Walls Command

The Convert to Walls command allows you to convert shapes to walls. You can access this
command from the Plan group on the Plan tab, which is displayed when you select the floor
plan template. You can specify the required settings in the Convert to Walls dialog box.

LESSON 4
Figure 4-1: The Convert to Walls dialog box displaying sections where you can specify
the required wall settings.
How to Create an Office Layout

Procedure Reference: Change the Drawing Scale
To change the drawing scale:
1. Display the drawing page for which you want to change the drawing scale.
2. On the Design tab, in the Page Setup group, click the Page Setup dialog box
launcher.
3. In the Page Setup dialog box, select the Drawing Scale tab.
4. Change the drawing scale.
• Select Pre-defined scale, and from the drop-down list, select the desired
drawing scale.
• Select Custom scale, and in the text box, specify the drawing scale.
5. If necessary, select the Page Properties tab, and from the Measurement units
drop-down list, select the desired measurement unit.
6. Click Apply and then click OK to save the changes and update the drawing page.
Procedure Reference: Reset the Ruler Zero Point

To reset the ruler zero point:
1. Display the drawing page for which you want to change the position of the ruler
zero point.
2. Change the ruler zero point.
• Change the ruler zero point of both rulers.
a. Place the mouse pointer at the intersection of the two rulers.
b. Hold down Ctrl and drag to reposition the ruler zero point at the
desired position.
• Change the ruler zero point of any one ruler.
a. Place the mouse pointer on the ruler whose zero point you want to
modify.
b. Hold down Ctrl and drag to reposition the ruler zero point at the
desired position.

LESSON 4
To return the zero point to the bottom-left corner of the page, double-click the intersection of the
two rulers.
Procedure Reference: Create a Layout

To create a layout:
1. Select the File tab and choose New.
2. In the Template Categories section, select Maps and Floor Plans.
3. In the Choose a Template section, select the desired plan or layout template and
click Create.
4. From the displayed stencils, add the desired shape to the drawing page.
Depending on the plan or layout template that you choose, Visio displays a set of stencils that
provide appropriate shapes for use in a drawing. For example, the office layout template displays
the Cubicles (US units), Office Accessories (US units), Office Equipment (US units), Office Fur-
niture (US units), and Walls, Doors and Windows (US units) stencils.
5. If necessary, on the Home tab, in the Arrange group, from the Position drop-
down list, select the desired alignment and rotation options to align and rotate the
shapes as desired.
6. Set the coordinates for the shapes at the desired location on the drawing page by
using the Size & Position window.
Convert to Walls
You can create walls by positioning shapes on the drawing page, uniting them by using
the Union command and then converting them to walls by using the Convert to Walls
command on the Plan tab. You can change the wall shape and the settings as needed
using the Convert to Walls dialog box.

LESSON 4
ACTIVITY 4-1
Creating an Office Layout
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Designing a Floor Plan\Office Layout.vsd
Before You Begin:

Scenario:
You have been exploring the office layout templates for some time now and your manager has
noticed this. As there are plans underway to shift your office to a new building, your manager
asks you to work on an office layout in your free time. You have drawn a few rooms and
everybody is impressed and encourages you to build on the drawing.

LESSON 4
1. Change the location of the ruler zero a. Select the File tab and choose Open.
point.
C:\084599Data\Designing a Floor Plan
folder and open the Office Layout.vsd file.
c. Select the Design tab, and in the Page

Setup group, click the Page Setup dialog
box launcher.
d. In the Page Setup dialog box, select the

Drawing Scale tab.
e. In the Drawing scale section, in the Pre-

defined scale drop-down list, verify that
Architectural is selected, and in the sec-
ond drop-down list, verify that 1/2″ = 1’
0″ is selected.
f. Select the Page Properties tab.
g. From the Measurement units drop-down

list, select Feet (decimal) and click OK.
h. Hold down Ctrl and click at the intersec-

tion of the two rulers, and drag to the
top-left corner of the drawing page.

LESSON 4
i. Verify that the measurement for both rul-
ers starts from the top-left corner of the
drawing page.

LESSON 4
2. Add walls to the layout. a. In the Shapes window, place the mouse
pointer over the divider between the col-
lapsed and expanded stencils, and when it
changes to a double-headed arrow, click
and drag the divider down to display all
the collapsed stencils.
b. From the Walls, Doors and Windows (US

units) stencil, drag the Wall master and
place it at the center of the drawing
page.
c. In the Size & Position window, decrease

the length of the wall shape to 5 ft and
change its angle to 90
d. Place the wall shape at the 6.5-ft mark on

the horizontal ruler with its top end on
the top outer wall of the layout.

LESSON 4
e. Hold down Ctrl and click the wall shape

that you placed on the drawing page and
then drag an instance of the wall shape to
the 14-ft mark on the horizontal ruler and
place its top end on the top outer wall of
the layout.
f. From the Walls, Doors and Windows (US

units) stencil, drag the Wall master and
place it on the drawing page with its left
edge on the left outer wall and connected
to the first vertical wall between the
rooms.

LESSON 4
g. Hold down Shift and drag the right
endpoint of the wall shape to join the
right outer wall.

LESSON 4
3. Add doors to the rooms. a. From the Walls, Doors and Windows (US
units) stencil, drag the Door master onto
the horizontal wall and place it at the
right end of the first room.
b. Change the width to 18
c. Similarly, make two copies of the door

and add them to the other two rooms.
• Place the first copy of the door
on the horizontal wall at the
right end of the middle room.
• Place the second copy of the
door on the horizontal wall at
the left edge of the third room.
d. Select the Home tab, and in the Arrange

group, from the Position drop-down list,
select Rotate Shapes and then select Flip
Horizontal.

LESSON 4
e. From the Walls, Doors and Windows (US
units) stencil, drag the Double door mas-
ter to the left outer wall and place it just
below the horizontal wall.
4. Add switches to the rooms. a. In the Office Equipment (US units) sten-
cil, scroll up and drag the Switch master
to the top outer wall of the first room
from the left.
b. In the Size & Position window, set the X,

Y, and Width values to 2.5, –0.5, and
0.625 respectively.
c. Similarly, add two more instances of the

switch to the top horizontal walls of the
other two rooms at the 9-ft and 15-ft
marks, respectively, on the horizontal
ruler.

LESSON 4
5. Create the reception room. a. Select the Cubicles (US units) stencil, and
drag the Straight workstation master and
place it with its top at the –8-ft mark on
the vertical ruler and the right edge on
the right outer wall of the layout.
b. Select the Office Equipment (US units)

stencil, scroll up, and drag the Telephone
master to the straight workstation that
you added to the drawing page.
c. In the Size & Position window, set the X

and Y values to 17.8 and -8.75 respec-
tively.

LESSON 4
6. Enhance the reception room. a. Select the Office Accessories (US units)
stencil, and drag the Large plant master
and place it with its center at the 11-ft
mark on the horizontal ruler and the –9-ft
mark on the vertical ruler.
b. Click the Fit page to current window but-

ton.
c. Select the Office Furniture (US units)

stencil, scroll down, and drag the Swivel
tilt chair master and place it with its cen-
ter at the 13-ft mark on the horizontal
ruler and the –15-ft mark on the vertical
ruler.

LESSON 4
d. In the Size & Position window, set the
Angle value to 90
e. From the Office Furniture (US units)

stencil, drag the Sofa master and place it
one foot to the left of the swivel tilt
chair.
f. Set the Angle value to 90
g. Drag the sofa shape down and place it one

foot to the left of the swivel tilt chair.
h. Close the Size & Position window.
i. Save the file as My Office Layout in the

VSD format.

LESSON 4
TOPIC B
Work with Layers
You created an office layout in Visio. Such drawings can get complicated, requiring you to
make sure that the changes you make to them do not affect the finalized shapes. In this topic,
you will group shapes into different layers.
While building a card castle, you know that any minor disturbance would lead to a catastro-
phe. Similarly, while modifying a complex diagram, such as an office layout, it will be helpful
to secure certain areas in the drawing, preventing these areas from being changed. This would
provide scope to try changes with the other portions of the layout, and further, safeguarding
the completed regions will save time spent on rework, if accidentally modified.
Layers
A layer is a named category that enables you to group related shapes on a drawing page. Lay-
ers can be either predefined or custom. By using the Layer Properties dialog box, you can
modify the properties of a layer, rename and remove layers, and assign selected shapes to a
layer.
The Layer Properties Dialog Box

The Layer Properties dialog box displays the names of all the layers in a diagram and the
properties you can set for each layer.
Figure 4-2: The Layer Properties dialog box displaying the various layers of a floor
plan diagram and the properties of the layers.
Property Specifies Whether

Visible Shapes on a layer are visible or hidden on the drawing page.
Print Shapes on a layer can be printed.
Active Shapes can be assigned to a layer.
Lock A layer can be protected from being altered or selected.
Snap Shapes on a layer can snap to other shapes.

LESSON 4
Property Specifies Whether
Glue Shapes on a layer can glue to other shapes.
Color Shapes on a layer appear in the specified color.
How to Work with Layers

Procedure Reference: Add a Layer
To add a layer:
1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, from the Layers drop-down list, select
Layer Properties.
2. In the Layer Properties dialog box, click New to display the New Layer dialog
box.
3. In the New Layer dialog box, in the Layer name text box, type a name for the
layer.
4. Click OK to close the New Layer dialog box.
5. In the Layer Properties dialog box, click Apply and then click OK to add a
layer.
Procedure Reference: Assign Shapes to Layers

To assign shapes to layers:
1. Select the desired shape on the drawing page.
Assign to Layer.
3. In the Layer dialog box, in the On layer(s) section, check the check boxes for
the layers to which you want to assign the shape.
4. Click OK to assign the selected shape to the selected layers.
Procedure Reference: Edit Layer Properties

To edit layer properties:
1. Select the desired shape on the drawing page.
Layer Properties.
3. In the Layer Properties dialog box, select the desired layer.
4. Set the properties for the layer.
• Check or uncheck the Visible check box to display or hide the shapes on the
drawing page.
• Check or uncheck the Print check box to allow or disallow the printing of
the shapes in the layer.
• Check or uncheck the Active check box to allow or disallow shapes to be
added to the layer when they are added to the drawing page.

