Lab Session 5
Introduction to Microsoft Visio
Know what Visio does and what kinds of diagrams you can make with it.
Know which edition of Visio 2007 you have and what that means for using it.
Know how to make a diagram by dragging shapes into place and connecting them.
Know how to zoom, resize, and add text to shapes.
What Visio Can Do For You
Visio is an intelligent diagramming program. It empowers you to communicate in a visual
manner, and helps make your diagrams more meaningful, flexible, and responsive to your
needs.
You can capture information in ways that are valuable for you and your business.
Visio is more than a diagramming program.
Business-Process Diagrams
One of the most popular uses of Visio is to illustrate business processes.
Creating a diagram like this one is easy. The shapes are already made for you; all you have to
do is drag them into place, type some text. and resize them a little.
Here's an example of how powerful Visio diagrams can be: If a portion of your diagram
needs additional detail, you can create that detailed portion separately and add a hyperlink
to it.
Lab Session 5
Organization Charts
Organization charts are another type of diagram frequently used in business. Sure, the lines and
shapes let you easily see the reporting structure of an organization. But here's where Visio really
shines: You can also associate data with each shape in the diagram.
Data for a shape is called custom properties. In the case of organization charts, you can select
an employee shape, and then associate vital information-such as location, phone number, and
department-so that this data becomes part of the chart.
Another powerful reason for creating organization charts in Visio is that you can automatically
create them by using information from a data source.
Brainstorming Diagrams
A brainstorming diagram, available in both Visio Standard and Visio Professional, can help
you record and develop any set of related ideas or information, such as new business
strategies, book outlines, meeting minutes, or travel plans.
Lab Session 5
There are two ways to create this kind of diagram:
o You can create the diagram visually by dragging shapes into place.
o You can create the diagram automatically by typing an outline in the outline
window. This way, Visio creates the shapes for you.
Make Your First Diagram
Select, drag, move, resize, type, zoom, connect. By now, you're probably ready to see how to create a
diagram. Let's investigate the details of working with Visio.
Go to Start->Programs->Microsoft Office->Visio
Choose A Template
o You begin creating a diagram by choosing a template .
Drag Shapes Onto The Page
Lab Session 5
o After you choose a template, the drawing page appears blank. This is different from
templates in many other programs.
o But in a Visio template, shapes appear to the left of the empty drawing page waiting for
you to drag them onto the page.
Move The Shapes
o Moving a shape is easy: Just click any shape to select it, and then drag it to a
new location.
o You can also move many shapes at once. To do that, click a blank area of the drawing
page, and then drag to create a selection rectangle around the shapes.
Resize Shapes
o You can resize shapes by dragging their corner, side, or bottom selection handles.
o You can also resize many shapes at once. To do that, select more than one shape, and
then drag a selection handle. That's rectangle first, handle next.
Add Text To Shapes
o You can add text to shapes. There are a couple of ways to accomplish this. The
easiest way is to just click the shape, and start typing.
Zoom To See Better
o If the shapes in your diagram are too small to work with, you'll want to zoom in closer.
o To zoom in on the shapes in your diagram, hold down the CTRL +SHIFT keys while
you drag a selection rectangle around the shapes.
Connect Shapes
o Connecting shapes is one of the hallmark strengths ofVisio. To do it, you:
o Switch from the Pointer Tool to the Connector Tool on the
o Standard toolbar.
o Draw a line from one connection point to another.
o When you're done, switch back to the Pointer Tool.
Comments:
