Wiley Visio 2007 For Dummies
Contents
1. Part I Starting with Visio 2007 Basics Visio s grab bag of icons or shapes as Visio calls them represents all sorts of things from computer network components to office furniture to boxes on an organization chart or a flow chart to electrical switches and relays Even programmers can use Visio to create diagrams that represent application elements and then use that content to create the application You simply drag the shapes that you want into the drawing window and arrange and connect them the way that you want You can add text and other graphi cal elements wherever you like Comparing Visio products Over the years Visio has been available in several different flavors Standard Professional Technical and Enterprise plus you could find advanced developer s tools in Visual Studio NET and advanced network dia gramming tools in Visio Enterprise Network Tools Whew All these versions became confusing and overwhelming to the average user so Microsoft decided to simplify things and produce just two editions of Visio Standard and Professional The same engine drives both but the audience for each is slightly different and the types of charts and diagrams you can create address different needs 1 Visio Standard Designed for business professionals this edition gives all kinds of businesspeople from product managers to financial ana lysts to sales and marketing professionals the ability to2. toolbars on and off iW file Edt View Insert Format Tools Data Shape GanttChart Window Help Type a question for helo E Working with toolbars Visio has a dozen or so toolbars two of which are displayed automatically when you start the program The two default toolbars are Standard and Formatting You can hide either of these and you can display additional tool bars as well After you begin to recognize the toolbar buttons it s much faster to click a button than to select a menu command Many of these buttons appear on the Cheat Sheet at the beginning of this book To hide or display toolbars right click anywhere in the toolbar area On the shortcut menu that appears click a toolbar name Toolbars that have a check mark next to them are displayed all others are hidden see Figure 1 4 Standard Formatting Action Data Developer Drawing Format Shape Format Text Ink Layout amp Routing Picture Reviewing Snap amp Glue Stencil Task Pane View Web Gantt Chart Customize Chapter 1 Visio 101 23 lt P a Figure 1 5 You can add and delete toolbar buttons or create a custom toolbar Ce All Visio toolbars can be docked at different locations on the screen Just grab the vertical bar at the left end of any toolbar and drag it to a new location on the screen A moved toolbar automatically becomes its own window and you can position it anywhere you like on the screen by dragging its
3. Chapter 10 for ideas on how you can use layering to manage your data efficiently YY Make your diagrams a group activity The ability to comment on ideas in a group is essential in business today The diagrams that you create are ideas only they re in graphical rather than textual format Visio helps you make the diagrams you create a group activity by providing a number of ways to add comments and revisions See Chapter 13 for more informa tion on working with comments and the Visio review features Y Report on data Wouldn t it be great if you could store data in a drawing and then report on that data With Visio you can Suppose you draw an office layout plan that includes cubicle walls fixtures office furniture and telephone and computer equipment You can store each piece of fur niture and office equipment with data such as its inventory number owner and current location From this drawing you can generate prop erty inventory and location reports See Chapter 12 for more informa tion on storing and reporting on data in shapes Y Use the drill down feature Jump quickly from an overview drawing toa detailed drawing and back again For example you can draw an overview map of a worldwide computer network and double click the name of a city to see a drawing of that city s computer network This drill down fea ture is possible because Visio lets you define a shape s behavior when you double click it See Chapter 12 fo
4. However when you decide to make the connection later all you need to do is point at the two connectors that you want to connect You ll dis cover more about these fast connection techniques in Chapter 6 Sharing diagrams with other Office applications Keeping others informed about your ideas is essential This feature relies on SharePoint server to make it easier to share data in various ways For example you can generate a Visio pivotdiagram from within Microsoft Project and place it on SharePoint server for comment by other collaborators You can also attach Visio diagrams to e mail created in Outlook Other people can see the diagrams even if they don t have Visio installed 1 Saving data using the XPS file format A problem with custom data for mats is that it isn t easy to move the data to other locations The XML Paper Specification XPS file format provides a standard method of saving your data in a form that other applications can use You can effec tively use the data in any application that supports XML 14 Part I Starting with Visio 2007 Basics Improving efficiency with smaller diagrams Other people don t always need every piece of information in a diagram For example you might have unused master shapes or comments that other people don t need to see Visio makes it easier to clean up your diagrams before you send them to someone else In addition to presenting a cleaner form your dia gram will also consu
