A beginner's guide to Visio 2010

Applies to: Microsoft Visio 2010

There are many kinds of Visio diagrams, but you can use the same three basic steps to create
nearly all of them:

1. Choose and open a template.

In this article

 Create a simple flowchart

Create a simple flowchart

1. Start Visio.
2. Under Template Categories, click Flowchart.
3. In the Flowchart window, double-click Basic Flowchart.
Templates include related shapes in collections called stencils. For example, one of the stencils
that opens with the Basic Flowchart template is Basic Flowchart Shapes.

Step 2: Drag and connect shapes

To create your diagram, drag shapes from the stencil onto the blank page and connect them to
one another. There are several ways to connect shapes, but for now use AutoConnect.

1. Drag the Start/End shape from the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil onto the drawing
page, and then release the mouse button.

2. Hold the pointer over the shape so that the blue arrows show.

3. Move your pointer on top of the blue arrow that points toward where you want to place
the second shape.

A mini toolbar appears that contains shapes from the top of the stencil.
 4. Click the square Process shape.

The Process shape is added to the diagram, automatically connected to the Start/End shape.

If the shape you want to add isn’t on the mini toolbar, you can drag the shape you want from the
Shapes window and drop it on a blue arrow. The new shape is connected to the first shape as if
you had clicked it on the mini toolbar.

Step 3: Add text to shapes

1. Click the shape and start typing.

2. When you finish typing, click on a blank area of the drawing page or press ESC.

What are Visio shapes, stencils, and templates?

Visio shapes are ready-made images that you drag onto your drawing page — they are the
building blocks of your diagram.

When you drag a shape from a stencil onto your drawing page, the original shape remains on the
stencil. That original is called a master shape. The shape that you put on your drawing is a copy
— also called an instance — of that master. You can drag as many instances of the same shape
onto your drawing as you want.
Rotating and resizing shapes

The most common things that people do with shapes involve features that are built right into the
shapes. Visual cues help you find and use those features quickly.

 Rotation handles

The round handle located above a shape is called a rotation handle. Drag a rotation handle right
or left to rotate the shape.

 Blue connection arrows for AutoConnect

The light blue connection arrows help you easily connect shapes to one another, as you saw in
the previous section.

 Selection handles for resizing shapes

You can use the square selection handles to change the height and width of your shape. Click and
drag a selection handle on the corner of a shape to enlarge the shape without changing its
proportions, or click and drag a selection handle on the side of a shape to make the shape taller or
wider.

Special features of Visio shapes

Visio shapes are much more than simple images or symbols.

Shapes can hold data

You can add data to each shape by typing it in the Shape Data window – on the View tab, in the
Show group, click Task Panes, and then click Shape Data. You can also import data from an
external data source.

Data is not displayed in the drawing by default. You can see the data for an individual shape by
opening the Shape Data window and selecting the shape.

If you want to display the data for lots of shapes at once, you can use a feature called data
graphics. The following illustration shows the data for two trees at once.
Shapes with special behavior

Many Visio shapes have special behavior that you can find by stretching, right-clicking, or
moving the yellow control handle on the shape.

For example, you can stretch a People shape to show more people, or stretch the Growing
flower shape to indicate growth.

 Tip   A great way to find out what a shape can do is to right-click it to see if there are any
special commands on its shortcut menu.

Stencils

Visio stencils hold collections of shapes. The shapes in each stencil have something in common.
The shapes can be a collection of shapes that you need to create a particular kind of diagram, or
several different versions of the same shape.
For example, the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil contains only common flowchart shapes.
More specialized flowchart shapes are in other stencils, such as the BPMN and TQM stencils.

Stencils appear in the Shapes window. To see the shapes on a particular stencil, click its title bar.

Open any Visio stencil

Each template opens with the stencils that you need to create a particular kind of drawing, but
you can open other stencils any time you want.

 In the Shapes windows, click More Shapes, point to the category that you want, and
then click the name of the stencil that you want to use.

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Templates

When you want to create a diagram, start with a template for that type of diagram (or the nearest
type if there isn’t an exact match). Visio templates help you start with the right settings:

 Stencils full of the shapes that are needed to create a particular kind of drawing

The Home Plan template, for example, opens with stencils full of shapes such as walls,
furniture, appliances, cabinets, and so on.

 Appropriate grid size and ruler measurements

Some drawings require a special scale. For example, the Site Plan template opens with an
engineering scale, where 1 inch represents 10 feet.

 Special tabs

Some templates have unique features that you can find on special tabs on the Ribbon. For
example, when you open the Timeline template, a Timeline tab appears on the Ribbon. You can
use the Timeline tab to configure your timeline and to import and export data between Visio and
Microsoft Project.

 Wizards to help you with special types of drawings

In some cases when you open a Visio template, a wizard helps you get started. For example, the
Space Plan template opens with a wizard that helps you set up your space and room information.

View examples of templates

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click New.
3. Click the various template categories, and then click the template thumbnails to see short
descriptions of the templates.