Adding Creativity To A Drawing with Visio Tools

This tutorial shows you:

1. How to use the built-in Visio tools to add even more creativity to your drawing.

2. How to keep shapes that you have customized in a stencil for later use.

By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to:

1. Use these tools effectively to better present your ideas.

2. Create stencils and templates for your own business with fantastic look and feel.

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1. Creating A Drawing

1. Choose menu File > New > Choose Drawing Type.

2. Choose Category Amazing Visio - Basic Template.  Scroll down the Drawing Type list, then choose Flowchart - Basic Diagram - Red Dark Dense.  Click the OK button.  

3. Choose Enable Macros when a message pops up.  Click here to see why.

2. Customizing A Shape

Click shape Action 1.

1. Changing Text Font And Color

On the Format toolbar:

1. Click the first down arrow and choose a font type.

2. Click the second down arrow and choose a font size.

3. Click the third down arrow and choose a color.

2. Changing Fill Pattern

1. Click the Fill Pattern icon on the Format Shape toolbar. 

2. Click a pattern.
        

3. Changing Shadow

1. From the Format Shape toolbar, click the down arrow of the Shadow Color icon.
   

2. Choose a new color.

3. Repeat step 1.  Click Shadow Effects.  Choose a new Pattern.  Click OK.  The shadow pattern is changed.

4. Repeat step 1.  Click No Shadow.  The shadow is removed.

4. Changing Border

1.   Click the down arrow of the Line Color icon on the Format toolbar. Choose a color.

2. On the Format toolbar:

   1. Click the down arrow of the first icon and choose a thicker line.

   2. Click the down arrow of the second icon and choose a dash line.

   3. Click the connector linked to the shape.  Then click the down arrow of the third icon and choose the line with a dot at both ends.

3. Click shape Choice.  Click the down arrow of the Corner Rounding icon on the Format Shape toolbar.  Choose a corner style. 

5. Applying The Changes To Another Shape

1. Click shape Action 1 again.

2. Click the Format Painter icon on the Standard toolbar.

3. Click shape Action 2.

The shapes now look like this:

3. Saving A Shape In A Stencil for Later Use

You can save a shape in the document stencil to make it available for the current drawing, or save it in a stand-alone stencil to make it available for any drawings.

1. Saving To The Document Stencil

1. Click your right mouse button on shape Action 1 and choose Copy.

2. Click your right mouse button on the background of the Document Stencil and choose Paste.

3. Click on the name Master.6.  Type in My Shape.  Press Enter.  
   

4. Optionally you can change the icon: Click your right mouse button on the master shape then choose Edit Icon from the menu.

5. Drag the new master shape and drop it on your drawing.  A new shape is added.  From now on, you can use this master shape within this drawing.   Please go through the next section and learn how to make your shape reusable for any drawings.

6. Save the document to save the master shape.

2. Saving To A Stand-alone Stencil

1. Creating A Stencil: Choose menu File > Stencils > New Stencil.

2. Creating A Master Shape: Use steps 1-3 of the previous section but paste the shape to Stencil28.
   

3. Saving The Stencil: 

   1. For Visio 2000, click the tiny disk on the stencil title; For later versions, click your right mouse button on the title then choose Save.

   2. Specify a file name, such as My Stencil, choose Work Space under Save, and then click OK. 
      

   3. Specify a title, such as My Stencil.  Click Save.

For more information about stencil, please click here.

4. Save Your Drawing

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The Power Beyond Visio: There are other ways to add even more creativity to your drawing.  Click here to find out.

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