5. If Office or Vista detects that a certain operation could cause the operating system to crash Office will stop the operation and tell you about the problem rather than attempting to per form the operation as it did in the past Generally this feature means that you ll not only see fewer crashes but you ll also encounter a reduced risk of data loss Understanding the security features The biggest reason to use Vista is the security features It s a lot easier to pro tect the data in your diagrams under Vista and you ll find that the security is very reliable In addition many of the security features work automatically You don t have to remember to change a setting to protect the data in many cases because Vista does it for you at least from an operating system level The following sections describe a few other security changes for Visio users under Vista Defining the difference between users and administrators One of the most difficult changes that users will encounter under Vista is that it differentiates between users and administrators In addition every account works in user mode most of the time Consequently activities that might have worked fine in the past may not work under Vista For example you ll find that you need to give yourself permission to access your data directory Although this sounds very odd it does help protect your data No one gains access to your data unless you specifically give him rights to
6. are tools for setting Visio s color palette rulers grids and so on You also find the standard Microsoft options such as Spelling Track Markup Customize and Options YY Data The Data menu only appears when you use the Professional edi tion It contains entries that help you obtain data from other sources and create reports 1 Shape The Shape menu contains commands for grouping rotating flip ping and aligning as well as commands for choosing a drawing s color scheme You also find commands for changing the stacking order of shapes and doing some creative things such as fragmenting and inter secting shapes See Chapter 8 for details The options on the Shape menu change depending on the type of draw ing you re creating For certain types of drawings Visio adds an additional menu to the menu bar For example when you create a Gantt chart using the Gantt Chart template in the Schedule category Visio adds a Gantt Chart menu just after the Shape menu and before the Window menu see Figure 1 3 On the Gantt Chart menu you find commands specific to creating Gantt charts such as adding and deleting tasks linking tasks and setting working hours As soon as you close the drawing the menu option disappears 21 22 Part I Starting with Visio 2007 Basics PCS Figure 1 3 Visio inserts a new menu in the menu bar when you create a Gantt chart EEE Cc Figure 1 4 The toolbar shortcut menu lets you turn
7. do so 18 Part I Starting with Visio 2007 Basics Digitally signing your macros You ll probably find that those macros you relied on in previous versions of Visio no longer work That s because most people don t sign their macros In order to use macros successfully in many cases you must digitally sign the file that contains them Since Microsoft is making this particular feature more robust as it introduces new versions of Office and Windows it s probably a good time to start signing your macros now In addition to macros you ll find that Vista makes it more difficult to perform some tasks using Explorer or typing from the command line For example you must have administrative privileges to perform tasks such as deleting a file These changes work along with the macro protection to make it less likely that an errant macro will destroy your data If your macro performs any command line tasks such as deleting a file it also requires the correct privi leges The bottom line is that no matter how you try to perform some tasks Vista won t let you unless you have the correct rights Many macros will simply stop working as currently written This book doesn t discuss how to create or use macros A book such as VBA For Dummies 5th Edition published by Wiley provides complete coverage of this topic Relying on trusted locations Vista is also quite fussy about where you store your data Trying to open a file on a netw
8. g Software and database model diagrams vior king with other people g Working with other programs All Visio What s nev Getting help Working in a different language Saving and printing Macros Formatting Setting up pages Business diagrams General diagrams Network and Web site dagrams Software and database model diagrams Working with other programs Activating Visio Professional Seazity and privacy File management Customizing Drawing Inserting Using data in drawings Flowchart diagrams Maps and floor plans Schedule diagrams Working with other people Gantt chart U S units More information about this template Connected to Office Online wid 2 6 Part I Starting with Visio 2007 Basics If you don t see the help you want type a search term in the Type Words to Search For field and click Search For example if you want to learn more about the Vista differences for Visio type Vista and click Search Help dis plays all of the entries associated with Vista in the right pane Sometimes Help returns too much information You can limit the scope of a search by clicking the down arrow next to the Search button The context menu contains a list of places that you can search For example you might choose to search just the Visio Templates rather than All Visio the default You may not have any search terms in mind when you begin your search Perhaps you re just looking to see
