Creating and Formatting new shapes in Visio 2003
Here we go over creating and formatting new shapes.
Open the custom stencil you created using instruction from Chapter 5 by selecting File > Shapes > My Shapes > My Stencil from the main menu.
Visio will open the selected stencil in the Stencils pane.
- Right-click the My Stencil tab in the Stencils pane and select Edit Stencil from the context menu.
- The stencil can now be modified by adding new Shapes or by copying and pasting an existing shape from other stencils
- To add a new Shape, right-click inside the stencil pane and select New Master from the context menu.
- Specify a Name for the new shape and a Prompt that will appear when you point the mouse at the shape in the stencil.
- Click OK. A new Shape icon will now be added to the stencil.
Right-click the newly added shape in the stencil and select Edit Master > Edit Master Shape
Visio will switch to Shape Editing mode and hide all other panes except the shape editor.
Activate the Drawing toolbar by right-clicking the toolbar region and selecting Drawing from the context-menu. A new toolbar with tools for drawing basic shapes is now available.
Click the Ellipse Tool and draw an ellipse by dragging the mouse diagonally across the shape editor region.
Right click the ellipse and select Format > Line from the context menu. And change the Color and Weight properties.
Right click the ellipse and select Format > Fill from the context menu. And change the Fill > Color and Shadow > Color properties.
Click OK. The shape editor should now reflect the changes made to the shapes properties.
Click the Close button at the right side corner of the menu bar. Visio will prompt for saving changes to the NewShape Master.
Click Yes to save changes.
Save the stencil by clicking the Save icon in the My Stencil title bar.
The new shape is now ready for use. Subsequently the shape may be used in any diagram, any number of times. The stencil file containing the shape can also be distributed to other users that need to use the shapes contained in the stencil.
