Visio 2003 For Dummies

by Walkowski, Debbie

• ISBN13: 9780764559235
• ISBN10: 0764559230
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-30
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Did you ever wish you could draw folks a picture of your business processes or the design of your database, but you just don' t have the graphics skills? Then Visio 2003 might be exactly what you' re looking for, and "Visio 2003 For Dummies makes it easy for you to find out. Often, pictures "do speak louder than words. Visio enables you to turn business and technical concepts into visual diagrams. Best of all, it doesn' t require you to possess any artistic talent! "Visio 2003 For Dummies shows you how to Navigate the software and use the menus, toolbars, and task panes Create simple diagrams Use Visio drawings with other software programs Annotate your diagrams Post diagrams on the We If you need to explain business goals and procedures, software concepts, or database designs to others, "Visio 2003 For Dummies can get you going with this great software package in no time. Soon you' ll be able to Choose the appropriate type of drawing for your purpose, work withstencils, and add shapes Pan and zoom to fine-tune your diagram Set up your printer with Visio 2003, add headers and footers, and print an entir

Author Biography

Debbie Walkowski provides writing services to Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft«, Hewlett-Packard«, and AT&T Wireless. She’s a 20-year veteran of the computer industry and has authored 18 books on popular computer software.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(1)
About This Book	1	(1)
Conventions Used in This Book	2	(1)
What You're Not to Read	2	(1)
Foolish Assumptions	2	(1)
How This Book Is Organized	3	(1)
Part I: Starting with Visio 2003 Basics	3	(1)
Part II: Creating Visio Drawings	3	(1)
Part III: Taking Your Drawings to the Next Level	3	(1)
Part IV: Advancing Your Knowledge of Visio	3	(1)
Part V: The Part of Tens	4	(1)
Icons Used in This Book	4	(1)
Where to Go from Here	5	(2)
Part I: Starting with Visio 2003 Basics	7	(62)
Visio 101	9	(16)
Getting the Scoop on Visio	9	(4)
Comparing Visio products	10	(1)
A quick peek at some Visio features	11	(1)
What's new in Visio 2003?	12	(1)
Familiarizing Yourself with Visio Lingo	13	(1)
Jumping Head First into Visio	14	(7)
Getting familiar with the Visio screen	15	(1)
Checking out the menus	16	(2)
Working with toolbars	18	(3)
Getting Help When You Need It	21	(3)
Using the Help pane	21	(3)
Don't forget tool tips	24	(1)
Closing Visio	24	(1)
Creating and Saving a Simple Visio Drawing	25	(26)
Creating a Drawing the Standard Way	25	(3)
Working with Stencils	28	(3)
Moving and arranging stencils	28	(2)
Closing stencils	30	(1)
Opening additional stencils	30	(1)
Selecting a Pointer Tool Button	31	(2)
Working with Shapes	33	(3)
Adding a shape to a drawing	33	(1)
Selecting a shape	33	(1)
Selecting more than one shape at a time	34	(2)
Navigating Through a Drawing	36	(1)
Zeroing In on a Drawing	37	(5)
Using the Zoom button	37	(2)
Using the Pan and Zoom window	39	(1)
Using Drawing Explorer	40	(2)
Saving Drawings	42	(3)
Saving a drawing the first time	42	(1)
Setting up AutoSave	43	(1)
Saving a drawing as a template	44	(1)
Saving a drawing in another file format	44	(1)
Using a Visio Wizard to Create a Drawing	45	(2)
Opening Drawings	47	(4)
Opening a saved drawing	47	(1)
Opening a drawing saved in a previous version of Visio	48	(1)
Opening more than one drawing at a time	48	(3)
Printing Visio Drawings	51	(18)
Understanding How Visio Prints	51	(1)
Preparing to Print	52	(5)
Checking the printer paper and drawing page sizes	52	(2)
Previewing your drawing	54	(2)
A clear view in Print Preview	56	(1)
Printing Your Drawing	57	(1)
Adding Headers and Footers to a Drawing	58	(3)
Printing Gridlines	61	(1)
Printing Part of a Drawing	62	(1)
Reducing and Enlarging Printed Drawings	62	(2)
Altering the print scale of a drawing	63	(1)
Printing oversized drawings	64	(1)
Setting Shapes Not to Print	64	(2)
Printing Reviewers' Comments	66	(1)
Printing a Background Separately	66	(1)
Printing Layers Separately	67	(2)
Part II: Creating Visio Drawings	69	(84)
Discovering What Visio Shapes Are All About	71	(30)
Discovering What's In a Shape	72	(4)
Examining open and closed shapes	73	(1)
Comparing one- and two-dimensional shapes	74	(2)
Working with Shapes	76	(5)
Moving shapes	76	(1)
Nudging shapes	77	(1)
