Microsoft Visio Shape Meaning

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  1. Microsoft Visio Shape Meanings
  2. Microsoft Visio Shape Meaning In Urdu
  3. Microsoft Visio Flowchart Shapes Meaning

What the flowchart shapes represent. That said, Visio shapes have names that suggest their most common uses. Here are some of the most common shapes: Start/End Use this shape for the first and last step of your process. Process This shape represents a typical step in your process. Rectangle Shape - Represents a process Oval or Pill Shape - Represents the start or end Diamond Shape - Represents a decision Parallelogram - Represents input/output Sign up for SmartDraw free. Works on your Mac or any other device.

Microsoft Visio Shape Meanings

If you need more shapes than a particular Visio template provides, you have a couple of options. You can search your device for shapes that are installed with Visio, or you can search the web for shapes. If you use the subscription version of Visio, new stencils and templates are regularly being added and automatically to your app.

Note: Are you using Visio for the web? See Search for shapes and diagrams in Visio for the web or Add and connect shapes in Visio for the web instead.

Subscription appOffice 2016 – 2019Office 2013Office 2010

Note: You need Visio Online Plan 2 to edit in the Visio desktop app. Not sure which version of Visio you're using? You can follow these instructions to check what version you have.

Find shapes and stencils in Visio Online Plan 2

You can search for shapes and stencils that are local to your device. You can also find other stencils online that are created by third parties or Microsoft.

  1. In the search box at the top of the Shapes pane, enter a keyword or phrase (e.g. 'triangle').

    Note: If you don’t see the search box, you might need to activate it. Click the View tab, then select Task Panes > Shapes. Still don't see the search box? Click the > symbol at the top of your ruler on the left hand side of your screen.

    • Under Local, the search results are displayed and categorized by their Visio stencil title.

    • Under Online, (which is available when you're connected to the internet), you'll see shapes on the web by other companies, including Microsoft. To access those shapes, do the following:

      a. Click the stencil to see a preview.

      b. To put the stencil in your My Shapes folder, click Download.

      c. After it has downloaded, click Open to display the stencil in the Shapes pane.

  2. To reset the search in the Shapes pane, delete the search string in the search box so that it displays the prompt, Search shapes.

Note: If you can't see the Search Shapes text box in the Shapes panel above More Shapes, then you need to check the Show Shape Search pane option in File > Options > Advanced > Shape Search.

The default option for search is to search for text that matches All of the words (AND). Although the search is not case-sensitive, it does match on whole words. For example, 'Air Cond' will not find the 'Air Conditioner' shape when this is the selected option.

However, if the option is changed to Any of the words (OR), then the 'Air Conditioner' shape will be matched because its name contains the word 'Air'.

When you select one of the found master shapes in the Local results, and drag it onto the page, a copy of the master shape is first added to the Document Stencil. You can drag and drop this master shape from there subsequently, rather than searching for it again.

Check Shapes > More Shapes > Show Document Stencil to view the master shapes currently used in the document.

The search also checks the Keywords of the shapes. For example, searching for the word 'Tile' appears to mistakenly match with 'Square stone', however, an examination of the Keywords of the master shape reveals that it does contain the word 'tile'.

Editions of Microsoft Visio that have an online subscription also have the ability to search for shapes in a number of third party stencils hosted by Microsoft. For example, searching for the word 'Tile' shows that it is also found in an online stencil, which can then be selected and downloaded. This will download the whole stencil in your My Shapes folder in a sub-folder named after the third-party provider. These stencils, and all of the master shapes within them, are immediately available to use in the current and subsequent sessions. These stencils have been vetted by Microsoft and are safe to use.

Find other shapes online

If you have an Internet connection, you can search the Microsoft Download Center for Visio shapes or stencils. Some shapes you can download include:

Visio shapes are also created by people and companies outside of Microsoft. If you are looking for some very specific or unusual shapes, you might try non-Microsoft providers such as these:

  • Equipment manufacturers If you are looking for shapes that represent specific pieces of equipment, you can often find them at the equipment manufacturer's website.

  • Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs)Visio MVPs are Visio experts who freely answer questions and offer solutions, tips, and suggestions, most often in the Visio discussion groups. You can find often stencils of shapes on their web sites.

  • Other external sites Some sites on the web (such as Visio Cafe) run by independent Visio users and businesses offer shapes and other downloads.

For more information, see Import downloaded stencils and Create, save, and share custom stencils.

Find shapes and stencils in Visio 2016 and Visio 2019

You can search for shapes and stencils that are local to your device. You can also search for stencils that are online, created by third-parties or Microsoft.

Microsoft Visio Shape Meaning In Urdu

Note: In order to use this feature, you must have an Office 365 subscription. If you are an Office 365 subscriber, make sure you have the latest version of Office. If you are an IT professional managing the Office 365 update process, check out the channel releases page to learn which updates are provided in each channel.

