Visio Shapes basics. Course contents Overview: Shapes fulfill your Visio vision Lesson 1: An introduction to shapes Lesson 2: How to get shapes Shapes

VisioVisio

Shapes basics

Course contentsCourse contents

• Overview: Shapes fulfill your Visio vision

• Lesson 1: An introduction to shapes

• Lesson 2: How to get shapes

Shapes basics

Overview: Shapes fulfill your Visio Overview: Shapes fulfill your Visio visionvision

From flowcharts to office layouts, shapes form the essence of any Visio diagram. You can arrange and connect shapes to represent objects, actions, and ideas and then form visual relationships among them.

Shapes basics

This course provides the fundamentals you need to be able to put shapes where you want, make them look right and do what you need them to do, and fulfill your overall vision.

Course goalsCourse goals

• Identify the two types of Visio shapes: 1-D and 2-D.

• See how 1-D and 2-D shapes behave.

• Find the shapes you need.

Shapes basics

Lesson 1Lesson 1An introduction to shapes

An introduction to An introduction to shapesshapes

What is a shape? In Visio, the definition covers more than you might think. Yes, there are basic shapes like rectangles and diamonds for a flowchart. But there are also very detailed shapes.

And Visio shapes don't just sit there and look good. They have interactive behavior as well. Meaning that when you work with them, they react in a certain way.

Shapes basics

Shapes range from simple to detailed.

Two types of shapesTwo types of shapes

When you work with Visio shapes, you can resize them, rotate them, move them around, and so on.

But how the shape behaves when you do those things depends on the type of shape that it is.

Shapes basics

1-D and 2-D shapes

Two types of shapesTwo types of shapes

There are two types of shapes in Visio:

Shapes basics

1-D and 2-D shapes

Each type of shape behaves a certain way. Once you know the type that a shape belongs to, you’ll be able to work with it successfully.

• One-dimensional (1-D)

• Two-dimensional (2-D)

1-D shapes1-D shapes

A 1-D shape is a shape that, when selected, has a beginning point and an ending point . As the picture shows, 1-D shapes typically look like lines.

Shapes basics

Examples of 1-D shapes

How do 1-D shapes behave when you work with them? If you move the beginning point or ending point, only one dimension changes: the length.


But the most powerful behavior of 1-D shapes is their ability to connect two other shapes.

Shapes basics


For example, in a business process diagram, you might connect two departments with a line or an arrow.


A 2-D shape is a shape that, when selected, does not have a beginning or an ending point. Instead, a 2-D shape has eight selection handles .

Shapes basics


How do 2-D shapes behave? When you click and drag a corner selection handle, you can change two dimensions: the length and the width.


2-D shapes are typically used to represent something: either a general concept or a specific object.

Shapes basics


Like the laptop and the block shown here, some 2-D shapes are drawn to look three-dimensional. But they’re still 2-D shapes, which you know because of the eight selection handles.

1-D or 2-D? How to be sure. 1-D or 2-D? How to be sure.

At first glance, some shapes look like 2-D shapes but are really 1-D shapes. And vice-versa.

To avoid any confusion, always select the shape, and Visio will tell you what it is.

Shapes basics

Which is 1-D and which is 2-D? Don’t be fooled!


For example, the arrow shape at the top of this illustration appears to be two dimensional because of its thickness.

Shapes basics


But if you selected it, you would see its beginning point and its ending point, so it is 1-D for sure.


On the other hand, the curve shape appears to be 1-D. After all, it looks like just a line.

Shapes basics


But if you selected it, you would see the eight selection handles that tell you it’s 2-D.


To many people, “1-D” describes a shape with one dimension, and “2-D” describes a shape with two dimensions. These are familiar definitions of 1-D and 2-D.

Shapes basics


However, as you can see from these examples, the Visio definitions depend on how the shapes behave, not on how they look.

Shapes with special behaviorShapes with special behavior

All shapes in Visio are either 1-D or 2-D, depending on how they behave. But some shapes have other handy behavior that is unique to them and that doesn’t depend on whether they’re 1-D or 2-D.

Shapes basics

Drag the control handle to swing the door.

For example, some shapes have yellow control handles that let you interact with them.

Shapes with special behaviorShapes with special behavior

In this illustration, the door shape has a control handle that you can drag to swing the door open and closed. Will it clear the table nearby?

Shapes basics

Drag the control handle to swing the door.

It appears not. Better find a smaller table or make other adjustments to the furniture so that this problem doesn’t occur in the real world.

Anything is a shapeAnything is a shape

When working with Visio, you’ll probably want to add text, photos, or clip art.

Although these are not shapes created by Visio, in Visio all of these things are shapes nonetheless.

Shapes basics

In Visio, anything is a shape.

Anything is a shapeAnything is a shape

If you type text on an empty part of the page, that text will be a 2-D shape, and it will have eight selection handles when selected. If you select an imported picture, it will have those handles too.

