Laying Out Office Spaces

Core Training for Microsoft Office Visio Standard 2003

Creating Scaled Layout Diagrams

1	To open an office layout template, in the Category area of the Choose Drawing Type window, click Building Plan, and then in the Template area, click Office Layout.
2	To change the drawing scale, click the File menu, click Page Setup, and then in the Page Setup dialog box, click the Drawing Scale tab.
3	To set a different predefined drawing scale, click the arrow of the box that contains ½" = 1'0", click above the scroll box in the list scroll bar, click ¼" = 1'0", and then click OK.
4	To add an interior space, drag the Space shape from the Walls, Doors and Windows stencil until its top edge is at the 24’ mark on the vertical ruler, and its left edge is at the 10’ mark on the horizontal ruler.
5	To add an overlapping space, drag another Space shape from the Shapes window, and position it so that its top edge is at the 18’ mark, and its left edge is at the 16’ mark.
6	To change the width of a Space shape, drag the right middle selection handle of the selected Space shape to the right until the shape's right edge is at the 36' mark on the horizontal ruler.
7	To change the height of a space, drag the lower-middle selection handle of the selected Space shape down until the status bar indicates that the height of the shape is 14 feet.
8	To extend the selection to include both shapes, hold down the SHIFT key, and click the top shape.
9	To unite the two shapes so that they become one space, click the Shape menu, point to Operations, and then click Union.
10	To change the perimeter of the shape to walls, click the Plan menu, and then click Convert to Walls.
11	To add dimension lines to each wall, in the Convert to Walls dialog box, in the Settings area, click to select the Add dimensions check box, and then click OK.
12	To display the dimension text for a wall in large gray text, click the top horizontal wall.
13	To attach a guide to the selected wall, click the Shape menu, point to Actions, and then click Add a Guide.
14	To drag the wall upward by using the guide, point to the part of the guide that is to the left of the shape, and drag the guide up to the 28’ mark on the vertical ruler.
15	To cancel the selection of the guide, press the ESC key.

Adding and Modifying Shapes in Layout Diagrams

1	To add a door, drag the Door shape from the Walls, Doors, and Windows stencil to the center of the top horizontal wall, and when you see a red box and a ScreenTip that says Glue to Geometry, release the mouse button.
2	To change the width of the selected door shape, click the Shape menu, and then click Custom Properties.
3	To choose from several standard door widths, in the Custom Properties dialog box, click the Door width arrow, click 36 in., and then click OK.
4	To reverse the door's orientation so that it opens inward, click the Shape menu, point to Rotate or Flip, and then click Flip Vertical.
5	To add a window to the layout, drag the Window shape from the Walls, Doors, and Windows stencil to the middle of the vertical wall to the right of the door, and when you see a red box and a ScreenTip that says Glue to Geometry, release the mouse button.
6	To change the width of the window, drag the window's bottom selection handle downward until the status bar shows that the width of the shape is 3 feet.
7	To add a second window, drag a Window shape from the Walls, Doors, and Windows stencil to the indicated location on the drawing page.
8	To change the width of the window, drag the window's right selection handle to the right until the status bar shows that the width of the shape is 3 feet.
9	To copy the selected window shape, point to the gray block in the middle of the selected window, hold down the CTRL key, and drag the window shape along the wall to the indicated location on the right.
10	To add a non-structural shape, a workstation, click the Cubicles stencil, and then drag the Straight workstation shape into the lower-left corner of the top space.
11	To add more furniture, click the Office Furniture stencil, and drag the Multi-chair racetrack shape into the bottom space.
12	To rotate the selected shape, click the Shape menu, point to Rotate or Flip, and then click Rotate Left.

Organizing Shapes in Layout Diagrams by Using Layers

1	To add an annotation to the diagram, drag the Callout shape from the Walls, Doors, and Windows stencil to the indicated area on the drawing page.
2	To switch the text of the callout shape to the left of the line, click the Shape menu, point to Rotate or Flip, and then click Flip Horizontal.
3	To join the callout with the conference table shape in a shape-to-shape connection, drag the right endpoint of the callout line to the middle of the conference table, as indicated.
4	To replace the placeholder text in the selected callout, for the purposes of this exercise, press SPACEBAR to have the text typed for you.
5	To cancel the selection of the text block (but not the selection of the callout shape), press the ESC key once.
6	To check which layer the selected shape is assigned to, click the Format menu, and click Layer.
7	To view all of the available layers, in the Layer dialog box, click below the scroll box in the scroll bar, and then click Cancel to close the dialog box.
8	To change the layer properties of the drawing, click the View menu, and then click Layer Properties.
9	To prevent changing shapes in a specific layer, in the Layer Properties dialog box, click to insert a check mark in the Lock column of the Building Envelope row.
10	To lock additional layers, click to insert check marks in the Lock column of the Door row, the Wall row, and the Window row.
11	To hide the shapes on a layer, click to clear the check mark from the Visible column of the Notations row.
12	To update the layers with their new property settings, click OK.
13	To change the appearance of a layer instead of hiding it, click the View menu, click Layer Properties, and in the Layer Properties dialog box, click the Visible column of the Notations row.
14	To color-code all the shapes in a layer, in the Notations row, click the Color column.
15	To change the color of shapes in a layer, click the Layer color arrow, click above the scroll box in the scroll bar, and then click color 07 (aqua).
16	To make the color lighter on the diagram, drag the Transparency slider to the right, until the Transparency box shows 25%, and then click OK.
17	To add accessories to the diagram, click the Office Accessories stencil, and drag the Coat rack shape to the upper-left corner of the top room.
18	To add more accessories, drag a Square waste can shape to the lower-left corner of the room with the table, and drag a Plant shape to the lower-right corner of the same room.
19	To select all the accessory shapes, hold down the SHIFT key, click the waste can, and then click the coat rack.
20	To create a new layer on which to put the accessories, click the Format menu, click Layer, and then in the Layer dialog box, click New.
21	To name the new layer, in the New Layer dialog box, press SPACEBAR, wait as the name is typed for you, and then click OK.
22	To assign the selected shapes to the Accessories layer, in the Layer dialog box, click to clear the Furniture check box, click to clear the Movable Furnishings check box, and then click OK.
23	To cancel the selection of the shapes, press the ESC key.