Note: You can also search for templates on Office. To search for templates on Office. In the Search Office. Note: You are in the Backstage view when you first open Visio. If you have just opened Visio, proceed to the next step. When the diagram template opens, most of the space is taken up with a blank diagramming page. Along the side is the Shapes window, which contains several stencils full of shapes. The stencils are identified by title bars at the top of the Shapes window; you might need to scroll the title bar pane to see them all.
When you click a stencil title bar, the shapes appear in the pane below. In the left pane of the Open dialog box, click the drive or folder that contains the drawing.
In the right pane of the Open dialog box, open the folder that contains the drawing that you want. You can save your diagram as a standard Visio file that you can share with other people who have Visio. In addition, there are many different formats that you can save your diagram in directly from the Save As dialog box. Click Save As , and then select a format in the Save as type list. Web page in HTM format. Image files and other resource files are saved in a subfolder of the location where you save the HTM file.
For more information about how to add shapes, see Use the Shapes window to organize and find shapes and Find more shapes and stencils. To add a shape to the drawing page so that it is automatically connected when it is added to the page, do the following:. Hold your pointer over the shape that is already on the page. Notice that small blue arrows appear on the four sides of the shape.
These are AutoConnect arrows that you can use to connect shapes. A mini toolbar that contains four shapes appears, and a preview shape might also appear on the page.
As you move the pointer over the shapes in the mini toolbar, previews of the shapes appear. The shapes on the toolbar are the top four shapes from the Quick Shapes area. To automatically connect two shapes when you drag the second shape onto the page, do the following:. Drag a second shape onto the drawing page and hold it so it covers the first shape, but do not drop it yet. Notice that the AutoConnect arrows appear. Move the second shape down over the AutoConnect arrow that points in the direction that you want, and drop it on the arrow.
The Analyze shape is spaced a standard distance from the Service Request shape, and is connected automatically.
When the AutoConnect arrows appear, move the pointer over an arrow that is pointing toward the other shape that you want to connect to. Click and hold the AutoConnect arrow, and then drag a connector from it to the center of the other shape. When the arrow is over the center of the other shape, a red border appears around the shape. Drop the connector to attach it, or "glue" it, to the shape.
For more information about how to connect shapes, see Add connectors between shapes in Visio. When you start typing, Visio switches the selected shape to text editing mode.
Select the shape again. A small yellow control handle appears in the text area. Drag the yellow control handle to move the text. On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click the Text tool. The text box now has the characteristics of other shapes. You can select it and type to change the text, you can drag it to another part of the page, and you can format the text by using the Font and Paragraph groups on the Home tab.
In addition, when you hold the pointer over the text, AutoConnect arrows appear so you can connect the text to other shapes. For more information about how to add text blocks, see Add, edit, move, or rotate text and text blocks.
In the Shape Data window, in the property row that you want, enter the data that you want. In the Type list, select the type of data that you want to be entered into that property. Right-click the shape again, point to Data , and this time click Shape Data. The Shape Data window opens and displays all the data that has been defined for the shape.
If all of the shapes have specific information, you can leave the Shape Data window open and click the shapes you are interested in to see the data that they contain. Adding shape data manually can add a lot of value to your diagram, but if your data is in a database or an Excel workbook, you can pull that data into your diagram automatically and connect the rows of data with specific shapes.
Use the Data Selector wizard to import your data into the External Data window. The data that appears in the External Data window is a snapshot of your source data at the time of import. You can update the data in your drawing to match the changes in your source data by clicking Refresh All on the Data tab. On the first page of the Data Selector wizard, choose which of the following types of data sources have the data you're using:.
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services list. After you click Finish on the last page of the Data Connection wizard, the External Data window appears with your imported data shown in a grid. Drag a row of data onto a shape to add automatically the data to the Shape Data for that shape. Or, in the Shapes window, select a shape that you want to hold the data, and then drag a row of data and drop it on an empty area of the page.
The selected shape is added to the page, connected to the data. Click the background that you want. A new background page is added to the diagram, which you can see in the page tabs along the bottom of the diagramming area. To apply a border or title to your drawing:. The title and border are added to the background page named VBackground-1 by default.
To change the title and other text, you must make the changes on the background page; you can't change the title on any other pages. Click the title text. The entire border is selected, but if you start typing it changes the default title text.
To apply a unified color scheme and other formatting effects:. On the Design tab, in the Themes group, hold your pointer over the various themes. A preview of the theme shows up on the page.
