Visio

Get to know Visio

Get to know Visio

Course contents

• Overview: Communicate in a visual way

• Lesson 1: What Visio can do for you

• Lesson 2: Make your first diagram

• Lesson 3: A closer look at the Visio environment

Get to know Visio

Discover the variety of diagrams you can make with this powerful software. Then create your first diagram. Plus, learn important basics about shapes and stencils.

Overview: Communicate in a visual way

With Visio, you’ll have no doubt that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Get to know Visio

Course goals

• Know what Visio does and what kinds of diagrams you can make with it.

• Know how to make a diagram by dragging shapes into place and connecting them.

• Know how to zoom, resize, and add text to shapes.

Lesson 1

What Visio can do for you

Get to know Visio

What Visio can do for you

Visio is an intelligent diagramming program. It empowers you to communicate in a visual manner, and helps make your diagrams more meaningful, flexible, and responsive to your needs.

You can capture information in ways that are valuable for you and your business.

Visio is more than a diagramming program.

Get to know Visio

Business-process diagrams

One of the most popular uses of Visio is to illustrate business processes.

Diagrams for business processes can be found in both Visio Standard and Visio Professional.

A three-step flowchart

Get to know Visio

Business-process diagrams

Creating a diagram like this one is easy. The shapes are already made for you; all you have to do is drag them into place, type some text, and resize them a little.

A three-step flowchartThe lines connecting shapes are called connectors. Connectors are easily glued to shapes. When a shape moves, the connector moves as well.

Get to know Visio

Organization charts

Organization charts, available in both Visio Standard and Visio Professional, are another type of diagram frequently used in business.

Sure, the lines and shapes let you easily see the reporting structure of an organization. But here's where Visio really shines: You can also associate data with each shape in the diagram.

An organization chart

Get to know Visio

Organization charts

Data for a shape is called custom properties. In the case of organization charts, you can select an employee shape, and then associate vital information—such as location, phone number, and department—so that this data becomes part of the chart.

An organization chart

Get to know Visio

Organization charts

An organization chart

After a few clicks, your chart is made for you. You don't have to enter each name and title by hand. As mentioned, Visio is intelligent.

Get to know Visio

Brainstorming diagrams

A brainstorming diagram, available in both Visio Standard and Visio Professional, can help you record and develop any set of related ideas or information, such as new business strategies, book outlines, meeting minutes, or travel plans.

A brainstorming diagram and its outline

Get to know Visio

Brainstorming diagrams

There are two ways to create this kind of diagram:

• You can create the diagram visually by dragging shapes into place.

• You can create the diagram automatically by typing an outline in the outline window. This way, Visio creates the shapes for you.

A brainstorming diagram and its outline

Get to know Visio

Building plans

You can also create precise building plans in Visio. Notice that this diagram provides an overhead view of walls, doors, windows, and furniture.

Also note that the shapes for furniture, equipment, and even plants are already made for you. You do not have to draw these yourself.

An office layout

Get to know Visio

Building plans

And unlike with other simple diagramming programs, with Visio you can specify a scale of measurement.

An office layout

Another example of Visio intelligence: You can add dimension lines to walls, as shown here. With these lines, you can determine whether larger items will fit in the available space.

Get to know Visio

Network diagrams

Another business diagram that you can make with Visio is a network diagram. You can make a simple diagram or a very detailed one.

In addition, if you add custom properties to each shape (like asset number, network address, or computer name), you can then run detailed inventory reports right within Visio.A network map

Get to know Visio

Suggestions for practice

We've shown you just a small sampling of what you can do with Visio. But there is so much more. You can also make charts, graphs, maps, project schedules, calendars, even software and database diagrams.

To see more examples of what you can make in Visio, take a look at the Diagram Gallery. To do so:

• Start Visio, and then click Diagram Gallery on the Help menu.

Lesson 2

Make your first diagram

Get to know Visio

Make your first diagram

Select, drag, move, resize, type, zoom, connect. By now, you're probably ready to see how to create a diagram. Let's investigate the details of working with Visio.

Get to know Visio

Choose a template

You begin creating a diagram by choosing a template.

Start a diagram by choosing a template.

• After you choose a template, a blank drawing page appears.

• To the left of that page, a collection of shapes appears that you can use in the diagram.

Get to know Visio

Drag shapes onto the page

After you choose a template, the drawing page appears blank. This is different from templates in many other programs.

But in a Visio template, shapes appear to the left of the empty drawing page; waiting for you to drag them onto the page.

How to drag shapes onto the page

Get to know Visio

Moving a shape is easy: Just click any shape to select it, and then drag it to a new location.

You can also move many shapes at once. To do that, click a blank area of the drawing page, and then drag to create a selection rectangle around the shapes.

How to move several shapes at once

Move the shapes

Get to know Visio

Resize shapes

You can resize shapes by dragging their corner, side, or bottom selection handles.

You can also resize many shapes at once. To do that, select more than one shape, and then drag a selection handle. That's rectangle first, handle next.

How to resize a shape

Get to know Visio

Add text to shapes

You can add text to shapes. There are a couple of ways to accomplish this. The easiest way is to just click the shape, and start typing.

How to add text to shapes

Get to know Visio

Zoom to see better

If the shapes in your diagram are too small to work with, you'll want to zoom in closer.

To zoom in on the shapes in your diagram, hold down the CTRL+SHIFT keys while you drag a selection rectangle around the shapes.

How to zoom in on shapes

Get to know Visio

Connect shapes

How to connect shapes

• Switch from the Pointer Tool to the Connector Tool on the Standard toolbar.

• Draw a line from one connection point to another.

• When you're done, switch back to the Pointer Tool.

Connecting shapes is one of the hallmark strengths of Visio. To do it, you:

Get to know Visio

Suggestions for practice

1. Choose a template, and start dragging shapes.

2. Add text to the shapes, and zoom.

3. Zoom in and out some more.

4. Connect shapes.

Lesson 3

A closer look at the Visio environment

Get to know Visio

A closer look at the Visio environment

Sure, it's fun to create diagrams, label them, and move the parts around. But you really want to understand Visio because you know there's more you can do.

This is your chance to get a closer look at templates, stencils, and shapes —three very important parts of the Visio program.

Take a closer look at Visio.

Get to know Visio

A closer look at templates

Let’s take a closer look at the concept of a Visio template. As you saw in a previous lesson, when you choose a template in Visio, you get a blank drawing page and a handful of shapes to the left of the page.

But that's not all your choice brings you. With a template, you get other special tools to help you with your diagram.

Special tools come with the Organization Chart template.

Get to know Visio

A closer look at templates

For example, when you choose an organization chart template, you get the following:

Special tools come with the Organization Chart template.

1. A special Organization Chart toolbar that makes chart layout easier.

2. An Organization Chart menu that provides commands to help you work with the chart.

Get to know Visio

A closer look at shapes and stencils

Shapes are another reason why Visio is so powerful. So let's take a closer look at them.1. The Shapes window is to the left of your

drawing page. This window contains stencils. Stencils aren't the actual shapes themselves. Stencils are useful groupings of shapes.

Where to find shapes and stencils

Get to know Visio

A closer look at shapes and stencils

2. These are stencils. In this illustration, you see three stencils. The Organization Chart Shapes stencil is the active one. The other two stencils are Borders and Tiles and Backgrounds. To see those stencils' shapes, click the name of the stencil you want.

Where to find shapes and stencils

Get to know Visio

A closer look at shapes and stencils

Where to find shapes and stencils

3. Inside each stencil are shapes. Shapes are what you drag onto the page.

Get to know Visio

Shapes that are smart

Shapes in an organization chart

Visio enables you to format, fill, rotate, and resize shapes. And with several of the shapes, Visio does much, much more.

Many shapes are smart—they have special built-in features that help out with the particular kind of diagram you're working on.

Get to know Visio

A closer look at the New button

You're probably used to clicking the New button in various programs to quickly open a new document or file. In Visio, things are a bit different.

The Visio New button can be used in several ways.

The New button is different in Visio.

Get to know Visio

A closer look at the New button

Start without a template: If you don't have any diagrams open, clicking the New button will open a new drawing page with no associated template. You can then search for shapes in the Shapes window, as the illustration on the left shows.

The New button is different in Visio.

Get to know Visio

A closer look at the New button

Borrow a template: If you have a diagram open that is based on a template, clicking the New button will open a new drawing page that is based on that same template.

The New button is different in Visio.

Get to know Visio

A closer look at the New button

Pick a template: The New button has a small arrow on it. If you click that arrow, you'll see the same list of templates that you worked with earlier in this course. Choose a template from that list, and you'll get a new drawing page based on that template.

The New button is different in Visio.

Get to know Visio

Suggestions for practice

1. Start a diagram based on an organization chart template.

2. Create an organization chart quickly.

3. Experiment with the New button.