New to Visio? This tutorial will help get you started with Visio. We'll take you through starter diagrams to give you an idea of what diagrams look like. Then we'll take you through the four basic steps to creating your own diagram.
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Start Visio
Click the Start button, type Visio, and then click the Visio icon to open the program. (If Visio is open already, click File > New.)
Look at the starter diagrams
Before you dig in and start making things yourself, let's show you a couple starter diagrams that Visio has made for you. That way you can get an idea of what diagrams look and feel like in the program.
- Click Categories.
- Click Flowchart.
- Now pay attention to this step: single-click the Basic Flowchart thumbnail.
- Let's explain what this dialog is all about.You choose the blank template when you have some experience with Visio (like after you've made a few practice diagrams). But if you don't have any experience, choose one of the other three starter diagrams.
- Double-click one of the starter diagram thumbnails.
- This is a starter diagram. Visio comes with many starter diagrams to give you ideas and examples. You can customize this starter diagram by typing your own text, adding your own shapes, and so on. Also, take a look at the tips and tricks. These help you work with the diagram.
- Let's open another starter diagram. Click File > New > Categories > Network.
- Single-click the Basic Network thumbnail.
- Double-click one of the two starter diagram thumbnails.This is just another example of what you can do with Visio. On your own, go to File > New > Categories and explore the various starter diagrams in Visio. Not all diagrams have them, but many of the most common ones do.
The three Visio basics
Ok, now to dig in and work with a diagram. As you saw from the above, there are many kinds of Visio diagrams, including organization charts, network diagrams, workflows, and home or office plans. But you use the same three basic steps to create nearly all of them:
- Open a blank template.
- Drag shapes and connect them together.
- Add text to shapes.
In the following steps, you'll use these three basic functions to make a basic flowchart.
Step 1: Open a blank template
In Visio, a blank template is often what you start with. You don't have to start with a blank one, you could choose a starter diagram and modify it. But sometimes you want to start completely from scratch.
- Click File > New > Categories > Flowchart.
- Single-click Basic Flowchart, and then double-click the blank option:
- What you have now is a blank flowchart ready for action. Your screen will look similar to the following illustration.
- There are three main areas of the Visio program: the ribbon, the Shapes window, and the page itself.The ribbon contains all of the tabs in Visio. Things like changing text size, switching to different drawing tools, etc are here.The Shapes window contains your stencils and shapes. More on those later.The page itself is where you put shapes, connect them, and so on.Tips: If your screen doesn't look like the above, try one or more of the following:
- If you can't see the whole ribbon, double click the Home tab at the top.
- If you can't see the Shapes window, click the expand arrow to make the Shapes window larger.
- Close any other panes and windows that may be open.
- Maximize or resize the Visio window to make it larger on your screen.
- On the View menu, click Fit to Window.
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Step 2: Drag and connect shapes together
To create your diagram, you drag shapes from the Shapes window to start. Then you add shapes and connect them. There are several ways to connect shapes, but for now we'll show you how to use the AutoConnect arrows. You'll see what those are in a moment.
- Drag the Start/End shape onto the drawing page, and then release the mouse button.
- Hold the pointer over the shape so that the blue AutoConnect arrows show.
- Move your pointer on top of the blue arrow that points toward where you want to place the second shape.
- On the mini toolbar, click the square Process shape.The Process shape is added to the diagram, automatically connected to the Start/End shape.
- Keep adding shapes this way until you have about four or five on the page.Tips:
- If the shape you want to add isn’t on the mini toolbar, you can drag the shape you want from the Shapes window and drop it on a blue arrow. That's right -- drop the shape on top of the blue AutoConnect arrow . The new shape is connected to the first shape as if you had clicked it on the mini toolbar.
- Use the AutoConnect arrows also to connect two shapes already in your drawing. Drag an AutoConnect arrow from one shape and drop it on another shape. You get an arrow from the first shape to the second.
Step 3: Add text to shapes
- Click the shape and start typing. You don’t need to double-click to add text to a shape; when you type, text is added to whichever shape is selected.
- When you finish typing, click on a blank area of the drawing page or press ESC.
You can add text to almost any object – even connectors – by selecting it and typing.
There is more you can do in Visio. Play around with the shapes, connectors, and text. Then move on to the following procedures when you're ready.