LESSON 4
• Check or uncheck the Lock check box to disallow or allow the shapes in that
layer to be selected or altered.
• Check or uncheck the Snap check box to allow or disallow shapes to con-
nect to other shapes in the layer when added to the drawing page.
• Check or uncheck the Glue check box to allow or disallow shapes to glue to
other shapes.
• Set a color for a layer.
a. Check or uncheck the Color check box to specify a color for shapes on
a layer or display them with their default settings.
b. From the Layer color drop-down list, select the desired color.
• Rename the desired layer.
a. In the Layer Properties dialog box, click Rename to display the
Rename Layer dialog box.
b. In the Rename Layer dialog box, in the Layer name text box, type a
name for the layer and click OK.
5. Click Apply and then click OK to set the properties for the layer.
ACTIVITY 4-2
Working with Layers
Before You Begin:
The My Office Layout.vsd file is open.
Scenario:
Having almost executed the layout, you sit with your manager for discussion. Your manager
wants you to show him a sketch, after changing the workstations in the drawing without alter-
ing the position of the telephone and also wants you to add color to the interiors.
1. Add a new layer. a. On the Home tab, in the Editing group,

from the Layers drop-down list, select
Layer Properties.
b. In the Layer Properties dialog box, click

New to display the New Layer dialog box.
c. In the New Layer dialog box, in the Layer

name text box, type Telephone 1 and
click OK.
d. In the Layer Properties dialog box, click

Apply and then click OK to add a new
layer.

LESSON 4
2. Assign shapes to the new layer. a. On the drawing page, select the tele-
phones.
b. On the Home tab, in the Editing group,

Assign to Layer.
c. In the Layer dialog box, in the On layer(s)

list box, scroll down and check the Tele-
phone 1 check box and uncheck the
Electrical Appliance and Power/Comm
check boxes.
d. Click OK to assign the telephones to the

Telephone 1 layer.
e. Deselect the telephones.

LESSON 4
3. Lock the Telephone 1 layer. a. On the Home tab, in the Editing group,
Layer Properties.
b. In the Layer Properties dialog box, check

the Lock check box for the Telephone 1
layer.
c. Click Apply and then click OK to lock the

layer.
d. On the drawing page, in the reception

room, click the telephone and observe
that it cannot be selected.
e. Observe that the straight workstation is

selected and delete it.

LESSON 4
f. Observe that the telephone is not deleted
because the layer is locked.
g. On the Quick Access toolbar, click the

Undo button to restore the straight work-
station in the layout.
4. Color the furniture in the layout. a. Display the Layer Properties dialog box.
b. In the Layer Properties dialog box, check

the Color check box for the Furniture
layer.
c. In the Layer color drop-down list, scroll

up and select 02.
d. Check the Color check box for the Mov-

able Furnishings layer.
e. In the Layer color drop-down list, scroll

up and select 02.
f. Click Apply and then click OK.
g. Save and close the file.
Lesson 4 Follow-up
In this lesson, you designed a floor plan using layers. When working on a complex drawing
such as an office layout, you can assign shapes to various layers and manipulate the shapes in
each layer without unintentionally affecting other shapes.
1. Which Visio tool or feature do you think is the most useful when designing a floor plan?
Why?

LESSON 4
2. Give examples of when you will choose to use layers to organize shapes in a drawing.

LESSON 5

1 hour(s), 30 minutes
Representing External Data

in Visio
In this lesson, you will represent external data in Visio.
You will:
• Generate a PivotDiagram.
• Create an organization chart using external data.
• Import project plan data into Visio.
• Link to a database.
• Import Excel data.
Lesson 5: Representing External Data in Visio 73

LESSON 5
Introduction
You designed an office layout. Though diagrams such as office layouts may not include vari-
able data, you will often come across the need to represent data available in other formats as a
diagram. In this lesson, you will represent external data in Visio.
While working with a team, different team members may be comfortable with different soft-
ware applications. Therefore, while coordinating with your colleagues, you may need to deal
with data saved in different file formats. Rather than converting data to a common format, inte-
grating different data formats with Visio will save you time as well as avoid potential errors.
TOPIC A
Generate a PivotDiagram
You used layers to organize the shapes in a drawing. In addition to working on complex dia-
grams that have numerous shapes, you may also need to represent numeric data in a visual
format. In this topic, you will generate a PivotDiagram with the given data.
Imagine you are working on a high priority project and are expecting some details from your
colleague. As your colleague is in a hurry too, she drops off the data in a format you are not
too familiar with—as an Access database. While trying to represent the data in your drawing,
you unknowingly leave out a section of the table. Although a small error, reworking on it will
be a tedious task. Visio enables you to avoid such errors by automatically importing data as
PivotDiagrams, thus saving the time you would spend on rework.
PivotDiagrams
A PivotDiagram is a hierarchical representation of data as shapes. This structure enables you
to analyze and summarize complex data in an easily comprehensible visual format. A
PivotDiagram starts out with a single shape called the top node, which contains imported infor-
mation. Along with the top node, the data legend that contains the details of the source data is
added to the drawing page. The top node can be expanded to display sublevels that allow you
to view data in various ways. Each rectangular shape in the sublevels of a PivotDiagram is
called a Pivot node. The PivotDiagram template in Visio enables you to represent data from
various sources, such as Excel, Access, SQL Server, and others.

LESSON 5
Figure 5-1: A PivotDiagram displaying sales information for different categories.
Data Graphics
A data graphic is a visual representation of data that is associated with a shape. It may be a
combination of textual and graphical representation of data. You can create data graphics, edit
them, apply them to shapes, and enhance their appearance. Any change made to a data graphic
that is applied to shapes is automatically reflected in all the shapes.
Figure 5-2: Data graphics added to a shape.
Data Graphic Legends

You can add a data graphic legend to a data graphic to understand the data graphic
better. A data graphic legend has separate sections for each data field. Description for
each legend item is obtained from the related data graphic. A data graphic legend can
be inserted by clicking the Insert Legend button on the Data tab and choosing either
a horizontal or vertical legend. The legends appear at the top-right corner of the page
and can be customized to suit diagram requirements.
The PivotDiagram Window

The PivotDiagram window is displayed after data is imported into a PivotDiagram. This win-
dow enables you to choose data fields to be represented in a drawing. The window displays
different sections that provide options to specify the content of a PivotDiagram.

LESSON 5
Figure 5-3: The PivotDiagram window displaying fields that can be added to a
PivotDiagram.
Section Description
Add Category Displays the categories based on which the source data is to be grouped. The cat-
egories displayed in this section correspond to the columns in the source data. In
this section, you can break a node into subnodes based on category names, select
all the nodes that are broken into categories, edit the appearance of data, and con-
figure a column.
Add Total Displays the columns in the source data that can be summarized and listed in the
nodes. This section enables you to sum up the values, calculate the average, deter-
mine the maximum and minimum values, and indicate the number of rows
contained in each node.
How to Generate a PivotDiagram

Procedure Reference: Create a PivotDiagram Using an Excel Workbook
To create a PivotDiagram using an Excel workbook:
1. Select the File tab and choose New.
2. In the Template Categories section, select Business, and in the Choose a Tem-
plate section, double-click PivotDiagram.
In addition to Excel workbooks, you can import Access databases, SharePoint Services list, SQL
Server databases, SQL Services Analysis Services, and other OLEDB or ODBC data sources using
the Data Selector wizard.
3. In the Data Selector wizard, on the What data do you want to use page, select
Microsoft Excel workbook and click Next.
4. On the Connect to Microsoft Excel Workbook page, navigate to and select the
desired file and click Next.
5. On the What worksheet or range do you want to use page, specify the
worksheet or range of cells in a worksheet and click Next.

LESSON 5
6. If necessary, on the Connect to data page, specify the rows and columns to be
included.
7. Click Next and then click Finish to import the data.
8. In the PivotDiagram window, click the top node, and in the Add Category sec-
tion, select the desired category to group the data.
Procedure Reference: Edit a PivotDiagram

To edit a PivotDiagram:
1. If necessary, open the desired PivotDiagram.
2. Click the top node, and in the PivotDiagram window, in the Add Category sec-
tion, select the desired category to group the data.
3. Change the display of numeric data using the Add Total section.
• Check or uncheck the desired field to show or hide the corresponding values.
• Right-click the item you want to change and choose the desired summary
function.
Procedure Reference: Add Data Graphics to Shapes

To add data graphics to shapes:
1. Select the shape for which you want to create a data graphic.
2. On the Data tab, in the Display Data group, click the Data Graphics drop-down
arrow, and from the displayed gallery, select Create New Data Graphic.
3. In the New Data Graphic dialog box, click New Item.
4. Add data graphics.
5. In the New Item dialog box, in the Display section, from the Data field drop-
down list, select the desired field and specify the data graphic content.
• Add text to the data graphic.
a. From the Displayed as drop-down list, select Text.
b. From the Style drop-down list, select a text style.
• Add a data bar to the data graphic.
a. From the Displayed as drop-down list, select Data Bar.
b. From the Style drop-down list, select a data bar style.
• Add an icon to the data graphic.
a. From the Displayed as drop-down list, select Icon Set.
b. From the Style drop-down list, select an icon set style.
• Add color to the data graphic based on values.
a. From the Displayed as drop-down list, select Color by Value.
b. From the Coloring method drop-down list, select a coloring option.
— Select Each color represents a unique value to apply the same
color to all the shapes that have the same value.
— Select Each color represents a range of values to apply the same
color for a range of values.