9. is the edition to use because it provides all the shapes and symbols you need to create simple or complex diagrams If you re not involved in any of these fields but are a business professional involved in company sales profits mar keting or managing projects Visio Standard is right for you It includes all the shapes you need to create business related charts diagrams and draw ings without cluttering your screen with shapes you ll never use such as a proximity limit switch or a guided light transmitter It s easy to get lost when you look at all of the diagrams that Visio can create Many people get started using Visio for simple needs For example just about everyone needs a calendar from time to time With Visio you can create a custom calendar to meet any need You can also use it to create directional maps to show someone how to get from the airport to your company When working with Visio it s best to start simple and work your way up to the com plex diagrams used by various professionals A quick peek at some Visio features Visio is often a misunderstood product especially by those who ve never used it Some people limit Visio to drawing organizational charts but it can do considerably more The following list describes some of the tasks you can perform with Visio Y Printing what you want Even though creating a diagram in Visio is relatively easy you still need to show other people the graphical repre sentati
10. tell how to remove a button from a toolbar 1 Display the toolbar that you want to change 25 Chapter 1 Visio 101 Le Figure 1 7 The general help topics help you find the information you need quickly a 2 Right click the toolbar and choose Customize Visio displays the Customize dialog box 3 Drag the button that you want to delete off the toolbar If you want to delete additional buttons repeat this step 4 Click the Close button to close the Customize dialog box Getting Help When Vou Need It Visio makes it easy to obtain help about any topic Microsoft has centralized help in Visio 2007 and made it easier to use The following sections describe the two forms of help that Visio provides Using general help Visio presents help using a separate window You can display this window by clicking the question mark in any dialog box and pointing to any control Visio displays the Help window with the information for that control displayed If you want help on a general topic choose the Help Microsoft Office Visio Help command You see a general listing of Visio help as shown in Figure 1 7 amp Activating Visio Professional Getting help rity and privacy king in a different language gy File management g Saving and printing g Setting up pages gusng data in drawings g Business diagrams Q Flowchar t diagrams g General diagrams s and floor plans Network and Web site diagrams ys dule diagrams
11. title bar If you re a toolbar fanatic you might want to customize the toolbars by adding buttons you use most often and deleting buttons you never use You can also choose any buttons you want and create a new toolbar Creating a toolbar To create a custom toolbar follow these steps 1 Choose View Toolbars Customize Visio displays the Customize dialog box 2 On the Toolbars tab click the New button Visio displays the New Toolbar dialog box 3 In the Toolbar Name field type a name see Figure 1 5 and then click the OK button Visio adds the new name to the list of toolbars and displays a new blank toolbar on the screen It s small but it s there Piss Toolbars Commands Options Toolbars v Standard A Neman Formatting L Action Data Developer Drawing _ Format Shape _ Format Text a Reset Ink _ Layout amp Routing Attach Vi Menu Bar s Stenal Task Pane Close 4 If you want to add buttons to the new toolbar drag and drop the new blank toolbar into the toolbar area and then follow the steps in the next section Modifying a toolbar 5 Click Close to close the Customize dialog box 2 4 Part I Starting with Visio 2007 Basics Easy Figure 1 6 Choose a toolbar on the left and buttons on the right Modifying a toolbar If you just want to add a button here or there consider modifying an existing toolbar rather than creating a new one Howe
12. what Visio offers In this case you can use the Table of Contents list in the left pane of the Help window Click a book icon to open that particular topic You can drill down through the topics to find the information you need Don t forget ToolTips Like most Windows programs Visio also uses ToolTips When you point to a button on a toolbar and hover over it pause without clicking a tip pops up to tell you the name of the button This is especially helpful when you re learning Visio Visio expanded the concept of ToolTips to its stencils When you hover over a stencil shape a tip pops up and gives the name of the shape and a descrip tion as shown in Figure 1 8 If you don t want to view ToolTips or stencil tips choose Tools Options and then click the View tab Click to remove the check mark from Toolbar ScreenTips and Other ScreenTips and then click OK Chapter 1 Visio 101 Format Ti E Backgrounds Drag onto a Gantt chart to add a new E Borders and Ti Figure 1 8 Hover over a shape on the stencil to display Visio shape tips rec Right angle 7 horizontal Closing Visio When you re ready to close Visio choose File Exit If you haven t recently saved all open files Visio prompts you to do so for each file Choose Yes to save or Cancel to return to Visio without saving the drawing 27 2 8 Part I Starting with Visio 2007 Basics