Copying and pasting shapes	77	(2)
Stamping shapes	79	(1)
Sizing up your shapes	79	(2)
Deleting shapes	81	(1)
Controlling Shapes	81	(9)
Adjusting shapes using control handles	82	(2)
Adjusting shapes using control points	84	(1)
Shaping corners	85	(1)
Rotating shapes into place	86	(2)
Modifying arcs using eccentricity handles	88	(1)
Using connection points	89	(1)
Finding the Shapes You Want	90	(3)
Jazzing Up Your Drawings	93	(8)
Using the Visio Extras stencil shapes	94	(1)
Applying a color scheme	95	(6)
Adding Text to Your Drawings	101	(28)
Understanding Text Blocks	101	(1)
Adding Text	102	(2)
Working with Text and Text Blocks	104	(19)
Editing text	105	(1)
Copying and pasting text	106	(1)
Moving a text block	107	(1)
Resizing a text block	108	(2)
Changing alignment	110	(4)
Adjusting margins	114	(2)
Using tabs in a text block	116	(3)
Creating bulleted lists	119	(1)
Creating numbered lists	120	(2)
Setting the indentation and spacing of text	122	(1)
Changing the Way Your Text Looks	123	(6)
Changing the font, size, color, and style of text	123	(3)
Choosing a background color for a text block	126	(1)
Painting the formatting to other text	126	(1)
Rotating text	127	(2)
Connecting Shapes	129	(24)
Discovering Connectors	129	(3)
Working with Connection Points	132	(1)
Adding connection points to a shape	132	(1)
Deleting a connection point	133	(1)
Applying Glue (Without the Mess)	133	(6)
Choosing static or dynamic glue	134	(2)
Identifying glue types	136	(1)
Switching from one glue to the other	136	(2)
Setting glue options	138	(1)
Gluing Connectors to Shapes	139	(7)
Connecting shapes as you drag them	139	(1)
Drawing connectors using the Connector Tool	140	(2)
Saving time with the Connect Shapes button	142	(1)
Choosing a custom connector to connect shapes	142	(2)
Dragging connector shapes into your drawing	144	(1)
Moving connectors	145	(1)
Managing Connectors	146	(2)
Handling connectors that cross paths	146	(2)
Laying Out Shapes Automatically	148	(5)
Using Lay Out Shapes	149	(4)
Part III: Taking Your Drawings to the Next Level	153	(98)
Perfecting Your Drawings	155	(20)
All About Measurements and Placement Tools	155	(3)
Using the Drawing Grid	158	(2)
Using Dynamic Grid	160	(1)
Setting Drawing Scale	160	(3)
Snapping Shapes into Place	163	(2)
Measuring Up with Rulers	165	(3)
Using Guide Lines and Guide Points	168	(4)
Creating guide lines	169	(1)
Creating guide points	170	(2)
Aligning and Distributing Shapes	172	(3)
Creating and Customizing Shapes	175	(36)
Creating Unique Shapes the Fun Way	175	(10)
Uniting shapes	177	(1)
Combining shapes	178	(1)
Fragmenting shapes	179	(2)
Intersecting shapes	181	(1)
Subtracting shapes	182	(1)
Restacking shapes	182	(3)
Drawing Your Own Shapes	185	(6)
Drawing with the Line Tool button	185	(3)
Drawing with the Pencil Tool button	188	(1)
Drawing with the Arc Tool button	189	(1)
Creating irregular shapes with the Freedom Tool button	189	(1)
Creating shapes with the Ellipse and Rectangle Tool buttons	190	(1)
Manipulating Shapes	191	(10)
Moving and adding vertices	191	(3)
Moving control points	194	(2)
Rotating shapes	196	(4)
Flipping shapes	200	(1)
Adding Style to Your Shapes	201	(5)
Changing line style	201	(2)
Adding fill color, pattern, and shadow	203	(2)
Copying formats	205	(1)
Reformatting a shape	205	(1)
Managing Shapes by Grouping	206	(5)
Creating groups	207	(1)
Editing a group	208	(1)
Adding a shape to a group	208	(1)
Removing a shape from a group	209	(1)
Adding text to grouped shapes	209	(2)
Working with Pages	211	(22)
The Role of the Template	211	(1)
Reorienting a Page	212	(2)
Setting a Page Size	214	(3)
Adding and Deleting Pages in a Drawing	217	(3)
Working with Multiple Pages	220	(3)
Getting from one page to another	220	(1)
Displaying multiple pages at once	220	(2)
Reordering pages	222	(1)
Renaming Pages	223	(1)
Viewing on the Big Screen	223	(2)
What's in a Background?	225	(4)
Creating and assigning a background page	225	(2)
Unassigning a background page	227	(1)
Displaying a background page	227	(1)
Editing a background page	228	(1)
Using a background shape	228	(1)
Rotating Pages	229	(4)
Layering Your Drawings	233	(18)
Getting the Essential Facts on Layers and Layering	234	(2)
Working with Layers	236	(4)
Toolbars for working with layers	236	(1)
Adding a layer and removing one	236	(3)
Renaming a layer	239	(1)
Hiding a layer	239	(1)
Assigning Shapes to Layers	240	(3)
Determining which layer a shape is assigned to	241	(1)