LESSON 5
c. In the Color assignments section, type the desired data field values and
select the fill and text colors.
d. If necessary, click Insert to create more fill colors.
e. Click OK.
6. In the Position section, select a desired option for the text graphic.
• Check the Use default position check box to use the default position.
• Uncheck the Use default position check box, and from the Horizontal and
Vertical drop-down lists, select the desired option to position the data
graphic.
7. Click OK to close the New Data Graphic dialog box.
Edit a Data Graphic

You can modify the attributes of a data graphic without redoing the entire formatting.
However, it is better to duplicate the master copy and then make changes to it. You
can edit a data graphic by selecting the desired data field and clicking Edit Item in the
Edit Data Graphic dialog box. You can right-click a data graphic and choose Delete
to delete the data graphic.
ACTIVITY 5-1
Generating a PivotDiagram
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Representing External Data in Visio\Sales Report.xlsx
Before You Begin:

Scenario:
The sales team in your organization has done an exceptional sale of desktops this quarter. Your
manager has asked you to create a chart with the sales details. She has provided you with an
Excel workbook for the same. Rather than re-creating the workbook data, you decide to import
the data into a PivotDiagram.

LESSON 5
1. Import the Excel workbook as a a. Select the File tab.

PivotDiagram.
b. In the Template Categories section,
select Business, and in the Choose a
Template section, double-click
PivotDiagram.
c. In the Data Selector wizard, on the What

data do you want to use page, verify that
Microsoft Excel workbook is selected and
click Next.
d. On the Connect to Microsoft Excel Work-

book page, click Browse.
e. In the Data Selector dialog box, navigate

to the C:\084599Data\Representing
External Data in Visio folder and open the
Sales Report.xlsx file.
f. Click Next, and in the What worksheet or

range do you want to use drop-down list,
verify that Sales Report-2011$ is selected
and then click Next.
g. Verify that the settings to include all rows

and columns in the drawing are selected
and click Next.
On the What worksheet or range do you want

to use page, the worksheet that is to be
imported is displayed. After selecting the
desired worksheet, on the Connect to data
page, you can specify the columns and rows
that you wish to import or select all the col-
umns and rows. Once you have specified the
rows and columns to be imported, click Finish
to complete the import.
h. Click Finish to import the worksheet as a

PivotDiagram.

LESSON 5
2. Add the Item category as a subnode. a. Set the page magnification to 100% and
scroll up to view the top node and the
data legend clearly.
b. Verify that the top node is selected.
c. In the PivotDiagram window, in the Add

Category section, place the mouse
pointer over Item and from the Item drop-
down list, select Add Item.
d. Observe that the items are added as

subnodes to the top node.
e. Deselect the subnodes.
3. Add the other categories as a a. Select the Desktop node.

subnode to the Desktop node.
b. In the Add Category section, place the
mouse pointer over Region, and from the
Region drop-down list, select Add Region.
c. Add the Sales Person category to the

PivotDiagram.

LESSON 5
4. Display the average of the sales a. In the PivotDiagram window, in the Add
quantity. Total section, in the Sales Qty(Sum) drop-
down list, verify that Sum is selected and
select Avg.
b. On the drawing page, observe that the

average sales value is added to each
node.
5. Assign a style to a copy of a pre- a. Select the Data tab, and in the Display
defined data graphic. Data group, click the Data Graphics drop-
down arrow, and in the displayed gallery,
in the Available Data Graphics section,
right-click Data Graphic and choose
Duplicate.

LESSON 5
b. Click the Data Graphics drop-down arrow,
and in the displayed gallery, in the Avail-
able Data Graphics section, right-click
the duplicated copy and choose Edit.
c. In the Edit Data Graphic:DataGraphic.12

dialog box, in the Data Field section,
verify that =User.visDDTitle is selected
and click Edit Item.
d. In the Edit Item dialog box, from the

Style drop-down list, select Bubble
callout and click OK.

LESSON 5
6. Add a new icon to represent the sale a. In the Edit Data Graphic:DataGraphic.12
quantity. dialog box, click New Item.
b. In the New Item dialog box, in the Display

section, from the Data field drop-down
list, select Sales Qty(Avg).
c. From the Displayed as drop-down list,

select Icon Set.
d. From the Style drop-down list, select the

third option to represent the sale quantity
as flags.
e. In the Position section, from the Horizon-

tal drop-down list, select Center and from
the Vertical drop-down list, select Bot-
tom.
f. In the Rules for showing each icon sec-

tion, in the first row, from the first drop-
down list, select greater than, and in the
text box on the right, click and type 60
g. For the second row, from the Sales

Qty(Avg) drop-down list, select between.
h. In the text box on the right, click and type

41 and press Tab and then type 60
i. For the third row, set the value as

between and set the range as 21 and 40
j. Click OK to close the New Item dialog

box.

LESSON 5
k. In the Edit Data Graphic:DataGraphic.12
dialog box, click OK.
7. Apply the data graphic to all the a. Select all the shapes in the drawing.
shapes.
b. Select the Data tab, and in the Display
Data group, click the Data Graphics drop-
down arrow.
c. From the displayed gallery, in the Avail-

able Data Graphics section, select Data
Graphic.12, which is the second option,
to add the newly created data graphic to
the selected shapes.
d. Observe that the data graphics are

updated.
e. On the Quick Access toolbar, click the

Save button.
f. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the

C:\084599Data\Representing External Data
in Visio folder.
g. Save the file as My Sales Report in the

VSD format.
h. Close the file.

LESSON 5
TOPIC B
Create an Organization Chart from
External Data
You created organizational charts in Visio by dragging shapes onto the drawing page. How-
ever, most organizations usually have their organization’s information documented, which can
be used to automate the creation of organization charts. In this topic, you will use external data
to create an organizational chart.
If you are asked to conduct an orientation program for the new employees of your organiza-
tion, in addition to the other things that need to be covered, you may have to describe the
organizational structure to them. You can present this information using a worksheet that
describes the various teams in the organization. Though accurate, an hierarchical representation
of the organization structure would result in better comprehension. However, reworking the
data could be a tiresome task. Visio enables you to import data into an organization chart.
Hyperlinks
Definition:
A hyperlink is a navigation mechanism that you can use to access an external docu-
ment or other sections within a document. It is a graphic or text, which, on clicking,
allows you to access a specific location in a file, on an intranet, or on the Internet.
Hyperlinks can be used to link content across different documents or across different
sections of a document. The most common examples of hyperlinks are on web pages
where a user clicks a link and is redirected to another page as specified by the URL
address.
In Visio, a hyperlink can be added to link to another page or shape with the same
attribute, a page or shape in another drawing, or external information. The link is rep-
resented by a globe-like icon, which is displayed when you place the mouse pointer
over a linked shape.

LESSON 5
Example:
Figure 5-4: A shape linked to display a web page.
How to Create an Organization Chart from

External Data
Procedure Reference: Create an Organization Chart from External Data
To create an organization chart from external data:
1. In the Backstage view, in the Template Categories section, select Business.
2. In the Choose a Template section, double-click Organization Chart Wizard to
open the Organization Chart Wizard.
3. In the Organization Chart Wizard, on the I want to create my organization
chart from page, select the desired information source and click Next.
4. On the My organization information is stored in page, select the format in
which the source data is stored and click Next.
5. On the Locate the file that contains your organization information page, click
Browse, navigate to and select the source file, and click Next.
6. On the Choose the columns (fields) in your data file that contain the informa-
tion that defines the organization page, from the Name, Reports to, and First
name drop-down lists, select the necessary field data and click Next to specify
the data that is to be displayed in the organization chart.
7. On the Choose the columns (fields) from your data file that you want to dis-
play page, select the desired columns and add them to the displayed fields and
click Next.
8. On the Choose the columns (fields) from your data file that you want to add
to organization chart shapes as shape data fields page, in the Data file col-
umns list box, select the desired fields and click Add to add the them to the
Displayed fields list box and click Next.
9. Click Finish to create an organization chart from external data.

LESSON 5
Procedure Reference: Add a Hyperlink to External Sources
To add a hyperlink to external sources:
2. Select the desired shape.
3. On the Insert tab, in the Links group, click Hyperlink.
4. Insert the hyperlink by using the Hyperlinks dialog box.
• In the Address text box, enter the location of the file.
• If necessary, in the Description text box, add the description that will be
displayed when you place the mouse pointer over the hyperlink.
• If necessary, click New to insert a new hyperlink in the same shape.
• If necessary, check the Use relative path for hyperlink check box to use the
relative path that describes the location of the linked file in relation to your
Visio drawing.
5. Click OK.
Procedure Reference: Link to Different Pages in a Drawing

To link to different pages in a drawing:
1. Display the Hyperlinks dialog box.
2. In the Hyperlinks dialog box, adjacent to the Sub-address text box, click the
Browse button.
3. In the Hyperlinks dialog box, select the page and shape you want to link to.
4. Click OK.
5. If necessary, add a description and click OK.

LESSON 5
ACTIVITY 5-2
Creating an Organization Chart from an Excel
Workbook
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Representing External Data in Visio\Organization Chart Data.xlsx
Before You Begin:

Scenario:
Your organization recently underwent a restructuring of all functional units. You are provided
with an Excel workbook containing the recent updates and are requested to draw an organiza-
tion chart using this information.
1. Display the Organization Chart Wiz- a. Select the File tab.

ard.
select Business.
c. In the Choose a Template section,

double-click Organization Chart Wizard.

LESSON 5
2. Import the Excel workbook as an a. In the Organization Chart Wizard, in the I
organization chart. want to create my organization chart
from section, verify that Information
that’s already stored in a file or data-
base is selected and click Next.
b. In the My organization information is

stored in list box, verify that A text, Org
Plus (*.txt), or Excel file is selected and
click Next.
c. On the Locate the file that contains your

organization information page, click
Browse.
d. In the Organization Chart Wizard dialog

box, navigate to the C:\084599Data\
Representing External Data in Visio folder,
select the Organization Chart Data.xlsx
file, and click Open.
e. Click Next.
f. From the Reports to drop-down list,

select Supervised by and click Next.
g. In the Data file columns list box, verify

that Supervised by is selected, hold down
Shift and click Department to select both
columns, and click Add.