Appropriate grid size and ruler measurements Some drawings require a special scale. Special tabs Some templates have unique features that you can find on special tabs in the ribbon. Wizards to help you with special types of drawings In some cases when you open a Visio template, a wizard helps you get started. Rotating and resizing shapes Rotation handles The round handle located above a selected shape is called a rotation handle.
Connection arrows for AutoConnect The 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. Visio 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. Visio 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. On the Design tab, hover the mouse pointer over the various themes.
Visio temporarily applies each theme as you hover the mouse pointer over them. Click the theme that you want to apply to the diagram. Click Design and then click Backgrounds. Click a background. Click a title style. The title and border appear on the background page. At the bottom of the diagramming area, click the VBackground-1 tab.
The entire border is selected, but when you start typing it changes the title text. Type your title, then press ESC. Tutorial: 3 basic steps to create a Visio diagram: Choose and open a template Arrange and connect shapes Add text to shapes and connectors Choose and open a template Templates include stencils, shapes, and grid measurements to help you get started quickly and easily when making your diagram.
Create a simple diagram Drag a shape from the Shapes window and drop it on the page. Find and apply a template Visio allows you to apply built-in templates, to apply your own custom templates, and to search from a variety of templates available on Office.
To find and apply a template in Visio, do the following: On the File tab, click New. Under Choose a Template , do one of the following: To use one of the built-in templates, under Template Categories , click the category that you want, and then click the template that you want and click Create.
Need more help? Expand your skills. Get new features first. Was this information helpful? Yes No. Thank you! Any more feedback? The more you tell us the more we can help. Can you help us improve? Resolved my issue.
Clear instructions. Easy to follow. No jargon. Pictures helped. Didn't match my screen. Incorrect instructions. Too technical. Not enough information. Note: AutoConnect is available by default when your drawing is based on a template for a type that typically requires connections, like a flowchart.
If do not see the AutoConnect arrows when you hover the mouse pointer over a shape, AutoConnect is not active. Visio shapes are ready-made objects that you drag onto your drawing page — they are the building blocks of your diagram. When you drag a shape from the Shapes window 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. Instead of static pictures, you can create data-connected Visio diagrams that display data, are easy to refresh, and dramatically increase your productivity. You can use the wide variety of diagram templates and stencils in Visio to understand, act on, and share information about organizational systems, resources, and processes throughout your enterprise.
The round handle located above a selected shape is called a rotation handle. Drag it right or left to rotate the shape. The connection arrows help you easily connect shapes to one another, as you saw in the previous section. 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.
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.
With Visio Professional Edition, you can also import data from an external data source. Data is not displayed in the drawing by default. If you want to display the data for lots of shapes at once, you can use a feature called data graphics, also on the Data tab. The following illustration shows the data for two trees at once.
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.
The shapes automatically connect to show the hierarchy. In the Shapes window, select a shape and drag it onto the canvas. Hold your mouse over one of the arrows and a mini toolbar appears with the top four shapes in the Quick Shapes area. Select the shape you want and it'll automatically connect to the arrow you selected.
You can also drag all your shapes onto the canvas. Then hold the mouse over a shape until the arrows appear. Then grab an arrow and drag it to a shape you want to connect to. If you're using the Visio desktop app, you can also drag a new shape directly from the Shapes window to an existing shape's arrows and connect them automatically.
Now it's time to add details to your diagram by adding text. For more details about working with text, see Add, edit, move, or rotate text on shapes and Add text to a page. Type your text. When you start typing, Visio switches the selected shape to text editing mode. Add text to a connector the same way. Click and drag it up, down, or beside the connector.
On the Design tab, hover the mouse pointer over the various themes. To see other available themes, click More. Click Design and then click Backgrounds.
Your diagram gets a new background, and, a new background page called VBackground This page you can see in the page tabs along the bottom of the canvas. At the bottom of the diagramming area, click the VBackground-1 tab. To edit other text in the border, first select the entire border, and then click the text you want to change and start typing. You may have to click more than once to get the text selected. Click Page-1 in the lower-right corner of the page to return to the drawing.
Open Visio on the web. Note: If you have Visio Plan 2, you can also download and install the Visio desktop app. Select Create under the template you want, or select Create under Basic Diagram to start from scratch.
To create your diagram, you drag shapes from the stencil in the Shapes pane to the canvas and connect them. There are several ways to connect shapes, but the simplest way is by auto-connecting them. Note: See Add and connect shapes in Visio for the web or Change the size, rotation, and order of a shape in Visio for the web to learn more about using shapes.
