Category: microsoft Visio

Creating and Configuring Timelines ”; Previous Next Similar to org charts and brainstorming diagrams, you can also create timelines in Visio to depict a schedule or a series of events. Creating a Timeline To create a timeline, go to the New menu in the File tab and click Templates. Go to the Schedule category, click Timeline and then Create to create the timeline workspace. Since the timeline essentially measures time, units selection is inconsequential. Configuring a Timeline Shape Once the Timeline template is created, click and drag the Block timeline shape from the Shapes pane onto the canvas. This opens a Configure Timeline dialog box, where you can select the duration for the timeline and the Timescale. Click Ok. It creates a timeline block with equal intervals between the selected dates. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Listing Shapes Used in Diagrams ”; Previous Next Visio has robust auditing and inventory tools built-in that help to quickly review the various components of a diagram. You can extract information such as quantity of each of the shapes used in the diagram, properties of the shapes, text on the shapes, etc. as a table which can help you quickly review and ensure that the document is according to the prescribed specifications. In this example, we will extract a sample report that shows the names of the shapes used and their quantity. To get an inventory of the document, go to the Review tab on the Ribbon and in the Reports section, click Shape Reports. It opens the Reports dialog box. You can create a new report definition by clicking New… or modify an existing report style by clicking Modify… After selecting the required features of the reports, click Run… to start creating the report. After the report is compiled, the Run Report dialog box opens, which allows to select the format of the report. Generally, it is preferred to export the report as an Excel file to enable easier sorting of data fields but you also have the choice of exporting as HTML, XML, or a Visio shape. Select Copy of report definition in the Save report with section to save a copy of the report within the document and click OK. Visio creates a report table detailing the features we selected. In this case, the name of the shape and quantity. If you have chosen to save the report as an Excel file in the previous step, clicking the report will open an Excel window within Visio where you can work with the contents of the report. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Microsoft Visio – Creating Report Indicators ”; Previous Next A dotted line report helps in identifying individual team members who report to multiple people. To add a dotted line, drag the Dotted-line Report shape from the Shapes pane onto the canvas. You will see that there are two endpoints to the dotted line. Drag one of the endpoints to the first shape and the other endpoint to another shape to create a dotted line that indicates the team member reports to more than one position. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Breaking Down Structures Using Sync Copies ”; Previous Next It might be required to break down the org chart so that each executive gets his/her own page to avoid congesting the chart. Synchronization allows any change made to the executives in other pages to remain in sync with the main page. To synchronize a shape, click the shape and then the Synchronize button in the Org Chart tab. This opens the Create Synchronized Copy dialog box, which allows to create a copy of the shape and its subordinates on a new or an existing page. Click the Hide subordinates on original page checkbox, if you want to collapse the shape on the main page. Any changes made on the synchronized shape pages will be seen on the main page as well. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Applying Theme Colors and Effects ”; Previous Next Themes are useful to customize the appearance of the document. Visio goes a step further and allows to customize the themes themselves. Themes come with variants that can be further customized as needed. Theme variants can be accessed from the Variants section in the Design tab. You can use the stock variants or click the dropdown menu to customize many other aspects. In the Colors menu, you will find that there many color combinations to choose from. The Effects menu shows some of the effects that can be applied onto the selected shape. You can also choose from a range of connectors. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Blocking Themes from Affecting Shapes ”; Previous Next Sometimes, it becomes necessary to prevent themes from affecting one shape or a group of shapes, especially if they have important information that has to be presented in a particular way. Visio allows to protect a shape, thereby preventing any theme changes from affecting the shape’s intended design. To enable protection for a shape, click a shape or a group of shapes. Go to the Developer tab in the Ribbon, click Protection in the Shape Design section. (Note − You may need to first enable the Developer tab by customizing the Ribbon). This opens the Protection dialog box that allows to select which components of the shape to protect from being overridden. We will focus on protecting the theming of the shape for now. So, select the checkboxes for Text, Format, From theme colors, From theme effects, From theme fonts and finally, From theme index. Click OK. If you now select any theme from the Design tab, you will notice that the shape that is protected is unaffected by the theme change. To reverse the changes, simply go to the Protection dialog box again, click None and finally click OK. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Microsoft Visio – Sharing Timelines ”; Previous Next Timelines can be shared just like other Visio drawings as PDFs, Visio drawings, or graphic files. Visio also allows you to let others edit the drawing, if provided access. This happens via Microsoft OneDrive and you need to be signed in to Visio to access this feature. To share a drawing for editing or review, go to the File menu and click Share. The document has to be first saved to the cloud, so click Save to Cloud to save the document to your personal or official OneDrive folder. Once the document is saved to your OneDrive folder, you can invite others by sending them the link to the shared drawing. You can define whether people just get to view it or get to edit it as well. Your collaborators can then open the shared drawing in the cloud and open the drawing directly in their Visio installation. Note − Visio Online is available to Office 365 customers who have Visio included in their cloud subscription. They can open and review the drawing online in their browsers; however, any changes to the drawing itself requires the users to have a local copy of Visio installed. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Prototyping Software Using Wireframes ”; Previous Next Wireframe diagrams are typically used by software developers to prototype the design of the software user interface. Wireframes help to visualize the position and behavior of various elements in the UI before the software can be deployed. Opening the Wireframe Template Click the File menu and then click New. In the Templates section, click the Software and Database category and scroll down to select the Wireframe Diagram template. It opens the template for the Wireframe Diagram and the Shapes pane lists all the controls and buttons commonly used in a software UI as shown in the following screenshot. Creating a Wireframe Dialog Box In the following example, we will create a wireframe dialog box for the Print command. Click the Dialogs category in the Shapes pane and drag the Dialog form shape onto the canvas. You can resize the default shape as needed. Double-click the header text in the dialog box and type Print. We now have the outer frame for the dialog box. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Microsoft Visio – Adding Milestones ”; Previous Next Milestones represent specific points in time during which an important event has occurred or is scheduled to occur. To add a milestone, click and drag the Line Milestone shape onto a chosen interval on the timeline. It need not be dropped exactly on a specific interval, since you can manually configure the exact date and time of the event. When you drag the milestone onto the timeline, the Configure Milestone dialog box appears, where you can specify the exact date and time of the milestone along with a description of the event. You can also choose from the standard date formats to better represent the time and date. Click OK to create the milestone on the timeline. The milestone can be dragged along the timeline, and the date and time of the milestone will be updated accordingly. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;

Microsoft Visio – Creating Calendars ”; Previous Next You can create calendars in Visio to help you better organize and deliver information. To create a calendar, go to the New menu in the File tab and click Templates, then Schedule. In the Schedule category, click Multi week Task Calendar and then Create to create the calendar workspace. Depending on your version of Visio, you might just notice the template as Calendar. You will see that there is a default calendar created. You can however, create your own calendar by dragging the Month shape onto an empty canvas. This opens the Configure dialog box, where you can specify the calendar month. Days of the month are automatically filled and the weekends are differentiated from the weekdays. Print Page Previous Next Advertisements ”;