LESSON 5
h. Verify that Supervised by and Depart-
ment are included in the Displayed fields
list box and click Next.
i. In the Data file columns list box, verify

that Name is selected, hold down Shift,
and click Department to select the Name,
Position, Supervised by, and Department
shapes and then click Add and click Next.
j. Verify that the Hyperlink employee

shapes across pages check box is checked
and click Finish.

LESSON 5
3. Change the page size to accommo- a. On the page tab area, click the first page
date the chart. button to display the page tabs of the first
few pages and select Page-1.
b. Select the Design tab and display the

Page Setup dialog box.
c. In the Page Setup dialog box, on the Print

Setup tab, in the Printer paper drop-
down list, scroll down and select Ledger
(B): 17 in. x 11 in.
d. Click Apply and then click OK.
e. Select all the shapes and position them at

the center of the drawing page on the
left.
f. Set the page magnification to 100% and

scroll to the left.

LESSON 5
4. Test the hyperlinks. a. Deselect the shapes.
b. Scroll down to display the shape contain-

ing the name “Jeffrey Forrester.”
c. Right-click the shape containing the name

“Jeffrey Forrester” and choose Page-2/
Sheet 1.
d. Set the page magnification to 100%.
e. Observe that the shape is linked to a

shape with the same attribute.
f. Save the file as My Organization Chart in

the VSD format and close it.

LESSON 5
TOPIC C
Import Project Plan Data into Visio
You created an organizational chart. Another common tool that you may want to visually rep-
resent is a project plan. In this topic, you will import project plan data into Visio.
You may have to make a presentation to your clients regarding a new project. As you look into
the project plan, you find that it is very mundane, with numerous rows and columns of statisti-
cal information. In order to sustain the interest of the audience, you can decide to represent the
project data visually using Visio.
Gantt Charts
A Gantt chart is a graphical representation of a project schedule in the form of bar graphs.
This chart is generally used in project management to plan, coordinate, and track specific tasks
in a project. The horizontal axis on a Gantt chart represents time and the vertical axis repre-
sents different tasks.
Figure 5-5: A Gantt chart representing the status of a project.
Timelines
A timeline is a linear representation of a specific time period and tasks that occur during that
period. Generally, timelines are used to represent current status of projects, history of events,
and upcoming tasks. They also help you represent milestones that need to be reached at spe-
cific time periods.

LESSON 5
Figure 5-6: A timeline representing tasks that are scheduled for a time period.
How to Import Project Plan Data into Visio

Procedure Reference: Import Project Data as a Gantt Chart
To import project data as a Gantt chart:
1. Open a drawing based on the Gantt chart template.
a. Select the File tab and choose New.
b. In the Template Categories section, select Schedule.
c. In the Choose a Template section, double-click Gantt Chart.
2. On the Gantt chart tab, in the Manage group, select Import Data.
3. In the Import Project Data Wizard, in the I want to create my project sched-
ule from section, select the desired options.
• Select the Information that’s already stored in a file option to create the
project schedule from the information stored in a file.
• Select the Information that I enter using the wizard option to create the
project schedule based on the information you enter.
4. Click Next.
This procedure is written with reference to the Information that’s already stored in a file option.
5. On the Select the format of your project data page, select the file format of the
source file and click Next.
6. On the Select the file containing existing project schedule data page, click
Browse, navigate to and open the desired source file, and click Next.
7. On the Time scale page, set the desired units and duration options and click
Next.
8. On the Select task types to include page, select the desired task.
• Select All to include all the tasks.
• Select Top level tasks only to include the tasks with duration greater than 0
and outline level of 1.
• Select Milestones only to include tasks that have duration of 0.
• Select Summary tasks only to include tasks that summarize subtasks.

LESSON 5
• Select Top level tasks and milestones to include only tasks and milestones
that have tasks with duration of 0 and have outline level of 1.
9. Click Next.
10. Click Finish to import the file.
Procedure Reference: Import Project Data as a Timeline

To import project data as a timeline:
1. Open the desired drawing page.
2. On the Ribbon or on the Quick Access toolbar, click Timeline.
The Timeline command needs to be added to the Ribbon or the Quick Access toolbar.
3. In the Import Timeline Wizard, navigate to and select the source file and click
Next.
4. On the Select task types to include page, select the desired task type and click
Next.
5. If necessary, on the Select shapes for your Visio timeline page, select different
shapes and click Next.
6. Click Finish to import the project plan data.
ACTIVITY 5-3
Importing Project Plan Data as a Gantt Chart
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Representing External Data in Visio\CSS Project Plan.xlsx
Before You Begin:

Scenario:
You are working on the CSS project, an in-house project for developing a technical book. A
new member has joined your team and you are asked to assist him in the project. Rather than
giving him statistical data, you decide to show him a chart of the project plan.

LESSON 5
1. Display the Import Project Data Wiz- a. Display the Backstage view.
ard.
select Schedule.
c. In the Choose a Template section,

double-click Gantt Chart.
d. In the Gantt Chart Options dialog box,

click Cancel.
e. Select the Gantt Chart tab, and in the

Manage group, click Import Data to dis-
play the Import Project Data Wizard.
2. Import the project plan into Visio. a. In the Import Project Data Wizard, verify
that the Information that’s already
stored in a file option is selected and
click Next.
b. In the Select the format of your project

data list box, verify that Microsoft Excel
File is selected and click Next.
c. On the Select the file containing existing

project schedule data page, click
Browse.
d. In the Import Project Data Wizard dialog

box, navigate to the C:\084599Data\
Representing External Data in Visio folder
and open the CSS Project Plan.xlsx file.
e. Click Next twice to accept the default

time scale and duration settings.
f. In the Select task types to include list

box, verify that All is selected and click
Next.
g. Click Finish.
h. Observe that the project plan data is

imported.

LESSON 5
3. View the different phases of the a. Set the magnification of the page to 80%.
project.
b. Observe the different phases of the
project plan.
c. Save the file as My Project Plan in the

VSD format and close it.
TOPIC D
Link to a Database
You imported project plan data into Visio. Linking the imported data directly to shapes enables
you to monitor each shape individually. In this topic, you will link shapes to a database.
While creating a network drawing, it is important to keep updating shapes as changes are
made to it. Linking a database to a shape helps ensure that you can specifically edit the shape
individually.
Databases
Definition:
A database is a collection of data that is logically related and organized so that a com-
puter program can access the desired information quickly. Data in a database can be
textual, numeric, or graphical. Data can also be searched, retrieved, and manipulated.
Example:
Figure 5-7: A database containing both textual and numeric data.

LESSON 5
Connecting to a Database from Visio
You can connect individual shapes in a drawing, or masters on a stencil to data in a
database, and display values from database fields automatically in the shapes. This
connection to the database can be established using the Database Wizard. You can
access the Database Wizard from the Macros group on the View tab.
How to Link to a Database

Procedure Reference: Link to a Database
To link to a database:
1. Open the Visio drawing that contains the shapes to be linked.
2. On the Data tab, in the External Data group, click Link Data to Shapes.
3. In the Data Selector dialog box, select Microsoft Access database and click
Next.
4. On the Connect to Microsoft Access Database page, click Browse and navigate
to and select the desired access file.
5. Click Open and then click Next.
6. On the Select the columns and rows to include page, set the desired options.
• Click Next to include all the rows and columns.
• Click Select Columns to open the Select Columns dialog box and check the
desired columns and click OK.
• Click Select Rows to open the Filter Rows dialog box and check the desired
rows and click OK.
7. Click Finish.
8. Drag the details from the External Data window onto the desired shape.
9. If necessary, right-click a shape to which data is added and choose Properties to
display the details of the linked shape.
Procedure Reference: Link to a Database Using the Database Wizard

To link to a database using the Database Wizard:
1. On the View tab, in the Macros group, from the Add-Ons drop-down list, select
Visio Extras and then select Database Wizard.
2. In the Database Wizard, click Next.
3. In the Choose what you want to do section, select an option to link shapes to
database records and click Next.
4. In the Choose the shape type for which you want to define links section, select
an option for which you want to define links and click Next.
5. If necessary, below the Choose a drawing or click Browse to open a drawing
drop-down list, click Browse.
6. In the File Open dialog box, navigate to the desired file and click Open.
7. Select a Visio file or shape and click Next.

LESSON 5
8. If necessary, on the Choose an existing data source or click Create Data
Source to define a new data source page, click Create Data Source.
9. In the Create New Data Source wizard, select an option and click Next.
10. In the Select a driver for which you want to set up a data source list box,
select the desired driver and click Next.
11. Click Finish.
12. Define the ODBC setup for the data source.
a. In the ODBC Microsoft Access Setup dialog box, in the Data Source
Name text box, type the desired name.
b. In the Description text box, type the desired description.
c. In the Database section, click Select.
d. In the Select Database dialog box, navigate to the desired folder and select
the desired file.
e. In the ODBC Microsoft Access Setup dialog box, click OK.
13. Link the shapes in the drawing to the database.
a. In the Database Wizard, on the Choose a database object to connect to
page, in the Database objects list box, select the desired shape to link to the
database.
b. Select the desired number of fields to be used as a primary key and click
Next.
c. On the Choose the primary key field from the database table page, from
the Name of fields drop-down list, select the desired option and click Next.
d. If necessary, on the Choose a default key value from the list of possible
values below page, choose a default key value and click Next.
e. On the Choose the events and actions to add to the shape page, select the
desired events and action and click Next.
f. On the Choose the shape cell to be used for storing the primary key field
value page, from the Cell drop-down list, select a cell to store the primary
key field value and click Next.
g. On the Link ShapeSheet cells to database fields page, select the desired
option to create a link between cells and database fields and click Next.
h. Click Finish to link the Visio shapes to the database.

LESSON 5
ACTIVITY 5-4
Linking to a Database
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Representing External Data in Visio\Network.vsd
Before You Begin:

Scenario:
The layout of your office has been changed. In the layout drawing, you have added shapes to
specify the location of the various networking components of your office. Your colleague from
the IT department has given you an Access database with information about the various net-
work components. You can now use this database to add more information in your drawing.
1. Open the Network.vsd file using the a. Select the View tab, and in the Macros
Database Wizard. group, from the Add-Ons drop-down list,
select Visio Extras and then select Data-
base Wizard.
b. In the Database Wizard, observe that a

description of the wizard is displayed and
click Next.
c. In the Choose what you want to do sec-

tion, verify that Link shapes to database
records is selected and click Next.
d. In the Choose the shape type for which

you want to define links section, select
Master(s) on a document stencil and
click Next.
e. Below the Choose a drawing or click

Browse to open a drawing drop-down
list, click Browse.
f. In the File Open dialog box, navigate to

the C:\084599Data\Representing External
Data in Visio folder and open the
Network.vsd file.

LESSON 5
2. Include links for the Power Mac and a. In the Database Wizard, in the Choose
Tower PC shapes to an Access data master(s) to modify list box, select PC
source. and Tower PC and click Next.
b. Click Create Data Source.
c. In the Create New Data Source wizard, in

the Select a type of data source section,
select User Data Source (Applies to this
machine only) and click Next.
d. In the Select a driver for which you want

to set up a data source list box, select
Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb, *.accdb)
and click Next.
e. Click Finish.
3. Define the ODBC setup for the data a. In the ODBC Microsoft Access Setup dia-
source. log box, in the Data Source Name text
box, type OGC Network and press Tab.
b. In the Description text box, type First

Floor Networking Data
c. In the Database section, click Select to

select the Access database.
d. If necessary, in the Select Database dia-

log box, navigate to the C:\084599Data\
Representing External Data folder.
e. In the Database Name list box, select

Network.accdb and click OK.
f. In the ODBC Microsoft Access Setup dia-

log box, click OK.

LESSON 5
4. Link the shapes in the drawing to the a. In the Database Wizard, in the Database
database. objects list box, verify that Floor Plan is
selected and click Next.
b. In the Number of fields drop-down list,

verify that 1 is selected and click Next.
c. In the Field list box, select Location and

click Next.
d. Below the Key value list box, click None.
e. In the Shape events section, uncheck the

Include an on drop event with the shape
check box.
f. In the Right mouse actions section, retain

only the Select database record check
box, uncheck the Refresh shapes cells,
Update database record, and Delete
shape and database record check boxes
and then click Next.
g. In the Cell drop-down list, verify that

Prop.Location is selected as the shape
cell to store the primary key field value
and click Next.
h. On the Link ShapeSheet cells to database

fields page, click Automatic to automati-
cally modify the shape data and click
Next.
i. Click Finish to link the Visio shapes to the

database.

LESSON 5
5. View the linked data in the Shape a. Select the View tab, and in the Show
Data window. group, from the Task Panes drop-down
list, select Shape Data.
b. At the top-left corner of the drawing

page, select the Tower PC shape in the
room numbered 102.
c. In the Shape Data window, observe that

the fields from the database are dis-
played, but no data is displayed for each
field.
d. Right-click the Tower PC shape and

choose Select Database Record.
e. In the Select Database Record dialog box,

in the Key value list box, select Office
102 and click OK.
f. In the Shape Data window, observe that

the details for the shape are displayed.
g. Right-click PC in the room numbered 103

and choose Select Database Record.
h. In the Select Database Record dialog box,

in the Key value list box, select Office
103 and click OK.
i. Similarly, assign the database records for

the Tower PC and PC shapes in room num-
ber 104, 105, and 106.
j. Save the file as My Network Drawing in


LESSON 5
TOPIC E
Import Excel Data
You linked a database to Visio shapes. Sometimes, you may not be able to map data to the
shapes, and may need to manually assign data to some shapes. In this topic, you will import
Excel data to manually link it to shapes.
Automatically importing data may be an easy way to insert mapped content into Visio. How-
ever, there may be times when specific data needs to be mapped to unique shapes. You can
import data such that shapes are automatically linked, but manually linking the shapes to data
will help monitor the link created between the shape and its corresponding data.
The External Data Window

The External Data window displays the content of a source file that is to be linked to shapes.
You can import data into the External Data window using the Data Selector wizard. Drag-
ging data from the External Data window to a shape links the data to the shape. Once data is
linked to the shape, a link icon appears to the left of the data in the window. The External
Data window is displayed when you check the External Data Window check box in the
Show/Hide group on the Data tab.
Figure 5-8: The External Data window displaying the contents to be linked to the
shapes.
The Data Refresh Feature

When content is imported from another application, a link is retained between the source file
and the data in Visio. Any changes made in the source file need to be implemented in the
Visio drawing. The data refresh feature in Visio enables you to refresh data manually or auto-
matically at regular intervals. Data can be updated by clicking the Refresh All button in the
External Data group on the Data tab.

LESSON 5
How to Import Excel Data
Procedure Reference: Import Excel Data
To import Excel data:
1. Open the desired Visio file.
2. On the Data tab, in the External Data group, click Link Data to Shapes to dis-
play the Data Selector wizard.
3. In the Data Selector wizard, on the What data do you want to use page, select
Microsoft Excel workbook and click Next.
4. On the Connect to Microsoft Excel Workbook page, click Browse, navigate to
and select the desired source file, and click Next.
5. From the What worksheet or range do you want to use drop-down list, select
the desired worksheet and click Next.
6. If necessary, on the Connect to data page, select the desired columns and rows
and click Next.
7. On the Configure Refresh Unique Identifier page, in the Choose how to iden-
tify changes in the data section, select an option.
• Select Rows in my data are uniquely identified by the value(s) in the fol-
lowing columns, and in the list box, select the desired column fields.
• Select Rows in my data do not have a unique identifier. Use the order of
the rows to identify changes to automatically assign the rows.
8. Click Finish to import the Excel data.
Procedure Reference: Link Imported Data Automatically

To link imported data automatically:
2. If necessary, place the shapes on the drawing page.
3. Add shape data to the drawing page to match the content to the source data.
4. Import the source data using the Data Selector wizard.
5. On the Data tab, in the External Data group, click Automatically Link.
6. In the Automatic Link wizard, on the Automatically link rows to shapes page,
select the desired shape and click Next.
7. On the Automatically link row to shape if section, map the Data Column to the
corresponding Shape Field.
8. If necessary, click and to map another data column to the source field and map
the column.
9. Click Next and then click Finish to link the data.
Procedure Reference: Link Imported Data Manually

To link imported data manually:

LESSON 5
2. Import the source data using the Data Selector wizard.
3. If necessary, on the Data tab, in the Show/Hide group, check the External Data
Windowcheck box.
4. Link data to shapes.
• Drag a row from the External Data window onto a shape in the drawing to
link rows to existing shapes.
• Create shapes from your data.
a. Click a master shape in the Shapes window.
b. Drag a row or a set of rows from the External Data window onto the
blank drawing page to place an instance of the selected master shape
with the data linked to it.
5. If necessary, add data graphics.
Procedure Reference: Refresh the Imported Data in a Drawing

To refresh the imported data in a drawing:
2. On the Data tab, in the External Data group, from the Refresh All drop-down
list, select Refresh Data.
The Refresh Data option will be unavailable if you import data without using the data link fea-
tures.
3. Refresh the data using the Refresh Data dialog box.

• Select the desired data source and click Refresh.
• Select Refresh All to refresh all source content simultaneously.
• Set Visio to refresh data automatically.
a. Check the Show this dialog box on file open check box and click Con-
figure.
b. In the Configure Refresh dialog box, in the Automatic Refresh sec-
tion, set the time for refresh.
c. If necessary, modify the Unique Identifier and click OK to identify the
desired row or column as the unique identifier.
4. Click Close.
Refresh Data in PivotDiagrams

The Refresh Data option on the Data tab is unavailable in a PivotDiagram. You can
refresh data in a PivotDiagram using the Refresh drop-down list in the Data group on
the PivotDiagram tab.
Resolve Conflicts
While refreshing data, sometimes, Visio may not be able to match the current shape
with the new data. In such instances, the Refresh Conflicts task pane is displayed.

LESSON 5
Procedure Reference: Add New Shape Data Property
To add new shape data property:
1. Display the Shape Data window.
2. In the Shape Data window, right-click and choose Define Shape Data.
3. In the Define Shape Data dialog box, click New to create a new shape data prop-
erty.
4. Enter the Label for the new property.
5. If necessary, change the other fields for the property.
6. Click OK.
ACTIVITY 5-5
Importing Excel Data into Visio
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Representing External Data in Visio\Workflow.vsd
Before You Begin:

Scenario:
You are to make a presentation to the products team explaining the new workflow you want to
suggest. For this, you have created a basic workflow diagram. You have an Excel workbook
with details about the employees of your organization. You decide to represent the employee
information in the workflow drawing to add more value to it.

LESSON 5
1. Import the Excel workbook into Visio. a. Display the Open dialog box.
b. In the Open dialog box, select the

Workflow.vsd file and click Open.
c. Select the Data tab, and in the External

Data group, click Link Data to Shapes.
d. In the Data Selector wizard, verify that

Microsoft Excel workbook is selected and
click Next.
e. On the Connect to Microsoft Excel Work-

book page, click Browse.
f. In the Data Selector dialog box, navigate

to the C:\084599Data\Representing
External Data in Visio folder.
g. Select the Employee Info.xlsx file, click

Open, and then click Next.
h. In the What worksheet or range do you

want to use drop-down list, verify that
Sheet1$ is selected and click Next.
i. On the Connect to data page, click Next

to include all rows and columns to the
drawing.
j. On the Configure Refresh Unique Identi-

fier page, observe that Employee ID
(Recommended) is selected as the unique
identifier and click Next.
k. Click Finish to import the Excel work-

book.
2. Link data manually using the Exter- a. Observe that the External Data window is
nal Data window. displayed as soon as the data is imported.
b. On the drawing page, scroll up to display

the top of the page.

LESSON 5
c. In the External Data window, select the
third row with the employee ID 1003 and
then drag it to the second shape on the
left side of the drawing page.
d. In the External Data window, observe

that a link symbol is displayed at the left
of the third row.

LESSON 5
3. Link data automatically. a. On the Data tab, in the External Data
group, click Automatically Link.
b. In the Automatic Link - Sheet1 wizard,

verify that All shapes on this page is
selected and click Next.
c. On the Automatically link rows to shapes

page, click Next to map shapes with data
that contain the same employee ID and
then click Finish.
d. In the External Data window, observe

that a link is displayed for the Employee
ID fields represented in the diagram.

LESSON 5
4. Apply data graphics. a. On the Data tab, in the Display Data
group, click the Data Graphic drop-down
arrow, and from the displayed gallery, in
the Available Data Graphics section,
right-click Data Graphic, which is the first
graphic, and choose Duplicate.
b. In the gallery, right-click Data

Graphic.30, which is the duplicated data
graphic, and choose Edit.
c. In the Edit Data Graphic:Data Graphic.30

dialog box, click Edit Item.
d. In the Edit Item dialog box, from the Data

field drop-down list, select Name.
e. In the Displayed as drop-down list, verify

that Text is selected.
f. From the Style drop-down list, select Oval

callout and click OK.
g. In the Edit Data Graphic:Data Graphic.30

dialog box, click Apply and then click OK.
h. Select all the shapes on the drawing page.
i. Select the Data tab, display the data

graphic gallery, and in the Available Data
Graphics section, select Data Graphic.30,
which is the second graphic in the second
row.

LESSON 5
5. Set data to refresh regularly. a. On the Data tab, in the External Data
group, from the Refresh All drop-down
list, select Refresh Data.
b. In the Refresh Data dialog box, check the

Show this dialog box on file open check
box and click Configure.
c. In the Configure Refresh dialog box, in

the Automatic Refresh section, check the
Refresh every check box.
d. In the Refresh every text box, type 30

and click OK to refresh the data every 30
minutes.
e. In the Refresh Data dialog box, click

Close.
f. Save the file as My Workflow in the VSD

format and close it.
Lesson 5 Follow-up
In this lesson, you represented external data in Visio. Importing data saved in other file formats
into Visio helps you avoid reworking on the data, resulting in saved time and increased effi-
ciency.
1. What type of data do you think will you import into Visio on a regular basis? Why?
2. When will you use data graphics?

LESSON 6

45 minutes
Sharing Your Drawings

In this lesson, you will share your work.
You will:
• Link a Visio drawing to other applications.
• Convert a Visio drawing to a web page.
• Print a Visio drawing.
Lesson 6: Sharing Your Drawings 113

LESSON 6
Introduction
You created layouts, plans, charts, and other drawings. After creating drawings in Visio, you
may want to make them available to others to realize the purpose they serve. In this lesson,
you will share your drawings with others.
You may be part of a team that works from diverse locations on a common project. Each
member of the team might not use the same application and might need to share the results of
their work. Collaborating and working under such circumstances might be very tedious. Visio
offers features that let you share your drawings with others in a team.
TOPIC A
Link a Visio Drawing to Other
Applications
You represented external data in your Visio drawing. Now, you may want to share your draw-
ing with your coworkers who do not have Visio installed on their computers. In this topic, you
will link a Visio drawing to other applications.
Your organization may often team up with other companies on some projects. In such
instances, you may need to ensure that members from the new company can collaborate with
your organization. However, they may not have the Visio application installed on their comput-
ers. But it would be beneficial if both the teams share their work as it would save time and
effort.
Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)

Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) is a technology that allows you to place and edit objects
that are created in one application into another Microsoft application. The OLE feature in Visio
allows you to place a Visio drawing in another application so that others can view the drawing
without the need to install Visio on their computers. Visio diagrams can be placed in other
Microsoft applications using the Paste Special dialog box. Linking a Visio drawing allows you
to keep the drawing updated in both applications simultaneously.
Linking vs. Embedding

Linking allows you to keep the object updated in the linked document, whereas
embedding just places a copy of the current drawing in the document, which is inde-
pendent of the original drawing. A Visio drawing might refer to a Microsoft Excel
chart that is dynamically updated as data is entered. By linking the chart to your Visio
drawing, you can include the chart as an integral part of your drawing and know that
you are always looking at the latest version of the data.
How to Link a Visio Drawing to Other Applications

Procedure Reference: Place a Visio Drawing in a Word Document
To place a Visio drawing in a Word document:
1. Select the desired Visio file.

LESSON 6
2. On the drawing page, select the desired Visio shapes or diagrams that you want to
place in a Word document.
3. Copy the drawing or shapes as desired.
4. Open the Microsoft Word document in which you want the data to appear and
place the insertion point in the location where you want to insert the drawing.
To display the Paste Special dialog box in Microsoft Office Word 2003, you need to choose
Edit→Paste Special.
5. In the Word document, on the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the Paste
drop-down arrow and select Paste Special to display the Paste Special dialog
box.
6. In the As list box, select Microsoft Visio Drawing Object to place the Visio
drawing in the Word document.
7. Select the desired paste option.
• Select Paste to paste a copy of the desired drawing.
• Select Paste link to paste a link to the copy of the desired drawing.
8. Click OK to link the desired file.
Procedure Reference: Edit a Visio Drawing from the Word Document

To edit a Visio drawing from the Word document:
1. In the Word document, double-click an embedded Visio drawing to edit it.
2. If necessary, maximize the Visio window.
3. Make the desired changes.
4. Deselect the shape and then save and close the Visio file.
5. If necessary, in the Word document, right-click the desired shape and select
Update Link to update the link in the Visio file.

LESSON 6
ACTIVITY 6-1
Linking a Visio Drawing to Other Applications
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Sharing Your Drawings\Schedule.docx
• C:\084599Data\Sharing Your Drawings\Calendar.vsd
Before You Begin:

1. The Microsoft Visio application is open.
2. The Calendar.vsd file used for the activity will be modified at the end of the activity. If
you intend to practice this activity again, you will need to make a backup of the file,
which you can use later.
Scenario:
You have planned the monthly schedule for your team. It would be better if all your team
members have a copy of it. You decide to email a copy of the schedule to them so that they
can keep track of the updates in the schedule.
1. Open the calendar you want to share. a. Display the Open dialog box.

C:\084599Data\Sharing Your Drawings
folder.
c. Select the Calendar.vsd file and click

Open.
d. On the drawing page, select the calendar.
e. Copy the calendar.

LESSON 6
2. Place the calendar in a Word docu- a. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the C:\
ment as an OLE object. 084599Data\Sharing Your Drawings folder
and open the Schedule.docx file.
b. In the document window, click in the

blank line following the text.
c. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group,

click the Paste drop-down arrow and
select Paste Special to display the Paste
Special dialog box.
d. In the Paste Special dialog box, in the As

list box, verify that Microsoft Visio Draw-
ing Object is selected and then select the
Paste link option.
e. Click OK to paste the calendar.
f. Switch to the Visio application and close

the Visio application.

LESSON 6
3. Edit the calendar using Visio. a. In the Word document, double-click the
calendar to open it in Visio.
b. On the calendar, double-click the text

“Meeting with New Client 9:30 AM” on the
11th day of the month to select it.
c. On the Home tab, click the Font Color

gallery, in the Standard Colors section,
select Dark Red, which is the first color.
d. Select the text located on the 25th day of

the month.
e. On the Home tab, click the Font Color

select Accent5, Darker 50%, which is the
last color in the last row.
f. Save and close the Visio drawing.
g. In the Word document, right-click the cal-

endar and choose Update Link.
h. Observe that the changes made in Visio

are visible in the linked OLE calendar in
Word.
i. Save the file as My Schedule in the DOCX

format and close it.
j. Close the Word application and the Win-

dows Explorer window.

LESSON 6
TOPIC B
Convert a Visio Drawing to Other File
Formats
You linked a Visio drawing with other applications. Another way to share Visio drawings
effectively is to convert them to a file format that can be easily accessed by other users. In this
topic, you will convert a Visio drawing to other file formats.
When working in a graphic design firm or other large corporations, you may have to distribute
the Visio drawings you create to clients and other coworkers. Rather than rework on the con-
tent, or redo the drawing in another format, Visio enables you to easily convert the file to other
formats, saving you time and effort.
The PDF Format

Portable Document Format (PDF) is an open file format that allows you to view and print
documents created in other applications. This format preserves the formatting applied to a file
when it is printed or published online. PDF files can be read on any computer, independent of
the platform and hardware configuration, using a PDF reader application. The file size of PDF
files is usually small, allowing extensive use of the format on websites and for emailing.
The XPS Format

XML Paper Specification (XPS) is an XML based file format that is created using the
Microsoft XPS Document Writer. This file format allows you to create, share, view, and print
documents created in other applications, and is readable across a wide array of computer plat-
forms by using an XPS Viewer. The XPS file format preserves the layout and appearance of a
file when it is printed or published online. XPS documents can also be secured by adding digi-
tal signatures to protect their integrity.
The DWG Format

DraWinG (DWG) is a file format used for storing information generated by most computer-
aided design (CAD) applications. It is the proprietary and native file format of the AutoCAD
application, but is widely supported by other CAD applications. DWG files contain design data
and metadata for drawings created in a CAD application.
Import DWG Files

You can import DWG files to start a new Visio drawing, or you can insert them into
an existing Visio drawing. You can open a DWG file by choosing Open on the File
tab. You can also insert AutoCAD drawings, pictures, and clip art into an existing
Visio drawing by using the commands on the Insert tab.

LESSON 6
The Save as Web Page Dialog Box
The Save as Web Page dialog box is used to convert a Visio drawing into a web page. While
saving the drawing, in addition to the main HTML file, all other support files will be created
and saved in the specified location. The Save as Web Page dialog box can be accessed by
clicking Publish in the Save As dialog box. Once a drawing is saved as a web page, it cannot
be altered.
Figure 6-1: The Save as Web page dialog box displaying options to convert a drawing
into a web page.
The Publish button is displayed in the Save As dialog box only when a drawing is saved as a web page.
Web pages can be saved using file formats such as JPEG, SVG, GIF, PNG, or VML. JPEG, GIF, and PNG are file
formats compatible with the older browser versions. SVG and VML are scalable graphic formats that allow you to
resize the browser window so that the web page output resizes automatically. These file formats are compatible
only with newer browser versions.
Options in the Save as Web Page Dialog Box

The Save as Web Page dialog box provides various options to save a file as a web
page. On the General tab, you can set the number of pages to be published and the
publishing options. On the Advanced tab, you can select the desired output formats
and the display options for the web page.
How to Convert a Visio Drawing to Other File

Formats
Procedure Reference: Publish a Presentation in the PDF or XPS File Format
To publish a presentation in the PDF or XPS file format:
1. On the File tab, choose Save & Send.
2. In the Backstage view, in the File Types section, click Create PDF/XPS Docu-
ment.

LESSON 6
3. In the right pane, in the Create PDF/XPS Document section, click Create PDF/
XPS.
4. In the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box, from the Save as type drop-down list,
select a publish option and in the File name text box, enter a file name.
5. If necessary, click Options, and in the Options dialog box, set the desired
options.
• In the Range section, select an option to publish a specific range of pages.
• In the Include non-printing information section, select an option to publish
the drawings with document properties and document structure tags.
• In the PDF options section, select an option to publish an ISO 19005–1
compliant PDF.
6. Click Publish to publish the file and close the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog
box.
Procedure Reference: Send a PDF or an XPS Document Through Email

To send a PDF or an XPS document through email:
1. On the File tab, choose Save & Send.
2. Send the file as a PDF or an XPS document.
a. In the Backstage view, in the right pane, in the Send Using E-mail section,
click a button to specify the file format in which the drawing is to be
emailed.
• Click Send as PDF to send the drawing in the PDF format.
• Click Send as XPS to send the drawing in the XPS format.
b. In the message form that is opened for the default email client, specify the
recipients, compose the email, and click Send.
Procedure Reference: Save a Drawing in the DWG Format

To save a drawing in the DWG format:
1. Open the Visio file that you want to display as a web page.
2. Display the Backstage view and choose Save & Send.
3. In the File Types section, click Change File Type.
4. In the Save Drawing list box, select AutoCAD Drawing (*.dwg) and click Save
As.
5. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the desired folder, and in the File name
text box, type the desired name.
6. Click OK to save the drawing.
Procedure Reference: Save a Drawing as a Web Page

To save a drawing as a web page:
1. Open the Visio file that you want to display as a web page.
2. Display the Backstage view and choose Save & Send.
3. In the File Types section, click Change File Type.

LESSON 6
4. In the Save Drawing list box, select Web Page (*.htm) and click Save As.
5. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the desired folder, and in the File name
text box, type the desired name for the web page.
6. If necessary, specify the name that would appear on the title bar of the browser.
a. Click Change Title to display the Set Page Title dialog box.
b. In the Set Page Title dialog box, in the Page title text box, type the desired
name to appear on the title bar of the browser.
c. Click OK.
7. Click Publish to display the Save as Web Page dialog box.
8. In the Save as Web Page dialog box, select the Advanced tab.
9. On the Advanced tab, from the Output formats drop-down list, select the
desired format.
10. If necessary, set the other options.
11. Click OK to save the drawing as a web page.
Hyperlinks
You can also save the drawing, as one or more HTML pages, with hyperlinks and
other features common to web pages. When you save a drawing with one page, Visio
creates a single web page that contains the drawing and any hyperlinks within it.
ACTIVITY 6-2
Saving a Drawing as a Web Page
Data Files:
• C:\084599\Data\Sharing Your Drawings\Organization Chart.vsd
Before You Begin:

Launch the Microsoft Visio application.
Scenario:
Your organization has undergone a few changes in the reporting structure. You have created a
drawing of the new hierarchy and have received the approval of the top management. It would
be helpful to the employees if the new hierarchy is posted on the company’s intranet site.
1. Add a hyperlink to the company logo. a. Display the Open dialog box.

C:\084599Data\Sharing Your Drawings
folder and open the Organization
Chart.vsd file.

LESSON 6
c. At the top-left corner of the drawing
page, select the company logo.
d. Select the Insert tab, and in the Links

group, click Hyperlink.
e. In the Hyperlinks dialog box, in the

Address text box, type http://
www.ourglobalcompany.com
f. In the Description text box, type The

home page of Our Global Company and
click OK.
2. Set the page title of the web page. a. Select the File tab and choose Save &
Send.
b. In the File Types section, click Change

File Type.

LESSON 6
c. In the Save Drawing list box, scroll down,
and in the Other File Types section,
select Web Page (*.htm) and click Save
As.
d. In the Save As dialog box, in the Page

title section, click Change Title.
e. In the Enter Text dialog box, in the Page

title text box, type Our Global Company
and click OK.

LESSON 6
3. Save the organization chart as a web a. In the Save As dialog box, click Publish to
page. display the Save as Web Page dialog box.
b. In the Save as Web Page dialog box,

select the Advanced tab.
c. On the Advanced tab, from the Output

formats drop-down list, select JPG (JPEG
File Interchange Format) and click OK to
save the organization chart as a web
page.
d. Observe that the organization chart opens

in the default browser.
e. In the Information Bar message box, click

Close.
f. Click the Information bar, select Allow

Blocked Content, and in the Security
Warning message box, click Yes.
g. In the Internet Explorer window, in the Go

To Page section, from the drop-down list,
select Page-2 and click the Go to
selected page button.
h. Close the Internet Explorer window.

LESSON 6
4. Publish the drawing as a PDF file. a. Select the File tab and choose Save &
Send.
b. In the Backstage view, in the File Types

section, click Create PDF/XPS Document.
c. In the Create PDF/XPS Document section,

click Create PDF/XPS.
d. In the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box,

navigate to the C:\084599Data\Sharing
Your Drawings folder.
e. In the File name text box, type My Orga-

nization Chart
f. In the Save as type drop-down list,

observe that PDF (*.pdf) is selected and
click Publish to publish the file and to
close the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog
box.
g. Observe that the PDF file contains six

pages with the drawing and close it.
h. Save the file as My Organization Chart in

TOPIC C
Print a Visio Drawing
You saved a Visio drawing in other formats to distribute them to other users. There might be
times when you do not have access to your computer and Visio, but still need to refer to your
drawings. In this topic, you will print a Visio drawing.
As a team leader for a project, you may have to review the work of your colleagues. However,
you may not always have access to your system. Rather than delay the process, you can
review the drawings on hard copy and suggest the necessary changes.
The Print Preview Feature

The print preview feature in Visio allows you to display a preview of a drawing before print-
ing it. The drawing is displayed in the Print Preview window enabling you to view how the
document will appear on paper when printed. This window displays the Print Preview tab on
the Ribbon that allows you to view or modify the document to suit your requirements.

LESSON 6
Figure 6-2: The Print Preview window displaying the preview of a drawing and the
options to modify the view of the drawing.
You can change the preview settings and print a drawing using the commands in different
groups on the Print Preview tab.
Group Displays
Print Commands to print drawings and launch the Page Setup dialog box.
Preview Commands to preview drawings in various views and also to edit the header and footer
information.
Close The command to close the Print Preview window and return to editing the drawing.
How to Print a Visio Drawing

Procedure Reference: Print a Visio Drawing
To print a Visio drawing:
1. Display the Page Setup dialog box.
• Display the dialog box from the Backstage view.
a. Select the File tab, choose Print, and in the Print section, click Print
Preview.
b. On the Print Preview contextual tab, in the Print group, click Page
Setup.
• On the Design tab, in the Page Setup group, click the Page Setup dialog
box launcher.
2. In the Page Setup dialog box, on the various tabs, specify the desired print and
page settings.

LESSON 6
3. Click Apply and then click OK.
4. Select the File tab and choose Print.
5. In the Print dialog box, set the desired options and click OK to print the Visio
drawing.
ACTIVITY 6-3
Printing a Visio Drawing
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Sharing Your Drawings\Calendar.vsd
Before You Begin:

Scenario:
You have planned to go on a month-long business trip. You are scheduled to attend some
planned activities during the course of the trip. Carrying a printed format of the schedule will
be useful to keep track of your itinerary.
1. Preview the calendar. a. Open the Calendar.vsd file from the C:\
084599Data\Sharing Your Drawings folder.
b. Select the File tab and choose Print.
c. In the Print section, click Print Preview.
d. On the Print Preview tab, in the Print

group, click Page Setup.
e. In the Page Setup dialog box, in the

Printer paper section, select Landscape
and click OK.

LESSON 6
2. Print the calendar. a. On the Print Preview tab, in the Print
group, click Print.
b. In the Print dialog box, click OK to print

the calendar.
c. Close Print Preview View.
d. Save the file as My Calendar and close

the file and the Visio application.
Lesson 6 Follow-up
In this lesson, you shared your drawings. By sharing your drawings, you can enable other
users to view and use them so that each user can have input and gain the advantage of ready
access.
1. How will you prefer to distribute your Visio drawings?
2. Among the various options for saving a drawing in another file format, which do you
think you will use frequently? Why?