For more details about working with text, see Add and format text in Visio for the web. Drag a shape from the Shapes window and drop it on the page. Leave the mouse pointer over the shape until four arrows appear around the sides. These are AutoConnect arrows, which give you several ways to automatically connect shapes. Hold the mouse pointer over one of the arrows and a mini toolbar appears, holding the top four shapes in the Quick Shapes area.
Move the pointer over each to see a preview of that shape on your diagram. Click the one that you want, and that shape appears with a connector between it and your first shape. Drag a shape from the Shapes window and hold it over a shape on the page until the arrows appear, then drop the shape on top of one of the arrows.
Hold the pointer over a shape until the arrows appear, then grab an arrow, drag it to a shape you want to connect to, and drop it in the middle of the second shape. Note: Some templates have other handy ways to add and connect shapes. Click a shape once and start typing. Select a shape that has text.
Click Home and use tools in the Font and Paragraph groups to format the text. On the Design tab, in the Themes group, move the pointer slowly over the different themes. Each theme adds different colors and effects to the diagram. Click the one you want to apply. Click one of the background designs. Now look down at the bottom of Visio, just under the drawing page. There are two tabs: Page-1 and VBackground Page-1 is the page with the shapes on it, and VBackground-1 is a background page you just added.
Click VBackground-1 to see just the background page, and then click Page-1 to go back to the diagram. Click one of the options to add it to the diagram. Notice the border and title are added to the background page, so if you want to add the title, click the tab for the background page. Now click Title once and start typing.
The title changes to your new text. Visio allows you to apply built-in templates, to apply your own custom templates, and to search from a variety of templates available on Office. To use one of the built-in templates, under Template Categories , click the category that you want, and then click the template that you want and click Create.
To use your own template that you previously created, under Other Ways to Get Started , click New from existing , navigate to the file that you want and click Create New. To find a template on Office. Note: You can also search for templates on Office. To search for templates on Office.
In the Search Office. Note: You are in the Backstage view when you first open Visio. If you have just opened Visio, proceed to the next step. When the diagram template opens, most of the space is taken up with a blank diagramming page. Along the side is the Shapes window, which contains several stencils full of shapes.
The stencils are identified by title bars at the top of the Shapes window; you might need to scroll the title bar pane to see them all. When you click a stencil title bar, the shapes appear in the pane below. Click the File tab, and then click Open.
In the left pane of the Open dialog box, click the drive or folder that contains the drawing. In the right pane of the Open dialog box, open the folder that contains the drawing that you want. You can save your diagram as a standard Visio file that you can share with other people who have Visio. In addition, there are many different formats that you can save your diagram in directly from the Save As dialog box.
Click Save As , and then select a format in the Save as type list. Web page in HTM format. Image files and other resource files are saved in a subfolder of the location where you save the HTM file. From the Shapes window, click and hold the shape that you want. For more information about how to add shapes, see Use the Shapes window to organize and find shapes and Find more shapes and stencils.
To add a shape to the drawing page so that it is automatically connected when it is added to the page, do the following:. Hold your pointer over the shape that is already on the page. Notice that small blue arrows appear on the four sides of the shape. These are AutoConnect arrows that you can use to connect shapes. A mini toolbar that contains four shapes appears, and a preview shape might also appear on the page. As you move the pointer over the shapes in the mini toolbar, previews of the shapes appear.
The shapes on the toolbar are the top four shapes from the Quick Shapes area.
Microsoft Visio allows you to create flowcharts, network diagrams, org charts, floor plans, engineering designs, etc. By using Microsoft Visio Viewer, Visio users can freely distribute Visio drawings and diagrams to team members Microsoft Visio Compatibility Pack is a program that lets Visio users open files created in the newer Visio To an application, the PDF Printer for Windows 11 looks like a printer and allows the application to write a document Windows Serverand Migration Manager migrates all user settings and files from one device to another.
The free astrology software LifeSign Mini lets you generate any number of horoscopes. You can generate microsoft visio 2016 tutorial free download reports for you and your dear ones. The Visio stencils can Office, You can By using Microsoft Visio Viewer, Visio users Microsoft Visioa computer program designed by Microsoft Note: Microsoft Excel is That didn't mean that Microsoft Windows Mac. Microsoft Visio Viewer Microsoft Visio Compatibility Pack. Migration Manager.
Astro-Vision LifeSign Mini. Microsoft visio 2016 tutorial free download Tab Enterprise. Visioneer PaperPort Viewer. How to use and customize Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts. How to Use Microsoft Excel keyboard shortcuts. How to stay on Windows 7 or 8 forever. How to disable or remove MS Edge from Windows Twitter Facebook.