Activating layers	242	(1)
Using Layers on Background Pages	243	(1)
Protecting Layers from Changes	244	(2)
Assigning a Color to a Layer	246	(2)
Selecting Layers to Print	248	(1)
Snap and Glue Options for Layers	248	(3)
Part IV: Advancing Your Knowledge of Visio	251	(88)
Creating Stencils, Master Shapes, Templates, and Styles	253	(16)
Working with Stencils	253	(9)
Using the Stencil toolbar	254	(1)
Using a document stencil	255	(1)
Creating a custom stencil	256	(2)
Naming master shapes on a custom stencil	258	(3)
Adding master shapes to a custom stencil	261	(1)
Deleting master shapes from a custom stencil	261	(1)
Creating a Custom Template	262	(1)
Working with Styles	263	(6)
Creating and saving a style	265	(2)
Applying a style to a shape	267	(1)
Copying a style from one drawing to another	267	(2)
Managing Shape Information, Behavior, and Protection	269	(26)
Storing Data in Visio Shapes	269	(8)
Entering custom properties data	271	(1)
Editing custom properties fields	272	(5)
Reporting on Data Stored in Visio Shapes	277	(6)
Using a predefined report	277	(3)
Creating a custom report	280	(2)
Updating reports	282	(1)
Customizing Shape behavior	283	(6)
Changing a shape from 2-D to 1-D	283	(3)
Setting a shape's group behavior	286	(1)
Setting a shape's double-click behavior	286	(3)
Protecting Your Work	289	(6)
Preventing shapes from being changed	289	(1)
Keeping drawings secure	290	(5)
Marking Up Drawings for Review	295	(20)
Discovering Markup Tools	296	(1)
Adding Comments to a Drawing	296	(2)
How Markup Tracking Works	298	(2)
Working with Markup	300	(8)
Using the Reviewing toolbar and the task pane	300	(1)
Adding markup to a drawing	301	(2)
Viewing markup in a drawing	303	(2)
Incorporating markup changes in a drawing	305	(1)
Deleting markup	306	(2)
Using Digital Ink	308	(7)
Selecting an ink tool	309	(1)
Using ink tools	310	(1)
Changing digital ink shapes to geometry or text	311	(4)
Using Visio with Other Programs	315	(24)
Using Files from Other Programs in Visio	316	(1)
Generating Drawings from Data Stored in Non-Visio Files	317	(12)
Creating an organization chart from existing data	317	(4)
Creating a Gantt chart by importing data	321	(6)
Creating a calendar by importing Outlook appointments	327	(2)
Incorporating Visio Shapes and Drawings in Non-Visio Documents	329	(8)
Linking shapes and drawings	329	(3)
Embedding shapes in drawings	332	(1)
Exporting and importing shapes and drawings	333	(2)
Sending drawings through e-mail	335	(2)
Using Visio Viewer to Share Visio Drawings	337	(1)
Saving Visio Drawings for the Web	337	(2)
Part V: The Part of Tens	339	(20)
Answers to Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Visio	341	(4)
Can I work with other file types in Visio?	341	(1)
Can I save a Visio drawing in a non-Visio file format?	342	(1)
Can I copy a shape from one stencil to another?	342	(1)
How do I change the number of recently opened files listed on the File menu?	342	(1)
How do I get a summary of all the shapes, pages, and layers in a drawing?	342	(1)
Can I customize my drawing environment?	343	(1)
How do I print gridlines in a drawing?	343	(1)
Can I use Undo more than once?	343	(1)
How do I find out how many shapes are on a layer?	343	(1)
How do I not print a layer?	344	(1)
Ten Common Tasks in Visio	345	(6)
Rotating shapes to a specific angle	345	(1)
Centering a drawing before printing	346	(1)
Resizing a page to fit the content of a drawing	346	(1)
Creating a drawing that spans several pages	347	(1)
Saving a company logo as a stencil shape	347	(1)
Creating and adding a background design to a drawing	347	(1)
Adjusting the transparency of shapes and text in a drawing	348	(1)
Adding the same shape or image to all pages in a drawing	348	(1)
Unlocking a shape	349	(1)
Copying formatting from one shape to another	349	(2)
Ten Tips for Working Successfully with Visio	351	(4)
Use keyboard shortcuts	351	(1)
Work from existing drawings when you can	352	(1)
Fool around with snap and glue	352	(1)
Group your shapes	352	(1)
Use guides to position and move shapes	353	(1)
Work with drawing layers	353	(1)
Quickly edit the text in a drawing	353	(1)
Use your pasteboard	353	(1)
Find your drawings quickly in Windows Explorer	354	(1)
Print a drawing without opening it	354	(1)
Ten Places to Look Online for Visio Resources	355	(4)
Help from Microsoft	355	(1)
MVPs.org	356	(1)
Google	356	(1)
Yahoo!	357	(1)
Third-Party Suppliers of Visio Shapes and Stencils	357	(2)
Index	359