13. 2007 Visio What s new in Visio 2007 A Quickly connect shapes using AutoConnect opening More on Office Online screen Training Templates Downloads i Visio divides the application functionality into several areas At the top are the toolbars and menus you use when working with Visio Most of the toolbar entries are grayed out because you haven t selected a template yet The rest of the book describes these entries Along the left side of the display you see several entries that control the appearance of the right side of Visio For example when you select Getting Started you see topics that help you begin using Visio The following list describes these entries 1 Getting Started This entry displays two panes The center pane con tains information on how to get started using Visio You can obtain infor mation about training templates and downloading in addition to the latest news about Visio The right pane contains a list of your current projects Simply click the project to open it 1 Samples If you re wondering how to use a particular diagram template or simply don t want to start from scratch select the Samples entry This entry also displays two panes on the right side The center pane contains a list of the samples that Microsoft has provided The sample entry contains a basic view of the template type and the sample name The right pane contains a detailed view of the selected sample The dia gram is bigger
14. Chapter 1 Visio 101 In This Chapter Getting the scoop on Visio features Understanding the lingo of Visio Opening Visio and touring the screen Getting help Closing the program C your eyes for a minute and picture the amount of visual information that comes to you on any given day Magazines newspapers reports television programs and presentations illustrate a great deal of information in the form of charts tables graphs diagrams and technical drawings These graphical elements often convey ideas far more quickly and clearly than long boring paragraphs You don t typically think of charts diagrams and graphs as art but they are graphical and this is where Visio comes in Although Visio is easy to use you can benefit from a bit of explanation before you jump right in creating drawings In this chapter you become familiar with what you see on the Visio screen and find out how Visio works conceptually Getting the Scoop on Visio In simple terms Visio is a diagramming tool for anyone who needs to create drawings even self confirmed nonartists Although many people view Visio as a drawing tool it isn t one because it requires no artistic ability It s more accurate to say that Visio is a diagramming tool That s reassuring because even in highly analytical non art related careers you may need to create a chart diagram or drawing If the suggestion of drawing anything strikes terror in your heart Visio can help 10
15. and more detailed You ll also see a write up about the 20 Partt Starting with Visio 2007 Basics A Figure 1 2 A typical drawing screen in Visio sample To use the sample select the US Units or Metric option and click Open Sample Data 1 Category The Category list shows eight items These items represent the diagram types including Business Engineering Flowchart General Maps and Floor Plans Network Schedule and Software and Database Selecting a particular category displays a list of associated templates in the center pane For example when you select the Business category you see Brainstorming Diagram Organizational Chart and PivotDiagram as templates Below these templates is a list of other templates that you might want to see when looking for business diagrams even though Microsoft hasn t placed them in this category Select a particular tem plate and you ll see a larger more detailed picture of it along with a two or three sentence description To create a new drawing based on a tem plate choose the template select the US Units or Metric option and click Create Getting familiar with the Visio screen A typical Visio screen looks like the one shown in Figure 1 2 This screen is displayed when you select the General category and the Basic Diagram US units template In this section you look at what s going on in this window i ig St Z Shapes XP Search for Shapes Type your search he
16. ate for a specific type of drawing Visio automatically opens one or more appropriate stencils defines the page size and scale of your draw ing and defines appropriate styles for things such as text fills and lines You can change any of these elements but the point of using a template is to maintain consistency throughout the drawing y Connector A line that connects one shape to another Perhaps the most common example of a connector is in an organization chart The lines that connect the president to various groups in an organization and the lines that run through an organization are connectors Chapter 6 describes con nectors in detail 6 Part I Starting with Visio 2007 Basics Understanding the Vista Difference Visio operates a little differently from a visual and security perspective under Vista than it does under earlier versions of Windows such as Windows XP In fact you don t get to see all of the functionality that Visio can provide unless you use it under Vista The best way to describe these differences is to group them into two categories graphical what you can see and security the pro tection Visio provides In addition to Visio specific changes Vista also requires a change in how you perform some Visio related tasks For example when you want to work with a printer in Vista you must locate it within the Control Panel It s easy to find the Vista specifics in the Visio help file Simply type Vista in th
