Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Visio Training

Shortcut Keys:
CNTRL+1 - Pointer
CNTRL+2 - Text box tool
CNTRL+3 - Connector tool
CNTRL+4 - Pencil drawing tool
These go up to 9, but I don't remember what they are. When you hit it, a little picture comes up and you'll be able to tell what it is. Remember to always go back to Pointer (CNTRL+1) before trying to move things around.

Multi-selecting:
Use SHIFT click, instead of CNTRL click to multi-select. When you use CNTRL click, and move the mouse a little, it'll make a copy of the object you selected. You might not notice this at first, but it could be that the copy is directly over the original.

Creating straight lines:
Hold SHIFT while using the line tool and it'll restrict the line to either being perfectly flat, or at an angle of 45 degrees.

Create a Square:
Use the rectangle tool while holding SHIFT

Make all shapes the same size:
View->Size and Position : Here you can specify height and width of all objects.

Spacing objects evenly (Distributing Shapes):
SHIFT select all the shapes to be distributed evenly. Choose Shape-> Distribute Shapes. Choose appropriate option (usually distribute middle to middle)

Lining up objects:
SHIFT select all the shapes to be aligned. Choose Shape->Align Shapes. Choose appropriate option (usually the middle to middle)

UML
There are UML shapes in Visio. You have to open the specific UML stencil. They come standard. Try Shapes->Open Stencil . There should be a couple of them names UML***. There was one called UMLUse*. This one had the Actor, Use Case etc.

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