Microsoft Visio enables you to create a variety of different drawings from organizational charts and flowcharts, web site maps and network drawing to office plans and timelines. When you begin a new diagram you can start with one of the Visio solution templates which contain all the shapes, styles and page scaling that you need for that particular job. Our range of Microsoft Visio Training Courses cover all levels from novice to advanced users, and we deliver courses in all the versions.
Tucked away under the optional “Developer” tab on the Ribbon within Visio are some great tools to help create custom shapes. Microsoft Visio Training courses from Eident in Glasgow, Edinburgh and across Scotland will help you quickly master thishandy software tool, but here is a quick peek at these often missed features…
Microsoft Visio Training Tips
More advanced users find the existing shapes available from stencil collections are quite enough and want to create their own. Merging shapes together enables you to create new shapes from existing ones, you can then add these as Master shapes to your stencils.
First of all, make sure the Developer Tab is showing:
To show the Developer tab
- Start the Microsoft Visio application.
- On the File tab, choose the Options button.
- In the Visio Options dialog box, choose the Customize Ribbon button.
- In the list of main tabs, select the Developer check box.
Using the Union Command
The Union command merges overlapping shapes together to create one shape.
Select all shapes to be merged
From the Operations drop-down button select OPERATIONS then UNION
Using the Combine Command
The Combine command merges overlapping shapes and creates ‘knocked out’ areas in the new shape where the initial shapes overlapped.
The resulting shape will take on the colour of whichever shapes was selected first.
Select all shapes to be merged
From the Operations drop-down button select OPERATIONS then COMBINE
Using the Subtract Command
With the Subtract command the shape that is selected first works like a piece of ‘pastry’ and the other shapes overlapping it work like ‘pastry cutters’.
Select all shapes to be merged
From the Operations drop-down button select OPERATIONS then SUBTRACT
Using the Intersect Command
The Intersect command creates a new shape from the area where all selected shapes overlap.
The resulting shape will take on the colour of whichever shapes was selected first.
Select all shapes to be merged
From the Operations drop-down button select OPERATIONS then INTERSECT
Using the Fragment Command
The Fragment command creates a new shape wherever selected shapes overlap.
The resulting shape will take on the colour of whichever shapes was selected first.
Select all shapes to be merged
From the Operations drop-down button select OPERATIONS then FRAGMENT
Our Microsoft Visio Training courses are held in Glasgow, Edinburgh and across Scotland.