Many Visio users discover how to insert fields into the text of Visio shapes to display data contained in Shape Data fields. But they become frustrated when they add multiple text blocks to grouped shapes, as the process becomes more tricky. Let’s take a look at how to do this!
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NHL Team Logo Visio Shapes
If you like hockey or are interested in Visio’s data-linking capabilities, then you’ll be interested in these free shapes, and this free article!
Trumpet Valve Fingerings Visio Shape
A recent foray into learning a new instrument spurred the development of a Visio SmartShape that can be used to annotate trumpet valve fingerings on sheet music.
Visio 2016 Training Videos
Microsoft has just released a new set of online training videos for Visio 2016. I’ve created detailed outlines of the course material and provided direct links to pages and modules within their website so you can instantly jump to the content you want to digest!
Amazon AWS Visio Shapes
If you work with Amazon’s AWS services, you’ll likely need to create architecture diagrams to assist in your planning and maintenance. Amazon provides a set of shapes for use with Visio, but I’ve added my touch and provided a new and improved set for you to download!
Fuzzy Shadow on Text Oddity
Visio 2013/16 and newer have added wonderful formatting effects. But how they modify your shapes can be a bit strange. I’ve figured out a few of the odd cases and would like to share my findings with you!
Vector Math Shape: Dot- & Cross Product Fun
If you’re utilizing vector math for your graphics-related projects, this free download might help with your learning and understanding.
[Read more…] about Vector Math Shape: Dot- & Cross Product Fun
Detect Drawing Units in the ShapeSheet
Detecting the units of a drawing page can be useful for creating reactive SmartShapes that can behave nicely in both Metric or US-unit environments.
Stroke-Dasharray Shape for Visio Custom Line Patterns
Recent adventures with HTML, SVG and CSS have led me to create a new Visio SmartShape that will help you to easily define dash patterns for custom line patterns!
[Read more…] about Stroke-Dasharray Shape for Visio Custom Line Patterns
View Visio Files on Android (and Windows Phone)
If you’ve got an Android or Windows phone, and you receive Visio files via e-mail attachments, there IS a way to view them while you are on the go!
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Visio Circle Arrows 2013
There’s a new arrows-on-circle Visio SmartShape for you to download. It plays nicely with Visio 2013 and newer versions.
Come on in and check it out!
Visio Viewer for iPad (and iPhone)
Now that we all have tablets and huge-screened smart phones strewn all over our homes and offices, looking at Visio diagrams while on-the-go or on-the-sofa is no longer a weird thing to want to do.
Thoughts on Surface Dial and Visio
Now that Microsoft has the new Surface Dial on offer, your non-mousehand will have something to fiddle with besides Ctrl + Z! What does it all mean?
Turning Pages in Visio
For small documents, turning pages in Visio is pretty straightforward. But when your file grows to be 30 or 60 pages long (yes, people do this in Visio!), some other techniques will make your Visio-document-navigation life a bit simpler.
iPad Viewer for Visio by Nektony
If you’ve ever been frustrated by trying to open a Visio attachment while browsing e-mails from your iPad on the couch, then you might be interested in this Visio viewer…for the iPad!
New Book: Mastering Data Visualization with Microsoft Visio Professional 2016
There’s a new book on data visualization with Visio. And it is probably as good as its title is long!
[Read more…] about New Book: Mastering Data Visualization with Microsoft Visio Professional 2016
Visio Nerd Videos – For Developers!
If you’re interested in the deeper workings of Visio, then you’ll be interested in a series of videos that I’ve been in remiss in reporting!
Truly “No-Glue-To” Shapes
Sometimes you really need shapes that can’t be connected to. While Visio has settings in the UI for doing this, they don’t fully work. This article will show you the workaround!
Venn Bubble Diagram Hierarchy Thingamajig Template
Download this free template that will help you to create a Venn-inspired, hierarchical bubble diagram! The nifty Visio SmartShape behavior makes creating these types of diagrams fun and easy!
[Read more…] about Venn Bubble Diagram Hierarchy Thingamajig Template
AutoCAD 2013 + Visio 2016 + Webcast July 12
Sign up for a webcast about working adjacently with CAD and Visio 2016, and get the lowdown on the new support for AutoCAD 2013 formats.
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Alt > File > Brexit
Fellow MVP David Parker from bVisual.net just posted a link to a very topical blog post that he made a few years ago.
UEFA Euro Cup 2016 Visio Diagram
I’ve made a Visio diagram that will help you track the progress of the UEFA European Cup 2016.
Simple Cabling Shape with Length Reporting
If you use Visio to create scaled plan views that include electrical equipment, you may have a need to rough-out actual, to-scale cable paths–and even get accurate estimates as to how much cabling you’ll need. This article explores just how you can go about it!
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Über Rack Unit Dimension Line
Find out how to use this new shape to measure and label individual rack units on network rack diagrams.
2016.05.23 – The full version and free trial are now available! [Read more…] about Über Rack Unit Dimension Line
Word Cloud Area-filling Text Shape
The interesting problem of fitting words into arbitrarily-sized rectangular areas has been lurking in the dark corners of my D:\ drive for a while now. Today I decided to do something about it, and offer you a cool SmartShape to create interesting visuals with.
The area-filling text shape lends itself to creating Word Clouds and graphics that use text in a matrix- or tabular style.
Lumia 950 vs. 950XL Comparison Template
If you like Microsoft’s ecosystem of devices and software, then you’ve been waiting for a new Nokia Lumia handset for a looong time. Well the wait is just about over, and the only questions remaining are: 1. Are they too expensive? and 2. Which one is the right size for me?
We’ll tackle question number 2 today with a handy Visio download!
USA States Map with Equal-sized States
The states in the USA are all over the map when it comes to total area (aka, “size”).
We all love data visualizations on maps, but the wide range of state sizes can distort visual messages.
Unioning Shapes, and Cleaning Them Up
Visio has incredibly useful functions for slicing and merging shapes. But sometimes these shapes leave artifacts that can be a pain to clean up. Check out this simple trick to make it less painful!
Deleting Visio Shapes Programmatically
A user recently asked a question in the forum; “How can I (programmatically) delete all but one shape on a Visio page?” While I answered the question directly in the forum, I thought I’d expand on the topic in a full-blown article.
How to Show the Developer Ribbon Tab (and Why)
Many of the tips and tricks that I talk about (or want to talk about) on this site require the Developer Ribbon Tab. Find out how to turn it on, and what good it will do you!
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Visio Minions SmartShape Concept
Today I had the idea to make a Minions Visio SmartShape. I was primarily interested in controlling eye movement using ShapeSheet techniques.
As a responsible adult, I probably don’t (shouldn’t) have the time to finish it properly. But I thought I’d make this video to show off some capabilities and point out general concepts that might help to make useful SmartShapes.
Text Outlines in Visio
If you’ve ever wondered how to convert text to paths or vectors in Visio, then this article is for you–although the solution might not be what you expected!
2014 Donations
As the year draws to a close, and we take time to reflect on the days, weeks and months of 2014, I thought I’d take a moment to thank those that have helped to keep VisGuy.com running, those that helped to keep it an interesting place to visit, and to those who write software that make my life easier.
Circles in Circle 1
In this first of a series of posts, we’ll use built-in Visio functionality to arrange small circles around the perimeter of a larger circle, at equal intervals.
On the Road with Surface Pro 3, Part 2
In this ongoing series of posts, I’ll relate my experiences and impressions of life with my shiny-new Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 3 tablet/ultrabook.
Time Lapse Circuit Diagram
PhotoShop, Illustrator and SketchBook Pro users have all the fun. They make these cool, time-lapse videos, set to trendy, fast-paced music. I know Visio isn’t as cool as those other apps, but a lot of people still love using it. And they like music too! So I whipped out my trusty Camtasia Studio/Recorder and gave it a shot.
ShapeSheet through the Ages
This week on the Visio History Channel…
If you enjoyed yesterday’s walk down memory lane, and you lean toward the technical/programmer side, then you might enjoy this fluff piece–a look at the evolution of the ShapeSheet.
Visio Handles through the Ages
Microsoft changes the look of Visio’s user interface from time to time. Most of the uproar came for Visio 2010 with the introduction of the dreaded Ribbon.
But Microsoft has also made changes to Visio’s shape-manipulation handles, thereby rendering millions of painstakingly-created screenshots on websites the world over instantly obsolete, and confusing users everywhere.
As a reference point for users using older and newer versions of Visio, and just out of plain curiosity, I’m rehashing the look of Visio shape handles for Visio 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013. Have fun!
Creating Custom Bullets in Visio
A customer/fan asked me the other day how to create custom bullets in Visio using a character he’d carefully selected from the Wingdings font. He had dug his way deep into the text editing dialog, and had actually found the right place for customizing bullets, but he couldn’t quite get it to work.
It turns out he was making it just a bit more complicated than it needed to be. When I looked into it, I found that the process was indeed a bit unclear. So let’s walk through creating custom bullets in Visio, and clear up any muddiness that you might encounter along the way.
On the Road with Surface Pro 3
In this ongoing series of posts, I’ll relate my experiences and impressions of life with my shiny-new Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 3 tablet/ultrabook.
World Cup 2014 Country Flag Shapes
The 2014 FIFA World Cup is nigh, soccer/football fever is at a…er…pitch, and it’s time for another topical Visio Guy article and download!
Text on a Circle Visio Shape
Many Visio users would like to create graphics with text running around a circle. I’ve come up with a third iteration to solving this problem.
This time, you get a single shape, with no need for VBA macro code!
Drilling with Visio
For years I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a set of shapes for well bore diagrams. Well bore schematic drawings show the important, ahem, bits, of an oil drilling system from up on the surface to way down in the Earth’s crust.
My most recent research on the subject came to an exciting conclusion: there’s nothing for me to do here, because somebody’s already done it!
3-Label Dynamic Connector: Input Methods
I’ve been working on a three-label, Visio dynamic connector and thought I’d share some of my design thoughts with you.
Visio 2013 CAD Import Fixed with SP1
If you’ve been frustrated by the fuzziness of AutoCAD imports in Visio 2013 at high zoom levels, then you’ll be pleased to know that the issue has been fixed with SP1.
Before There Was Visio, There Was SketchPad
Ah, the days before color, when engineers wore ties!
One of the inspirations for Visio was an experimental piece of software created a long, long time ago. I was happy to finally track it down on the internet, finding articles and demo videos that I’d like to share with you!
[Read more…] about Before There Was Visio, There Was SketchPad
Visio Tank Shapes
A customer recently saw the Battle Zone post, and contacted me regarding “tank shapes” for Visio.
I had made a rather detailed tank illustration long ago, which you can see on the Visio Art Page, but that was a bit overkill for them. Plus they wanted something that looked like an M1 Abrams main battle tank.
New Visio 2013 Books
The latest and greatest version of Visio–Visio 2013–has been available for over half a year already!
If you still feel like you’re missing out on super-cool features, or are struggling to get started, or just want to visit every nook and cranny of the product, there are two new books aimed at beginners and intermediate users.
Champions League 2013
Well, well well, guess who’s driving to Wembley on May 25 (2013)?
Simple House Ventilation Drawing
A recent browsing binge brought me to a simple illustration of a home ventilation system. I re-created it in Visio 2010, and decided to share it with you!