17. ayout diagram a road sign in a directional map a server in a network diagram a box on an organization chart or a bar on a comparison chart Visio contains literally thousands of shapes You can draw and save your own shapes as described in Chapter 8 1 Master shape A shape that you see on a stencil When you drag a shape onto the drawing page you re copying a master shape onto your drawing page making it just one instance of that shape Visio makes the distinc tion between master shapes and instances of shapes The only time this distinction is important is when you begin modifying Visio to meet spe cific needs by creating your own shapes 1 Stencil A tool Visio uses to organize shapes so that you can find the one you re looking for A stencil is nothing more than a collection of related shapes If you want to create a cubicle layout diagram for your office for example you use the cubicles stencil which includes shapes such as workstations posts panels work surfaces storage units and file cabi nets Stencils are displayed in the Shapes pane on the left side of the screen so that the shapes are always available while you re working Template A collection of stencils in addition to predefined document settings A template is essentially a model for creating a particular type of drawing A template defines certain characteristics of the drawing so that the drawing is consistent For example when you use a Visio tem pl
18. ckly The emphasis in this update is efficiency helping you get more done with fewer errors and in less time The following list provides you with an overview of the major feature changes in Visio 2007 You ll see these features described in more detail throughout the book 1 Starting quickly with improved templates Visio 2007 supports fewer template categories and the category names now make more sense You actually have access to more templates but Microsoft has organized them better In addition the template examples are larger with clear text descriptions so you have a better idea of how to use a particular tem plate A recent template list tells you which templates you use most often and makes these templates easier to access The Professional edi tion also includes sample diagrams and data sources that you can use as examples of how to retrieve data from your own data sources Improving drawing appearance with themes You have probably seen the effect of themes in Windows A theme in Visio is the same concept You use themes to give your diagrams a particular appearance Using themes helps ensure that your diagrams have a pleasing appearance and are easy to see Y Automatically connecting shapes Visio now makes it easier to create great looking drawings with greater ease by creating the connections you need automatically and aligning new drawing elements You can connect drawing elements when you drag the shape onto the form
19. create busi ness related charts and diagrams that illustrate business processes marketing trends organizations project schedules and so on However just about anyone can make use of this version For example an office manager could use this version to show the office arrangement in a building or the structure of an organization It s important to not limit yourself Visio can help you diagram just about anything you can imag ine as long as the diagram doesn t require the precise measurements normally provided by a computer aided design CAD program 1 Visio Professional Designed for technical users this edition includes everything that Visio Standard includes and more Network managers and designers electrical engineers IT managers facilities planners Internet specialists Web designers and administrators and software developers can use Visio Professional to create charts and diagrams that illustrate a wide variety of technical concepts and processes The pro fessional version also contains a number of database features that you can use to import data from other applications For example you could import information from Access and use it to create a special diagram So how do you know which Visio is right for you If you re involved in net works IT Internet or Web design electrical engineering architecture facili ties planning and management or software development Visio Professional Chapter 1 Visio 101 D
20. e Search field of the Visio Help file and click Search The following sections describe the Visio specific differences in Vista The graphical interface difference Vista sports the new Aero Glass visual interface This new interface offers some efficiencies not found in older versions of Windows and of course it provides a healthy dose of eye candy The big thing to remember is that Vista doesn t affect the actual functionality of Visio All of the features the tech niques you use to perform a task work the same under Windows XP as they do under Vista You do receive some additional benefits from using Vista Graphics do appear faster on screen and you ll notice that Vista does tend to make the graphics look better For example the fonts are easier to read and the lines used to create a diagram look crisper Even though this might seem like a small bene fit for Visio users who work in Vista the effects can reduce eyestrain and help you avoid mistakes that you might otherwise make Vista makes it less likely that you ll encounter errors such as connections where you didn t think any existed Helpful user interface changes Vista also promises to be a less painful experience for users For example normally when you apply a patch and the system has to reboot you have to restart your applications locate your position and only then start work again It s a waste of time and effort Vista provides a new feature called Freeze Dry t
