01 Getting To Know Microsoft Visio
01 Getting To Know Microsoft Visio
WPL_V501
STARTING VISIO
To create a new drawing or to edit an existing the Windows Start menu, from a shortcut or even
one, the first thing you need to do is to start directly from a drawing itself by clicking on a
Microsoft Visio 2010. There are several ways of drawing icon. We’ll use the Start menu in this
doing this. For instance, you can start Visio from exercise.
Click on [Create]
A blank drawing will be
created and the Basic
Flowchart Shapes stencil
will appear on the left side
of the screen
The Ribbon is the tabbed band that appears across the top of the window. It is the control centre of Visio 2010.
Instead of menus, you use the tabs on the Ribbon to access the commands that have been categorised into
groups. The commands include galleries of options that you can select from, such as the Themes gallery
shown here.
The File tab is used to access the Backstage view which contains file management functions, such as saving,
opening, closing, printing, sharing, and so on. Visio Options are also available so that you can set your working
preferences and options for Visio 2010.
The Shapes window displays the stencils that are currently open for the drawing. Stencils are palettes of
shapes that you can use to create a drawing. The stencils that appear in the Shapes window depend on the
template on which the drawing is based. For example, the drawing in the sample above was based on the Basic
Flowchart template and by default, two stencils open for this template: Basic Flowchart Shapes (which is
open in the Shapes window above) and Cross-Functional Flowchart Shapes – the Quick Shapes stencil is
always open in the Shapes window. The title bars for the open stencils are shown at the top of the Shapes
window. Click on a title bar to see the shapes in the stencil.
Clicking on More Shapes near the top of the Shapes window displays an extensive stencil menu from which
you can open and create stencils, search for specific shapes and more.
A drawing can comprise more than one page and the page tabs let you swap between pages. You can add a
new page by clicking on the Insert Page tab, located immediately to the right of the page tabs.
The Drawing Page area is used to construct your drawing. You can zoom in and out of the page area and set
the page dimensions to match the paper size you require.
The Scroll bar indicates your current position in the page. It lets you move to other positions in the page by
clicking or dragging. The arrows can also be used to move up and down the page.
The Status Bar appears across the bottom of the window. It displays quite a few options in its default state
including page number, language, height, width, angle, macro recorder, switch windows, and zoom commands
such
© Watsonia as the zoom slider and access to the Pan &Page
Publishing Zoom4 window. Chapter 1 - Getting To Know Microsoft Visio
Microsoft Visio 2010 - Module 1
The Ribbon
When you need to do something to the page or to a shape on the page, such as insert an image or
format the selected shape, you’ll find all of the relevant commands on the Ribbon. The Ribbon has
the commands organised thematically using a series of tabs across the top.
Backstage View
When you want to do
something with your
drawing such as save it so
that you can access it
again later, preview it, print
it, send it to your boss, or
whatever, you will need to
access the Microsoft
Office Backstage view of
Microsoft Visio. Backstage
view is accessed using the
File tab on the Ribbon.
Rather than offering you
commands on a Ribbon,
Backstage occupies the
entire screen and has a
series of options down the
left side. In our sample to
the right, the Save & Send
option is active, and that is
why you can see a series
of save and send options
on the right side of the
Backstage view.
1
Press to display the
KeyTips
Press twice to
return to the previous
level of access keys
Press to return to
normal mode
1
Try This Yourself:
Before starting this exercise
ensure you have a blank
drawing open…
2
Click on the Insert tab
to display the Insert
commands
Double-click on the
Insert tab to minimise
the ribbon
While the tabs stay
visible, the rest of the 3
commands are
hidden...
Double-click on the
Design tab to
5
redisplay the Ribbon
permanently
1
Try This Yourself:
Before starting this exercise ensure
you have a blank drawing open…
Check boxes
turn settings
either on or off.
When on they
display a tick
and therefore
these controls
are also known
as tick boxes
Drop arrows provide a list of Command buttons provide a
options for the text box when means of saving the changed
the arrow is clicked. The list settings [OK], or closing the
“drops down” from the arrow dialog box without accepting any
changes made [Cancel]
Click on [Cancel]
Click on [Cancel]
1
Try This Yourself:
Before starting this exercise ensure
you have a blank drawing open…
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Page Number The page number indicates which page is open in the drawing page area. This
indicator also tells you the total number of pages there are in the drawing – in this
case 1. If the drawing comprises more than one page and you click on the page
number, the Page dialog box will open letting you select the page that you wish to
open. You can also create a new page by clicking on [New] in this dialog box.
Shape
Measurements
The shape measurements indicators let you quickly view the overall width, height
and angle of the selected shape on the page.
Clicking on any of these three measurements will open the Size & Position
window. From this window you can alter the selected shape’s location (X and Y),
Width, Height, Angle of rotation, and the relative position at which the shape is
pinned to the X/Y location. Once you have opened the Size & Position window,
click on close to close it.
Language The language displayed in the status bar indicates the language that is used by
Visio’s proofing tools. Although English (U.S.) appears in the status bar, this will
change to the default language as set by your operating system (if it is not US
English) as soon as you begin typing using the Text tool. In our case English
(Australia) will appear here as we have set it as our default language.
Macro Recorder You can quickly record a new macro by clicking on this tool to open the Record
Macro dialog box.
View Tools The Document View tools allow you to change the view of the drawing. You can
select either Normal (as shown above) or Full Screen.
Zoom Tools The Zoom Level button displays the current zoom percentage (our drawing is set
to 42% above). If you click on the button, the Zoom dialog box will appear so that
you can select a specific zoom percentage.
The Zoom Slider indicates the current zoom level, where the small vertical centre
mark indicates 100%. You can either drag the marker to the left or right, or click
on a specific point of the slider to set a zoom percentage. You can also click on the
buttons at either end of the slider to zoom in or zoom out .
The Fit page to current window tool adjusts the magnification of the drawing so
that the entire drawing fits within the width of the drawing page area.
Switch Windows If you have more than one drawing open at the same time, you can click on this tool
to switch between drawings. The tick to the left of the file name shows which
drawing is currently open in the drawing page area.
Resize Icon The Resize icon is visible in the Visio window only if the screen is not maximised. It
allows you to change the size of the window by dragging it in or out.
2
Try This Yourself:
Before starting this exercise ensure a
drawing is open...
NOTES: