Visio 2003 for dummies : [the fun and easy way to chart and diagram business concepts

pt. I. Starting with Visio 2003 Basics -- Ch. 1. Visio 101 -- Ch. 2. Creating and Saving a Simple Visio Drawing -- Ch. 3. Printing Visio Drawings -- pt. II. Creating Visio Drawings -- Ch. 4. Discovering What Visio Shapes Are All About -- Ch. 5. Adding Text to Your Drawings -- Ch. 6. Connecting Shapes -- pt. III. Taking Your Drawings to the Next Level -- Ch. 7. Perfecting Your Drawings -- Ch. 8. Creating and Customizing Shapes -- Ch. 9. Working with Pages -- Ch. 10. Layering Your Drawings -- pt. IV. Advancing Your Knowledge of Visio -- Ch. 11. Creating Stencils, Master Shapes, Templates, and Styles -- Ch. 12. Managing Shape Information, Behavior, and Protection -- Ch. 13. Marking Up Drawings for Review -- Ch. 14. Using Visio with Other Programs -- pt. V. Part of Tens -- Ch. 15. Answers to Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Visio -- Ch. 16. Ten Common Tasks in Visio -- Ch. 17. Ten Tips for Working Successfully with Visio -- Ch. 18. Ten Places to Look Online for Visio Resources Did you ever wish you could draw folks a picture of your business processes or the design of your database, but you just don’t have the graphics skills? Then Visio 2003 might be exactly what you’re looking for, and Visio 2003 For Dummies makes it easy for you to find out.Often, pictures do speak louder than words. Visio enables you to turn business and technical concepts into visual diagrams. Best of all, it doesn’t require you to possess any artistic talent! Visio 2003 For Dummies shows you how toNavigate the software and use the menus, toolbars, and task panesCreate simple diagramsUse Visio drawings with other software programsAnnotate your diagramsPost diagrams on the WebIf you need to explain business goals and procedures, software concepts, or database designs to others, Visio 2003 For Dummies can get you going with this great software package in no time. Soon you’ll be able toChoose the appropriate type of drawing for your purpose, work with stencils, and add shapesPan and zoom to fine-tune your diagramSet up your printer with Visio 2003, add headers and footers, and print an entire drawing or only selected partsExplore open and closed or one- and two-dimensional shapes, and manipulate them to demonstrate what you want to showAdd color and text to enhance your drawingsCreate custom shapes, develop and use templates, and even add layers to provide more detailIntegrate Visio with Excel, Word, Project, and OutlookProduce reports using data stored in Visio, update them, make them available for others to review, and even track changesAdditional information and links to online Visio resources are available on the book’s companion Web site. Visio 2003 offers you an exciting new way to communicate business processes, information systems, database and software designs, or computer and telecommunications networks, and Visio 2003 For Dummies gives you the power to use this great tool quickly and easily Visio 2003 For Dummies 5 About the Author 7 Dedication 9 Author’s Acknowledgments 9 Contents at a Glance 11 Table of Contents 13 Introduction 21 About This Book 21 Conventions Used in This Book 22 What You’re Not to Read 22 Foolish Assumptions 22 How This Book Is Organized 23 Icons Used in This Book 24 Where to Go from Here 25 Part I: Starting with Visio 2003 Basics 27 Chapter 1: Visio 101 29 Getting the Scoop on Visio 29 Familiarizing Yourself with Visio Lingo 33 Jumping Head First into Visio 34 Getting Help When You Need It 41 Closing Visio 44 Chapter 2: Creating and Saving a Simple Visio Drawing 45 Creating a Drawing the Standard Way 45 Working with Stencils 48 Selecting a Pointer Tool Button 51 Working with Shapes 53 Navigating Through a Drawing 56 Zeroing In on a Drawing 57 Saving Drawings 62 Using a Visio Wizard to Create a Drawing 65 Opening Drawings 67 Chapter 3: Printing Visio Drawings 71 Understanding How Visio Prints 71 Preparing to Print 72 Printing Your Drawing 77 Adding Headers and Footers to a Drawing 78 Printing Gridlines 81 Printing Part of a Drawing 82 Reducing and Enlarging Printed Drawings 82 Setting Shapes Not to Print 84 Printing Reviewers’ Comments 86 Printing a Background Separately 86 Printing Layers Separately 87 Part II: Creating Visio Drawings 89 Chapter 4: Discovering What Visio Shapes Are All About 91 Discovering What’s In a Shape 92 Working with Shapes 96 Controlling Shapes 101 Finding the Shapes You Want 110 Jazzing Up Your Drawings 113 Chapter 5: Adding Text to Your Drawings 121 Understanding Text Blocks 121 Adding Text 122 Working with Text and Text Blocks 124 Changing the Way Your Text Looks 143 Chapter 6: Connecting Shapes 149 Discovering Connectors 149 Working with Connection Points 152 Applying Glue (Without the Mess) 153 Gluing Connectors to Shapes 159 Managing Connectors 166 Laying Out Shapes Automatically 168 Part III: Taking Your Drawings to the Next Level 173 Chapter 7: Perfecting Your Drawings 175 All about Measurements and Placement Tools 175 Using the Drawing Grid 178 Using Dynamic Grid 180 Setting Drawing Scale 180 Snapping Shapes into Place 183 Measuring Up with Rulers 185 Using Guide Lines and Guide Points 188 Aligning and Distributing Shapes 192 Chapter 8: Creating and Customizing Shapes 195 Creating Unique Shapes the Fun Way 195 Drawing Your Own Shapes 205 Manipulating Shapes 211 Adding Style to Your Shapes 221 Managing Shapes by Grouping 226 Chapter 9: Working with Pages 231 The Role of the Template 231 Reorienting a Page 232 Setting a Page Size 234 Adding and Deleting Pages in a Drawing 237 Working with Multiple Pages 240 Renaming Pages 243 Viewing on the Big Screen 243 What’s in a Background? 245 Rotating Pages 249 Chapter 10: Layering Your Drawings 253 Getting the Essential Facts on Layers and Layering 254 Working with Layers 256 Assigning Shapes to Layers 260 Using Layers on Background Pages 263 Protecting Layers from Changes 264 Assigning a Color to a Layer 266 Selecting Layers to Print 268 Snap and Glue Options for Layers 268 Part IV: Advancing Your Knowledge of Visio 271 Chapter 11: Creating Stencils, Master Shapes, Templates, and Styles 273 Working with Stencils 273 Creating a Custom Template 282 Working with Styles 283 Chapter 12: Managing Shape Information, Behavior, and Protection 289 Storing Data in Visio Shapes 289 Reporting on Data Stored in Visio Shapes 297 Customizing Shape Behavior 303 Protecting Your Work 309 Chapter 13: Marking Up Drawings for Review 315 Discovering Markup Tools 316 Adding Comments to a Drawing 316 How Markup Tracking Works 318 Working with Markup 320 Using Digital Ink 328 Chapter 14: Using Visio with Other Programs 335 Using Files from Other Programs in Visio 336 Generating Drawings from Data Stored in Non-Visio Files 337 Incorporating Visio Shapes and Drawings in Non-Visio Documents 349 Using Visio Viewer to Share Visio Drawings 357 Saving Visio Drawings for the Web 357 Part V: The Part of Tens 359 Chapter 15: Answers to Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Visio 361 Chapter 16: Ten Common Tasks in Visio 365 Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Working Successfully with Visio 371 Chapter 18: Ten Places to Look Online for Visio Resources 375 Index 379
Did you ever wish you could draw folks a picture of your business processes or the design of your database, but you just don’t have the graphics skills? Then Visio 2003 might be exactly what you’re looking for, and Visio 2003 For Dummies makes it easy for you to find out.