21. hat remembers program settings such as window size window position and even cursor position After a system reboots Vista automati cally resets your Office application to its previous state for you Chapter 1 Visio 101 7 You may have run into problems accessing information on international Web sites in the past Vista now supports the special characters used by these Web sites so that your Visio experience can include data from these sites In addi tion Vista provides full Internet Protocol Version 6 Pv6 support This means that your copy of Visio is ready to work with the additional Web addresses that IPv6 provides All Office products now use the Vista Save Open and Insert common dialog boxes which means that you gain full access to the Vista functionality The Vista functionality includes the ability to organize your files with greater ease and to search for documents based on metadata as well as regular content For example you can search for a Visio document based on the author or the comments you provide A very useful feature for Visio users is the ability to store a thumbnail of your diagram Instead of looking one document at a time for a particular diagram you can simply view the thumbnails This feature makes it considerably easier to locate a particular diagram Even when several diagrams look simi lar you can usually reduce the number of diagrams you have to check Office also emphasizes reliability under Vista
22. me less space making it more efficient for data transfers and local storage One of the ways you can determine whether you need Visio Professional edi tion is by the features it provides The following list describes a number of special features that the Professional edition provides These aren t the only differences but they re significant reasons for choosing the Professional edi tion over the Standard edition 1 New templates and shapes The Professional edition of Visio comes with a number of new templates and shapes that make it easier to display complex data on screen The PivotDiagram Value Stream Map and Information Technology Infrastructure Library ITIL templates help you model complex data in new ways In addition the new Work Flow shapes that are part of the Work Flow Diagram template help you model dynamic workflows that better match how people in your company perform tasks Workflows model business processes of all types which includes every thing from the steps to produce a product to the events that occur when you receive a customer order Using data from other sources in diagrams You already have a vast store of data to use in creating diagrams The problem is that this data isn t in graphical format making it very difficult to understand Visio now makes it easy to create a connection to that data so that the infor mation you already have appears in the diagrams you create Because of the connection between
23. on of your ideas Fortunately Visio provides extensive printing capabilities which means you get just the output you need See Chapter 3 for more information on printing everything from a simple calendar to complex floor diagrams Diagrams without drawing Visio provides a wealth of shapes that you can use to create diagrams of any type All you do is place the shape where you want to see it on screen no drawing is required See Chapter 2 for more information on using shapes to create any diagram type Customize shapes easily One of the best features of Visio is that you can use it to customize shapes in a number of ways You can add text modify the size of the shape change its appearance and connect shapes No matter what your skill level or how you use Visio you can create professional looking results with a few clicks See Chapters 5 through 7 for details on customizing shapes simply Chapter 8 describes how you can create your own shapes when the defaults don t work Chapters 9 through 12 show how to manipulate shapes in various ways See only the data you need Data overload is a condition where you become overwhelmed by the very data that you re supposed to use to complete tasks Layering in Visio helps you reduce complexity by letting 11 2 Part I Starting with Visio 2007 Basics you see only the layer of data you actually need All of the data is still there but you only access it when you actually need it See
24. ork drive or store data on a network drive will normally meet with a number of permission requests Generally you must have administra tive privileges or specific rights on the network drive to use it In this case however you can get around the problem by setting Visio to use trusted loca tions See the Saving Drawings section of Chapter 2 for more details on using trusted locations Jumping Head First into Visio The best way to get started with Visio is to open a new drawing page so you can cruise around the screen and get a feel for what s there Then in Chapter 2 you create a drawing To start Visio choose Start gt Programs Microsoft Office Microsoft Office Visio 2007 Visio displays the window shown in Figure 1 1 Chapter 1 Visio 101 g i file Edit View Insert Format Tools Data Shape Window Help Getting Started with Microsoft Office Visio Recent Documents T Business ine C Engineering E Flowchart Click a category to browse drawing templates a General T Maps and Floor Plans Lj Network Li Schedule C a ecu x 3 Software and Database E3 Office Online Visualize complex information by using pivotdiagrams The new Visio 2007 pivotdiagrams can help you analyze and summarize 2 je business data in a visual 5 i easy to understand format by arranging gt DN shapes ina treedike structure Figure 1 1 A typical Get the latest content while working in Office
25. r more information oso 2007 Generate drawings from data In contrast to the previous point would N n t it be great to be able to generate drawings from existing data Again with Visio you can Suppose you have employee data name title department reporting manager and so on stored in a text or spread sheet file You can generate an organization chart automatically from this data using Visio Gee Chapter 14 for more information on using external data in Visio Y Use hyperlinks Often you can t convey in a single drawing all the infor mation necessary to make your point You might want to refer the reader to a separate drawing a Web site or another document with related information With Visio you can add hyperlinks to a drawing or shape This is an invaluable feature for pulling pieces of information together to present a comprehensive picture See Chapter 14 for tips on using hyperlinks in diagrams ay Visio actually provides support for eight categories of drawings You can create everything from business charts to software and database diagrams The Understanding the Visio Drawing Categories section of Chapter 2 pro vides a description of each of these drawing categories so that you have a better idea of precisely what Visio can do for you Chapter 1 Visio 101 13 What s new in Visio 2007 Visio 2007 has a lot to offer With each update Visio improves the functional ity you need to create diagrams qui
26. re l El Backgrounds US units E Borders and Titles US units E Blocks Raised US units E Blocks US units Om Qoe Oou Eem Tg Er as i gt 10 sae SD 2000 lt p 20 ante gt See L DR C oise 1S Chm cg Chapter 1 Visio 101 lt e The display contains the same menu Standard toolbar and Formatting tool bar as before but the entries are active now The left side of the display con tains the Shapes window while the right side contains the Drawing window The Shapes window contains the list of shapes that you can use In this case the drawing is using the Box shape The shapes appear within stencils This example uses the Blocks US Units stencil The Drawing window contains the area where you create a diagram You see rulers across the top and left side of this window that help you position and size shapes The drawing area looks like graph paper You can use the lines to position shapes as shown in Figure 1 2 Checking out the menus Visio s menu bar contains some typical menus found in almost every Windows application such as File Edit Format and Help Even so it s important to review each menu for commands that you may not expect The following list describes commands unique to Visio even though some of the menus might look familiar 1 Tools On this menu you find all kinds of tools for working with Visio shapes the Visio drawing page and the drawing itself There
27. ver in many cases it s a good idea to create your own custom toolbar so that you can see everything you want without having to worry about someone changing the toolbar back to a default state later Use the following steps to modify any toolbar 1 Display the toolbar that you want to change To do so right click the toolbar area and select the toolbar 2 Right click the toolbar and choose Customize Visio displays the Customize dialog box 3 Click the Commands tab Categories are on the left and commands are on the right as shown in Figure 1 6 a Toolbars Commands Options To add a command to a toolbar select a category and drag the command out of this dialog box to a toolbar Categories Commands New Drawing 2 Edit View a _ New Drawing Metric Insert Format Text _ New Drawing US Units Format Shape pw Tools _ New b Data Getting Started Shape Operations e 2 Drawing Tools GJ New Drawing from Template Rearrange Commands Close 4 Click a category on the left and then scroll through the list of com mands buttons on the right 5 Drag the button from the dialog box to the location on the toolbar where you want to add the button When you release the mouse button the new button becomes part of the existing toolbar at the point where you dropped it Deleting a button from a toolbar Sometimes you end up with buttons you don t really want on a toolbar The following steps
28. your diagram and the data source any changes in the data automatically appear in the diagram A new Data Selector Wizard helps you create the data connection to data in other applica tions such as Access SQL Server and Excel in addition to a number of non Microsoft products Seeing data in the Data Graphics task pane Getting data from an exter nal data source is only part of the process Although plain text is fine for a report you might want to dress it up a bit for your diagram The Data Graphics task pane helps you turn plain text into something that will dazzle those around you Viewing complex data using a pivotdiagram A pivotdiagram is a collec tion of shapes in a treelike structure that helps you present complex data in a less confusing manner Using a pivotdiagram helps you analyze the data drill down into it and display it from various perspectives Chapter 1 Visio 101 15 Familiavizing Vourself with Visio Lingo Like all software programs Visio uses a particular terminology You need to be familiar with the following terms before you begin creating diagrams and drawings 1 Drag and drop The method Visio uses to create drawings What are you dragging and where are you dropping it you ask You drag shapes and you drop them onto a drawing page 1 Shape Probably the most important element in Visio A shape repre sents an object of nearly any conceivable kind such as a piece of office furniture in an office l
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