Microsoft Visio Instructions: Basics simply explained

With Microsoft Visio you can easily and comfortably create your own drawings. Instructions for the basics of Visio can be found in the following article.

Create a drawing with Microsoft Visio

To work with Visio, you first need to create a drawing. To do this, proceed as follows:

1. Start Microsoft Visio.
2. Under "Categories" you now have a large selection of possible drawings that you can create.
3. These include flowcharts, organization charts, calendars or circuit diagrams.
4. Select the corresponding drawing and click on "Create". The drawing level then opens.

Structure of the drawing layer in Microsoft Visio

After you have created a drawing, the actual drawing layer opens:

• On the left edge you will find the so-called shapes. These are pre-made stencils that you can use for your drawings. You also have the option of creating your own shape.
• As with all other products from the Microsoft Office range, the tools for editing your drawing can be found at the top.
• In the middle of the screen is the actual drawing page on which you can arrange your shapes.

Make the drawing with Microsoft Visio

To create a drawing using Microsoft Visio:

1. Select the appropriate shape and drag it onto the drawing sheet with the left mouse button pressed.
2. As soon as you have drawn and aligned several shapes on the sheet, you can connect the individual shapes with the "connector".
3. To do this, press [CTRL] + [3] to select the "connector".
4. Now click with the left mouse button on the shape you want to connect and keep the mouse button pressed. Now go to the second shape and release the mouse button.

Export the finished drawing with Microsoft Visio

After you have created your drawing with Microsoft Visio, you only need to save it:

1. Press the key combination [CTRL] + [S] to save your drawing.
2. In the window that opens, you can now specify the storage location of the drawing.
3. Under "File type" you can choose the format of the Visio drawing. In order to be able to change the drawing again later, you should use the Visio format ".VSD".
4. It is also possible to save the drawing in common image formats, such as ".JPEG" or ".PNG", or as an AutoCAD drawing.

You can find out where to find templates for Microsoft Visio Shapes in our next article.