Often, pictures do speak louder than words. Visio enables you to turn business and technical concepts into visual diagrams. Best of all, it doesn’t require you to possess any artistic talent! Visio 2003 For Dummies shows you how to

• Navigate the software and use the menus, toolbars, and task panes

• Create simple diagrams

• Use Visio drawings with other software programs

• Annotate your diagrams

• Post diagrams on the Web

If you need to explain business goals and procedures, software concepts, or database designs to others, Visio 2003 For Dummies can get you going with this great software package in no time. Soon you’ll be able to

• Choose the appropriate type of drawing for your purpose, work with stencils, and add shapes

• Pan and zoom to fine-tune your diagram

• Set up your printer with Visio 2003, add headers and footers, and print an entire drawing or only selected parts

• Explore open and closed or one- and two-dimensional shapes, and manipulate them to demonstrate what you want to show

• Add color and text to enhance your drawings

• Create custom shapes, develop and use templates, and even add layers to provide more detail

• Integrate Visio with Excel, Word, Project, andOutlook

• Produce reports using data stored in Visio, update them, make them available for others to review, and even track changes

Additional information and links to online Visio resources are available on the book’s companion Web site. Visio 2003 offers you an exciting new way to communicate business processes, information systems, database and software designs, or computer and telecommunications networks, and Visio 2003 For Dummies gives you the power to use this great tool quickly and easily.

Explains how to use the computer drawing program to create charts and diagrams, link drawings to database records, integrate artwork and Web pages, and insert illustrations into Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents.