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Getting to know Microsoft Visio
(PDF, 20 page, 2MB) |
Visio 2010 is a graphical and drawing application that helps you to visualise and communicate complex information. You can transform complicated text and tables that are hard to understand into Visio diagrams that communicate information at a glance. |
Working with stencils
(PDF, 8 pages, 430KB) |
Visio is based on stencils. Stencils are palettes of shapes that can be used to create almost any diagram you need. Each palette is task-specific making it easier to locate the shape/s you require. |
Working with shapes
(PDF, 14 pages, 865KB) |
Drawings in Visio are based on shapes. Shapes are the objects you drag from a stencil and place on a drawing page. They have been created using the basic tools in Visio and have been placed in special files called stencils. |
Formatting shapes
(PDF, 6 pages, 520KB) |
Formatting is the process of changing the appearance of an object. The general purpose of formatting shapes on the drawing page is to enhance the appearance of the overall illustration or to draw attention to certain aspects of the drawing. |
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Working with connectors
(PDF, 10 pages, 581KB)
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In some drawings, like flowcharts and organisational charts, you need to connect shapes to indicate the flow of the operation, procedure or logic. In Visio, the lines connecting two objects are called connectors. |
Containers
(PDF, 6 pages, 400KB) |
A container is a special shape that visually groups together logically-related shapes on the page. By creating a container, typing a heading label, adding specific shapes and then formatting it, your drawing will show which processes belong together. |
Working with text
(PDF, 8 pages, 720KB) |
Visio is a tool that enables you to take concepts and procedures and display them graphically. However, you still need to use text in your drawings to label objects; create headings/subheadings and instruct, inform or expand on a concept or feature. |
Working with pages
(PDF, 12 pages, 790KB) |
Microsoft Visio enables you to work with multiple page drawings. This is a useful tool, for instance, if you want to create different versions of the one drawing and keep all of the information together in a single file. |
Page tools
(PDF, 10 page, 675KB) |
When you create drawings on paper you have many tools at your disposal. For example, it would be unusual to attempt to create precise drawings without the assistance of rulers and grid lines. |
Editing pages
(PDF, 5 page, 510KB) |
As you are building and editing your drawings, you can save a lot of time and effort if you know how to perform a few basic editing functions. Such as copy and paste objects, find and replace text and special characters, and use the undo and redo buttons. |
Themes
(PDF, 8 page, 610KB) |
A theme is a co-ordinated set of colours and effects that you can apply to create professional-looking drawings with a consistent design. Visio includes many built-in themes that you can apply or you can create your own custom themes. |
Outputting drawings
(PDF, 6 page, 760KB) |
Because it’s often easier to review a printed copy of a drawing or perhaps you just need a hard copy, you can print Visio drawings at any point during their creation. You can print multiple copies, specific pages or even just selected objects. |
Organisation charts
(PDF, 12 page, 710KB) |
Organisation charts are an essential tool for documenting structures and hierarchies within organisations. Using the Visio Organisation Chart Shapes stencil, you can easily create drawings that depict these structures. |
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Organisation chart data
(PDF, 6 page, 625KB)
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There are a number of handy tools available in Visio that enable you to work with and manipulate organisation chart data. They help to minimise the risk of errors resulting from the duplication of information reducing the work involved in data conversion. |
Calendars
(PDF, 8 page, 520KB) |
One of the special purpose stencils in Visio is designed for creating calendars. Calendars are an essential part of a project schedule – highlighting key dates, displaying timelines and providing an overview of the time available for a project. |
Gantt charts
(PDF, 14 page, 950KB) |
Gantt charts are graphical representations of task-based projects. The tasks in a Gantt chart are both listed in a tabular format and displayed graphically as task bars, reflecting their duration. |
Cross functional flowcharts
(PDF, 10 page, 600KB) |
Processes can be represented by flowcharts, but they have one drawback – they cannot indicate who is responsible for the activities illustrated unless text boxes are added or unless sole responsibility for the entire process falls to one department. |
Learner files
(ZIP, 13MB) |
If you want to try out the exercises in the learning guides above you'll need to unzip these files into your My Documents area on your desktop. |