Shapes basics

In Visio, anything is a shape.

Let’s face it: Anything on the page, whether pictures or text, is a shape to Visio. Anything.

Suggestions for practiceSuggestions for practice

1. Open the exercise 1.

2. Observe 2-D behavior.

3. Observe 1-D behavior.

4. Look at more 1-D and 2-D shapes on the other diagrams.

5. Explore the special behavior some shapes have.

Shapes basics

Lesson 2Lesson 2How to get shapes

How to get shapesHow to get shapes

In Visio, all the world’s…a shape. And there are hundreds of Visio shapes to choose from, more than you can memorize. So it’s good to know how to find them when you need them.

The ways to get shapes aren’t quite as numerous as the shapes themselves. But there are plenty of ways, each one good for different purposes.

Shapes basics

Six ways to get shapes

You must remember thisYou must remember this

Before we talk about how to get shapes, we need to make sure you understand three terms:

Shapes basics

Shapes window, stencils, and shapes

1.Shapes window. This window contains stencils.

2.Stencils. Stencils aren’t shapes. That’s important. Stencils contain shapes.


Before we talk about how to get shapes, we need to make sure you understand three terms:

Shapes basics


3.Shapes. Shapes, in Visio, are everything. But shapes aren’t stencils. Stencils contain shapes.


The illustration shows the Organization Chart Shapes stencil and its shapes.

Shapes basics


Notice the two other stencils: Borders and Titles and Backgrounds. To see the shapes in either of those stencils, you’d just click the name of the stencil.

Get shapes with templatesGet shapes with templates

One way to get shapes is to choose a template. A template is one of the drawing type options you see when you start Visio.

The illustration shows how when you choose a template, the stencils and shapes for the template appear in the Shapes window, ready to work with.

Shapes basics

Choosing a template brings you shapes automatically.

Get shapes with templatesGet shapes with templates

The advantage of using a template is that it provides you with lots of shapes organized for a specific purpose and related to each other.

Shapes basics

Choosing a template brings you shapes automatically.

In this example, the shapes are specific to flowcharts. If you chose another template, you’d get shapes designed and organized for that template’s purpose instead.

Get shapes by searchingGet shapes by searching

If you need more shapes than a template gives you, you can use the Search for Shapes box to search for them. To search for a shape:

Shapes basics

1. Type one or two words in the Search for Shapes box, for example, “arrows.”

2. Visio creates a temporary stencil to hold the shapes it finds.

Shapes window and Search for Shapes box


In this example, that temporary stencil would have the name arrows. To use a shape, you would drag it from the arrows stencil onto your drawing.

Shapes basics



Search for Shapes searches the Visio stencils that are installed on your computer.

Shapes basics


If you have an Internet connection, Search for Shapes also searches the Microsoft Web sites for new and updated Visio shapes.

Draw your own shapesDraw your own shapes

If you can’t find the shape you need in Visio, you can always draw your own shape.

Your own shape can be simple or complex, from a wiggly line to a piece of custom office equipment.

Shapes basics

Create your own shapes by using the Drawing toolbar.

Draw your own shapesDraw your own shapes

While drawing your own shapes is beyond the scope of this course, the tip of the iceberg is the Drawing toolbar, shown here.

Shapes basics

Create your own shapes by using the Drawing toolbar.

It lets you create shapes from scratch by using simple tools.

Get shapes from other peopleGet shapes from other people

Sometimes other people have made shapes that you want to use.

When you want to use shapes made by others, they could send you a copy of a Visio drawing with those shapes in it. Often, however, what you’ll get is a stencil of shapes.

Shapes basics

ContosoShapes.vss on the My Shapes submenu


A stencil is a file with “.vss” or “.vsx” in the name. When you receive a stencil file, copy it to this location:

Shapes basics


C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Shapes

After you do that, the stencil will be available through Visio menu commands.


Shapes basics


For example, the picture illustrates that someone copied ContosoShapes.vss to My Documents\My Shapes.

Now the ContosoShapes command appears on the File menu, Shapes submenu, My Shapes submenu.

Insert picturesInsert pictures

Suppose you’d like to insert a photograph into a diagram to show people’s pictures in an org chart.

To do that, on the Insert menu, you’d point to Picture and then click From File. Visio automatically makes the photograph a 2-D shape and puts the eight handles on it.

Shapes basics

Inserting a picture as a Visio shape

Insert picturesInsert pictures

Shapes made by inserting pictures aren’t as intelligent as the shapes that come from stencils. As far as interactive behavior goes, they’re not much more than a square on the page.

Shapes basics

Inserting a picture as a Visio shape

Nonetheless, they are shapes, which means you can connect them with 1-D shapes, resize them, position them, and so on.

Suggestions for practiceSuggestions for practice

1. Take a look at the shapes a template gives you in exercise 2.

2. Search for a starburst shape.

3. Use stencils provided by other people.

4. Draw your own shape.

Shapes basics