Connecting Shapes

Core Training for Microsoft Office Visio Standard 2003

Connecting Shapes

Connecting New and Existing Shapes

1	To start a diagram based on a flowchart template, in the Category area of the Choose Drawing Type window, click Flowchart, and then in the Template area, click Basic Flowchart.
2	To begin adding connected shapes to the diagram, on the Standard toolbar, click the Connector Tool button, as indicated.
3	To add a shape to the flowchart, drag the Process shape from the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil to the indicated area at the top of the drawing page.
4	To add a second shape that is connected to the first, drag the Decision shape from the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil to the indicated area below the Process shape.
5	To add a third connected shape, drag the Document shape from the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil to the indicated area to the right of the Decision shape.
6	To select the shape to which you want to connect a new shape, click the center of the Decision shape.
7	To connect a new shape to the selected shape, drag the Process shape from the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil to the indicated area below the Decision shape.
8	To zoom in on a connected shape, on the Standard toolbar, click the Pointer Tool button, click the top Process shape, hold down the SHIFT and CTRL keys, and then click the top Process shape again.
9	To enter text in the selected shape, for the purposes of this exercise, press SPACEBAR to have the text typed for you.
10	To scroll down in the diagram and view the other shapes, on the vertical scroll bar, click the Down scroll arrow twice.
11	To enter text in another shape, click the Decision shape, and then press SPACEBAR to have the text typed for you.
12	To select a connector to which you want to add a label, click the connector between the Decision and Document shapes.
13	To add a text label to the connector, press SPACEBAR to have the label typed for you.
14	To label another connector, click the connector between the Decision shape and the bottom Process shape, and press SPACEBAR to have the label typed for you.
15	To add another shape to the flowchart, drag the Decision shape from the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil to the indicated area on the drawing page, below the Document shape.
16	To draw a connector between two existing shapes, on the Standard toolbar, click the Connector Tool button, and then drag from the middle-right handle of the bottom Process shape to the center of the new Decision shape.
17	To cancel the selection and view the new connector, click the drawing page to the right of the bottom Decision shape.

Modifying Shape Connections

1	To select all the shapes in the diagram, click the Edit menu, and then click Select All.
2	To move all the shapes to make more room at the top of the drawing page, point to any area within the selection rectangle (but do not point to any of the handles), and drag downward about 1 inch.
3	To move the top shape, click it once to remove the selection rectangle, and then drag the shape upward about 1 inch.
4	To insert a new connected shape, on the Standard toolbar, click the Connector Tool button.
5	To place the new shape between two connected shapes, drag a Process shape from the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil to the indicated location between the top Process and Decision shapes.
6	To add text to the new shape, for purposes of this exercise, press SPACEBAR to have the text typed for you.
7	To see more of the drawing page so that you can move shapes around, on the Standard toolbar, click the Pointer Tool button, click the Zoom arrow, and then click Page.
8	To change the location of one shape in relation to another, drag the bottom Decision shape about an inch below the bottom Process shape.
9	To add a shape to the flowchart, drag a Document shape onto the drawing page to the right of the bottom Decision shape.
10	To add text to the new shape, press SPACEBAR to have the text typed for you.
11	To get a better view of the two bottom shapes in relation to other shapes, on the Standard toolbar, click the Zoom arrow, and click 75%.
12	To begin creating a point-to-point connection between two shapes, on the Standard toolbar, click the Connector Tool button.
13	To create the point-to-point connection, drag from the bottom connection point (the small blue X) of the Decision shape as indicated to the bottom connection point of the Document shape.
14	To move a shape that has a point-to-point connection, on the Standard toolbar, click the Pointer Tool button, and then drag the bottom Document shape below the bottom Decision shape.
15	To change the route of a point-to-point connector, first, click the connector between the bottom Decision and Document shapes to select it.
16	To change the route of the selected connector, drag the indicated midpoint of the connector until it sits to the right instead of the left of the Document shape.
17	To change the connection point of the selected point-to-point connector, drag the indicated endpoint of the connector from the bottom of the Document shape to the connection point on its right side.

Changing the Layout of Connected Shapes

1	To change the layout of the flowchart, click the Shape menu, and then click Lay Out Shapes.
2	To make the layout flow horizontally instead of vertically, in the Placement area of the Lay Out Shapes dialog box, click the Direction arrow, click Left to Right, and then click OK.
3	To begin changing the page orientation so that it accommodates the new layout, click the File menu, and click Page Setup.
4	To change the page orientation from vertical to horizontal, on the Print Setup tab of the Page Setup dialog box, click Landscape, and click OK.
5	To center the diagram on the drawing page, click the Shape menu, and then click Center Drawing.
6	To select several shapes whose spacing you need to change, click the Decision shape on the right, hold down the SHIFT key, and click the top Document shape to its right, and then click the bottom Document shape to its right.
7	To distribute the selected shapes evenly, click the Shape menu, and click Distribute Shapes.
8	To place the Decision shape midway between the two Document shapes, in the Distribute Shapes dialog box, in the Vertical distribution area, click the first button on the left, and click OK.
9	To cancel the selected group and begin selecting a new group, click a blank area of the drawing page above the selection, and then click the Decision shape on the right again.
10	To select several shapes to align more precisely, hold down the SHIFT key and click the first Process shape to the left of the selected shape, and then click the second Process shape to its left.
11	To align the selected shapes, click the Shape menu, and click Align Shapes.
12	To align the secondary shapes vertically with the primary shape, in the Align Shapes dialog box, in the Vertical alignment area, click the first button on the left, and then click OK.