FOLLOW-UP Follow-up
In this course, you created custom shapes, stencils, and templates, and also linked data from
other applications to a Visio drawing. These skills will enable you to efficiently create complex
floor plans, workflow diagrams, and flowcharts. With this knowledge, you can also share your
work effectively with your team members.
1. Which features will you find useful to customize your Visio workflow?
2. Which Visio features do you think are most useful when integrating Visio with other
applications?
3. Give instances of when you are likely to use Visio’s drawing tools and shape operation
commands.
What’s Next?
Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2 is the second and last course in this series. Following your
Visio training, you might want to take any one of a number of courses focusing on various
applications in the Microsoft Office 2010 suite.

LESSON
LABS
LESSON LABS
Due to classroom setup constraints, some labs cannot be keyed in sequence immediately fol-
lowing their associated lesson. Your instructor will tell you whether your labs can be practiced
immediately following the lesson or whether they require separate setup from the main lesson
content. Lesson-level lab setup information is listed in the front of this manual in the course
setup section.
LESSON 1 LAB 1
Designing a Shape
Activity Time:
10 minutes
Scenario:
Your organization has announced a competition for creating a logo for this year’s annual fest.
You decide to create a logo in Visio and submit it for the competition.
1. Open a blank drawing page.
2. Draw three squares of sizes 1.5, 1, and 0.5 inches, respectively.
3. Align the bottom and right edges of the squares.
4. Format the shape by applying colors of your choice.
5. Combine the shapes.
6. Save the drawing as My Logo.vsd and close it.
Lesson Labs 131

LESSON
LABS LESSON 2 LAB 1
Creating a Custom Stencil
Activity Time:
15 minutes
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Designing a Custom Stencil\Emblem.vsd
• enus_084599_02_1_datafiles.zip
Scenario:
You need to create an emblem for your client. To save time, you decide to use an existing one
and modify it to meet your client’s requirements and add it as the master for the other stencils
that you create.
1. Open a blank drawing page and create a stencil named Stars.
2. Open the Emblem.vsd file from the C:\084599Data\Designing a Custom Stencil

folder.
3. Display both the windows.
4. Add the shape from the Emblem.vsd file to the Stars stencil and name the shape
My Stars.
5. From the Embellishments (US units) stencil, add the desired masters to the Stars
stencil.
6. Format the My Stars master using the desired colors and update it in the Stars
stencil.
7. Close the Emblem.vsd file.
8. Save the drawing as My Emblem.vsd and close it.

LESSON
LESSON 3 LAB 1 LABS
Creating a New Style and Template
Activity Time:
10 minutes
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Designing Styles and Templates\Custom Template.vsd
Scenario:
Your team lead has suggested that you update a few old files to the new standards followed.
So, you decide to create a new style to set a standard formatting and apply it to all the shapes
in your drawings.
1. Open the Custom Template.vsd file from the C:\084599Data\Designing Styles and
Templates folder.
2. Create a custom style by formatting the text and line styles and name it My OGC.
3. Apply the custom style to the drawing.
4. Save the drawing as My Custom Template.vst and close it.
Lesson Labs 133

LESSON
LABS LESSON 4 LAB 1
Creating a Layout
Activity Time:
15 minutes
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Designing a Floor Plan\Room Layout.vsd
Scenario:
Your organization’s headquarters is planning to move the conference location to your office.
Because the conference room at your office is under renovation, you need to convert the train-
ing room into a conference hall. You go about creating a layout for the room before you can
share it with your team members.
1. Open the Room Layout.vsd file from the C:\084599Data\Designing a Floor Plan
folder.
2. Place the multi-chair boat shape in the middle of the drawing page and arrange
the chairs around it with three chairs on the left and right, one each at the top
and bottom.
3. Place a PC on the corner table.
4. Place a printer to the left of the multi chair boat shape.
5. Create a new layer named PC and lock the PC and the printer layers.
6. Apply a color of your choice to the furniture shapes.
7. Save the file as My Room Layout.vsd and close it.

LESSON
LESSON 5 LAB 1 LABS
Creating a PivotDiagram Using External Data
Activity Time:
15 minutes
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Representing External Data in Visio\Sales.xlsx
Scenario:
You are promoted as the Project Lead for a team in your organization. Your manager has given
you details about your new team in an Excel workbook. You are to address the new team soon
and have to give them details about each individual’s role in the team. You decide to sketch
the hierarchy as a PivotDiagram.
1. Import the Sales.xlsx file from the C:\084599Data\Representing External Data

folder as a PivotDiagram.
2. Add the subnodes as desired.
3. Create a data graphic in the desired style.
4. Apply data graphics to all the shapes on the drawing page.
5. Save the file as My Sales Report.vsd and close it.
Lesson Labs 135

LESSON
LABS LESSON 6 LAB 1
Sharing a Visio Drawing
Activity Time:
10 minutes
Data Files:
• C:\084599Data\Sharing Your Drawings\Home Plan.vsd
• C:\084599Data\Sharing Your Drawings\Home.docx
• enus_084599_06_1_solution.zip
Scenario:
As an interior designer, you have designed a room according to your client’s specifications.
However, you need to get the concurrence of the architect and the engineer. You want to email
a copy of the drawing and also post a hard copy of the same to them. You also plan to post
the copy of the drawing on the client’s website requesting his feedback.
1. Open the Home Plan.vsd file from the C:\084599Data\Sharing Your Drawings
folder.
2. Copy the layout and place it in the Home.docx file as an OLE object.
3. Open the Visio drawing from the Word document and remove the image of the
sofa on the left side of the drawing page.
4. Update the changes in the Word document and save the document as My
Home.docx.
5. Convert the layout into a web page named My Home Plan.htm.
6. Preview the layout and change the page to landscape orientation.
7. Print the layout.

SOLUTIONS
SOLUTIONS
Solutions 137
NOTES

INDEX
INDEX
C H
Convert to Walls command, 52 hyperlinks, 85
custom stencils adding to external resources, 87
copying shapes, 25
creating, 25 I
imported data
D linking automatically, 105
data graphic legends, 75
data graphics, 75 L
adding, 77 layer properties
editing, 78 editing, 67
data legends, 74 layers, 66
data refresh feature, 104 adding, 67
refreshing the imported data, 106 layouts
databases, 97 creating, 54
linking, 98
O
Developer mode, 13
Object Linking and Embedding
switching, 13
See: OLE
dialog boxes
OLE, 114
Layer Properties, 66
organization charts
Save as Web Page, 120
creating from external data, 86
Document Stencil, 24
DraWinG P
DWG, 119 PDF, 119
drawing scale, 52 publishing a presentation, 120
changing, 53 PivotDiagrams, 74
drawing tools, 3 creating, 76
DWG, 119 editing, 77
saving a drawing, 121 Portable Document Format
PDF, 119
E
print preview, 126
Excel data
importing, 105 R
ruler zero point, 52
G
resetting, 53
Gantt charts, 93
importing project data, 94 S
scaled drawings, 52
shape behavior, 30
Index 139
INDEX
setting, 32
shape operation commands, 11
shapes
applying styles, 41
assigning to layers, 67
drawing, 4
editing a master shape, 31
modifying, 13
open, 2
close
free form
stencils
undocking, 26
styles, 40
creating, 41
editing a predefined style, 41
T
templates
creating, 46
timelines, 93
importing project data, 95
top nodes, 74
V
Visio drawings
placing in a Word document, 114
saving as a web page, 121
W
windows
External Data, 104
PivotDiagram, 75
X
XML Paper Specification
XPS, 119
XPS, 119
publishing a presentation, 120


Visio Level 2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Visio Level 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

Copyright © Element K Corporation

Copyright © Element K Corporation

ii Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

LESSON 1 - CREATING A CUSTOM SHAPE

LESSON 2 - DESIGNING A CUSTOM STENCIL

LESSON 3 - DESIGNING STYLES AND TEMPLATES

LESSON 4 - DESIGNING A FLOOR PLAN

LESSON 6 - SHARING YOUR DRAWINGS

LESSON LABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

iv Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

ABOUT THIS COURSE

How to Use This Book

vi Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

LESSON 1 Lesson Time

Creating a Custom Shape

Lesson 1: Creating a Custom Shape 1

2 Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

Figure 1-1: Open and closed shapes.

Drawing Tool Purpose

Ellipse Used to draw oval and circular shapes.

Lesson 1: Creating a Custom Shape 3

Freeform Used to draw multi-segment curved lines. It is used to create curves by

How to Draw Basic Shapes

4 Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

What You Do How You Do It

b. On the Home tab, in the Tools group,

c. Place the cross hair mouse pointer at the

Lesson 1: Creating a Custom Shape 5

b. Similarly, make seven more instances of

b. Select the second square in the first row.

6 Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

d. Select the third square in the first row

e. Similarly, change the angle attributes of

f. Select the Home tab, and in the Editing

Lesson 1: Creating a Custom Shape 7

g. In the Arrange group, from the Position

h. From the Position drop-down list, select

b. On the Home tab, in the Tools group,

c. Place the cross hair mouse pointer at the

8 Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

e. In the Tools group, click the drawing

f. Place the cross hair mouse pointer at the

Lesson 1: Creating a Custom Shape 9

h. In the Size & Position window, change the

i. Verify that the Height value is changed to

5. Save the file. a. On the Quick Access toolbar, click the

b. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the

c. In the File name text box, triple-click and

d. In the Save as type text box, verify that

10 Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

Shape Operation Commands

Lesson 1: Creating a Custom Shape 11

12 Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2

The Developer Mode

How to Enhance Basic Shapes

Procedure Reference: Switch to the Developer Mode

Lesson 1: Creating a Custom Shape 13

What You Do How You Do It

b. In the Visio Options dialog box, select the

c. Scroll down, and in the General section,

2. Combine the nine squares to form a a. Display Page-1.

c. Select the Developer tab, and in the

14 Microsoft® Visio® 2010 - Level 2