In a previous post, we saw how to use the ShapeSheet to resize text based on a shape’s size. A related question we sometimes hear is how to make a shape automatically resize to contain its text. Visio includes some shapes that resize based on their text. Go to File > Shapes > Visio Extras…
Year: 2006
Sizing Text with Shapes
We occasionally get questions about how to size shapes to text or text to shapes. While most Visio shapes do not behave like this by default, both cases are made possible through ShapeSheet formulas. In fact, Visio includes some shapes that resize based on their text. Go to File > Shapes > Visio Extras >…
Adding Your Own Shapes to Visio
Visio users and developers often wonder how to distribute their newly created Visio shapes to their colleagues, friends and family (all depends on your friends and family I guess J). Visio offers two mechanisms to publish content, each suited to different situations. This blog entry covers both. But first, an introduction for those new to…
Shapes in the Cloud
If you can’t find the shape you’re looking for in Visio, it may be available online. There are several sets of shapes available only on the Web. In this post, we’ll talk about these shapes and how to find them. The online shapes can be accessed using the Search for Shapes feature in Visio…
Shortcuts to Edit in Visio
There is a lot of cool functionality in Visio, and some may be more accessible than you think. Especially for those of you who are keyboard aficionados, keyboard shortcuts in Visio could save you time better spent in polishing your diagram. Here are a few of our favorite shortcuts: 1) Getting around your…
Name and NameU
When programming in Visio it is important to realize that many Visio objects have more than one name. Objects such as Pages, Masters, Cells and others have a local name and a universal name. Why two names? To address the problems that arise when combining the needs of localization (translating strings into multiple languages) with…
CAD Integration in Visio
While Visio began mainly as a diagramming package for business, the product has always been capable of making technical drawings. Visio supports measured and scaled drawings. It has features such as layers, guides and dimensions to help users create complex and precise drawings. Not surprisingly then, some of the earliest adopters of Visio were engineers…
Recruiting for the Visio Customer Council
[All of the Visio blogs are making this announcement about the Visio Customer Council.] We’re always looking for ways to better understand the needs and concerns of Visio customers. To that end, one of the tools we use is the Visio Customer Council. Council members are uniquely positioned to have their voices heard by the…
Creating a Multi-shape
Earlier this week we began creating a digital clock shape. In the previous post we used Visio’s shape operations feature to construct a digit shape for our clock. Today we will add a behavior to the digit to make it display any numeral required. Then we will complete the clock shape. Our digit…
Building Shapes the Easy Way
Shape design is somewhat of an art in Visio. There are so many things that go into creating professional-looking content that a certain level of expertise is required. One of the goals of the Visio Insights blog is to provide that expertise in an understandable format. Another goal is to demonstrate best practices to help…