Copyright: (C) 1996-1997 Visio Corporation
Citation: (C) 1996-1997 Visio Corporation


Using templates to create drawings

When you want to create a particular type of drawing, such as a flowchart, a geographical map, a network diagram, or a Booch object-oriented diagram, the best way to start is to open a template. Beginning with a template is a lot like starting out on a cross-country car trip equipped with maps, hotel reservations, and an itinerary from an automobile association. Some important things are already set up for you.

The benefits of using a template are

•	It opens one or more stencils containing related shapes.

•	It creates a new drawing page set up with an appropriate grid, page size, and orientation.

•	For drawing types that use a scale, such as 1:10, it sets up the drawing page to an appropriate scale.

•	It copies related styles for text, lines, and fills to the drawing file, saving you the time it takes to define your own styles.

•	Each template has help explaining the most efficient way to draw, the best way to use and combine shapes, how to perform specific actions using shape and page right-mouse menus, how and when to access wizards that automate tasks, and more.

To get help for a particular template:

•	Press F1, click Index, then the type the name of the template, or choose Visio Help > Template Help, then choose the type and name of the template you want.

To get help for a particular shape:

•	Right-click the shape, then choose Shape Help from the shortcut menu.