How to use microsoft visio professional

There are many kinds of Visio diagrams, including organization charts, network diagrams, workflows, and home or office plans. Getting started with Visio can be summarized into three basic steps: using a template, arranging and connecting shapes, and modifying shapes with text. Note: If you have Visio Plan 2, you have access to both the installed app and the web version of Visio.

With Visio Plan 1, you get just the web version of Visio. Not sure which license you have? You can check what version you have.

Note: See Install Visio if you haven't installed the Visio app yet. Tutorial: 3 basic steps to create a Visio diagram:. Choose and open a template. Arrange and connect shapes.

Add text to shapes and connectors. Templates include stencils, shapes, and grid measurements to help you get started quickly and easily when making your diagram. Templates come with stencils that are full of the shapes needed to create a particular kind of drawing. The Home Plan template, for example, opens with stencils full of shapes such as walls, furniture, appliances, cabinets, and so on.

The Organization Chart template includes distinct shapes for executives, managers, assistants, positions, consultants, vacancies, and more. Some drawings require a special scale. For example, the Site Plan template opens with an engineering scale, where 1 inch represents 10 feet.

Templates come ready with appropriate settings for the drawing type. Some templates have unique features that you can find on special tabs in the ribbon. For example, when you open the Office Layout template, a Plan tab appears. You can use the Plan tab to configure display options that are specific to office layout diagrams. In some cases when you open a Visio template, a wizard helps you get started. For example, the Space Plan template opens with a wizard that helps you set up your space and room information.

Start the Visio app or open Visio on the web. Note: Haven't installed Visio yet? If you have Visio Plan 2, you can download and install the Visio desktop app. Select the template you want, or select Basic Diagram to start from scratch.

You can also browse for more templates by clicking Categories , and you can enter terms to search for templates. If you're using the desktop link, you may have to specify a specific type of that template and then select Create. To create your diagram, you drag shapes from the stencil in the Shapes window to the canvas and connect them.

There are several ways to connect shapes, but the simplest way is with AutoConnect arrows. Note: AutoConnect is available by default when your drawing is based on a template for a type that typically requires connections, like a flowchart. If do not see the AutoConnect arrows when you hover the mouse pointer over a shape, AutoConnect is not active. Visio shapes are ready-made objects that you drag onto your drawing page — they are the building blocks of your diagram.

When you drag a shape from the Shapes window onto your drawing page, the original shape remains on the stencil. That original is called a master shape. The shape that you put on your drawing is a copy — also called an instance — of that master. You can drag as many instances of the same shape onto your drawing as you want. Instead of static pictures, you can create data-connected Visio diagrams that display data, are easy to refresh, and dramatically increase your productivity.

You can use the wide variety of diagram templates and stencils in Visio to understand, act on, and share information about organizational systems, resources, and processes throughout your enterprise. The round handle located above a selected shape is called a rotation handle. Drag it right or left to rotate the shape. The connection arrows help you easily connect shapes to one another, as you saw in the previous section.

You can use the square selection handles to change the height and width of your shape. Click and drag a selection handle on the corner of a shape to enlarge the shape without changing its proportions, or click and drag a selection handle on the side of a shape to make the shape taller or wider. You can add data to each shape by typing it in the Shape Data window — on the View tab, in the Show group, click Task Panes , and then click Shape Data.

With Visio Professional Edition, you can also import data from an external data source. Data is not displayed in the drawing by default. If you want to display the data for lots of shapes at once, you can use a feature called data graphics, also on the Data tab. The following illustration shows the data for two trees at once. Many Visio shapes have special behavior that you can find by stretching, right-clicking, or moving the yellow control handle on the shape. For example, you can stretch a People shape to show more people, or stretch the Growing flower shape to indicate growth.

Tip: A great way to find out what a shape can do is to right-click it to see if there are any special commands on its shortcut menu. The shapes automatically connect to show the hierarchy. Improve your skills across core apps and software with free online classes and trainings led by Microsoft Store associates. Internet access Microsoft account See aka. Stay informed about special deals, the latest products, events, and more from Microsoft Store. Available to United States residents. By clicking sign up, I agree that I would like information, tips, and offers about Microsoft Store and other Microsoft products and services.

Privacy Statement. Visio Professional Buy now. Turn complex ideas into clear visuals Work as a team to easily create and share data-linked diagrams to bring your ideas to life. Get started quickly with ready-made templates and thousands of customizable shapes.

Collaborate with others and share diagrams seamlessly. Connect diagrams to real-time data to gain insights and make decisions quickly. Create and share professional diagrams. Previous Next. Easy data linking Connect your Visio shapes and diagrams to data from common internal and external sources. Sign in with an existing or new Microsoft Account and enter your product key.

Once Visio is associated with your Microsoft account, you no longer need the product key. It will always be linked to your account and you can re-download the app or manage your license from account. Visio Plan 2 Subscription version. Your work or school account should already have an assigned license for Visio Plan 2. Go on to Step 2. If you're unable to complete Step 2, contact your IT admin to get a Visio Plan 2 license assigned to you.

Note: If you're the Microsoft admin responsible for assigning licenses, see Assign licenses to users and the Deployment guide for Visio. Before you begin Make sure your PC meets the system requirements.

The account you sign in with depends which version of Visio you have. Follow the steps for your version. Visio Professional or Standard Non-subscription versions. Go to www. Note: If you're already signed in to office. Forgot your account details? See I forgot the account I use with Office. In the account. Locate the version of Visio you want to install and select Install. If you have multiple Officeproducts you may have to scroll through the list of products associated with this Microsoftaccount.

Tip: To install Visio in a different language, or to install the bit version, select the link Other options. Choose the language and bit version you want, and then select Install. Note: If you're already signed in with a Microsoft account, you'll need to sign out and then sign in with the work or school account you use with your subscription, or right-click your browser in the task bar to start an in-private or incognito browser session. If you set a different start page, go to admin.

Find Visio from the list and choose your language and the bit or bit version, then select Install Visio. If you have any other Office apps installed, make sure to select the same bit version for your Visioinstallation. What version of Office am I using? If Visio isn't listed as an install option under My Installs , it could mean you don't have a license.

Select Create under the template you want, or select Create under Basic Diagram to start from scratch. To create your diagram, you drag shapes from the stencil in the Shapes pane to the canvas and connect them. There are several ways to connect shapes, but the simplest way is by auto-connecting them. Note: See Add and connect shapes in Visio for the web or Change the size, rotation, and order of a shape in Visio for the web to learn more about using shapes.

For more details about working with text, see Add and format text in Visio for the web. Drag a shape from the Shapes window and drop it on the page. Leave the mouse pointer over the shape until four arrows appear around the sides. These are AutoConnect arrows, which give you several ways to automatically connect shapes. Hold the mouse pointer over one of the arrows and a mini toolbar appears, holding the top four shapes in the Quick Shapes area.

Move the pointer over each to see a preview of that shape on your diagram. Click the one that you want, and that shape appears with a connector between it and your first shape.

Drag a shape from the Shapes window and hold it over a shape on the page until the arrows appear, then drop the shape on top of one of the arrows. Hold the pointer over a shape until the arrows appear, then grab an arrow, drag it to a shape you want to connect to, and drop it in the middle of the second shape. Note: Some templates have other handy ways to add and connect shapes. Click a shape once and start typing. Select a shape that has text.

Click Home and use tools in the Font and Paragraph groups to format the text. On the Design tab, in the Themes group, move the pointer slowly over the different themes.

Each theme adds different colors and effects to the diagram. Click the one you want to apply. Click one of the background designs. Now look down at the bottom of Visio, just under the drawing page. There are two tabs: Page-1 and VBackground Page-1 is the page with the shapes on it, and VBackground-1 is a background page you just added. Click VBackground-1 to see just the background page, and then click Page-1 to go back to the diagram. Click one of the options to add it to the diagram.

Notice the border and title are added to the background page, so if you want to add the title, click the tab for the background page. Now click Title once and start typing. The title changes to your new text. Visio allows you to apply built-in templates, to apply your own custom templates, and to search from a variety of templates available on Office. To use one of the built-in templates, under Template Categories , click the category that you want, and then click the template that you want and click Create.

To use your own template that you previously created, under Other Ways to Get Started , click New from existing , navigate to the file that you want and click Create New. To find a template on Office. Note: You can also search for templates on Office.

To search for templates on Office. In the Search Office. Note: You are in the Backstage view when you first open Visio. If you have just opened Visio, proceed to the next step. When the diagram template opens, most of the space is taken up with a blank diagramming page. Along the side is the Shapes window, which contains several stencils full of shapes. The stencils are identified by title bars at the top of the Shapes window; you might need to scroll the title bar pane to see them all.

When you click a stencil title bar, the shapes appear in the pane below. In the left pane of the Open dialog box, click the drive or folder that contains the drawing. In the right pane of the Open dialog box, open the folder that contains the drawing that you want.

You can save your diagram as a standard Visio file that you can share with other people who have Visio. In addition, there are many different formats that you can save your diagram in directly from the Save As dialog box. Click Save As , and then select a format in the Save as type list. Web page in HTM format. Image files and other resource files are saved in a subfolder of the location where you save the HTM file. For more information about how to add shapes, see Use the Shapes window to organize and find shapes and Find more shapes and stencils.

To add a shape to the drawing page so that it is automatically connected when it is added to the page, do the following:. Hold your pointer over the shape that is already on the page. Notice that small blue arrows appear on the four sides of the shape. These are AutoConnect arrows that you can use to connect shapes. A mini toolbar that contains four shapes appears, and a preview shape might also appear on the page.