  1. In the search box at the top of the Shapes pane, enter a key word or phrase (e.g. 'triangle').

    Note: If you don’t see the search box, you might need to activate it. Click the View tab, then select Task Panes > Shapes. Still don't see the search box? Click the > symbol at the top of your ruler on the left hand side of your screen.

    • Under Local, the search results are displayed and categorized by their Visio stencil title.

    • Under Online, if available, you'll see shapes on the web by other companies, including Microsoft. To access those shapes, do the following:

      a. Click the stencil to see a preview.

      b. To put the stencil in your My Shapes folder, click Download.

      c. After it has downloaded, click Open to display the stencil in the Shapes pane.

  2. To reset the search in the Shapes pane, delete the search string in the search box so that it displays the prompt, Search shapes.

The default option for search is to search for text that matches All of the words (AND). Although the search is not case-sensitive, it does match on whole words. For example, 'Air Cond' will not find the 'Air Conditioner' shape when this is the selected option.

However, if the option is changed to Any of the words (OR), then the 'Air Conditioner' shape will be matched because its name contains the word 'Air'.

When you select one of the found master shapes in the Local results, and drag it onto the page, a copy of the master shape is first added to the Document Stencil. You can drag and drop this master shape from there subsequently, rather than searching for it again.

Check Shapes > More Shapes > Show Document Stencil to view the master shapes currently used in the document.

Microsoft Visio Flowchart Shapes Meaning

The search also checks the Keywords of the shapes. For example, searching for the word 'Tile' appears to mistakenly match with 'Square stone', however, an examination of the Keywords of the master shape reveals that it does contain the word 'tile'.

Find shapes on the web

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If you have an Internet connection, you can search the web for shapes.

You can find shapes by searching the Microsoft Download Center for Visio shapes.

Visio shapes are also created by people and companies outside of Microsoft. If you are looking for some very specific or unusual shapes, you might try non-Microsoft providers such as these:

  • Equipment manufacturers If you are looking for shapes that represent specific pieces of equipment, you can often find them at the equipment manufacturer's website.

  • Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs)Visio MVPs are Visio experts who freely answer questions and offer solutions, tips, and suggestions, most often in the Visio discussion groups. You can find often stencils of shapes on their web sites.

  • Other external sites Some sites on the web (such as Visio Cafe) run by independent Visio users and businesses offer shapes and other downloads.

For more information, see Import downloaded stencils and Create, save, and share custom stencils.

Find shapes in Visio 2013

You can use the search box to find shapes installed with Visio. The search box is in the Shapes window, in a separate tab from the stencils.

Note: If you don’t see the search box, you might need to activate it. Click the View tab, then select Task Panes > Shapes. Still don't see the search box? Click the > symbol at the top of your ruler on the left hand side of your screen.

Quick Tasks

Task

Action

Save search results as a new stencil.

Right-click the title of a stencil in the search results, and then click Save As. Type a name for the stencil, and save it in your My Shapes folder.

Save an individual shape to your Favorites stencil or a different stencil.

In the Stencils view in the Shape window, right-click the shape, and point to Add to My Shapes.

Then click Favorites to add the shape to your Favorites stencil.

You can also click Add To New Stencil to create a stencil that contains only that shape, or click Add to Existing Stencil to select a stencil, for example from your My Shapes folder.

Open a saved stencil.

In the Shapes window, click More Shapes, point to My Shapes, and then click the stencil name.

Expand or refine your search.

You can choose whether searches for shapes use all of the words that you enter or any of the words that you enter.

For example, if you enter 'office chair' as a search in the Shapes window, the search can be for shapes that are related to both 'office' and 'chair,' or for shapes that are related to either 'office' or 'chair' (or both).

Choose the first type of search, AND, when you only want results that are related to all of the words that you enter. Choose the second type of search, OR, when you want to see more search results and matching all words is not necessary.

To set search options

  1. Click the File tab, and then click Options.

  2. In Visio Options, click Advanced, and then scroll down to the Shape search section.

Tip: Shape Search uses Windows Search to find shapes on your computer, so if you don’t get any search results, it might be because Windows Search is off. In Control Panel, click Programs, then click Turn Windows Features on or off, and in the Windows Features box, check the Windows Search checkbox.

Find shapes on the web

If you have an Internet connection, you can search the web for shapes.

You can find shapes by searching the Microsoft Download Center for 'Visio shapes download.' Here are some of the shapes you can download:

Visio shapes are also created by people and companies outside of Microsoft. If you are looking for some very specific or unusual shapes, you might try non-Microsoft providers such as these:

  • Equipment manufacturers If you are looking for shapes that represent specific pieces of equipment, you can often find them at the equipment manufacturer's website.

  • Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs)Visio MVPs are Visio experts who freely answer questions and offer solutions, tips, and suggestions, most often in the Visio discussion groups. You can find often stencils of shapes on their web sites.

  • Other external sites Some sites on the web (such as Visio Cafe) run by independent Visio users and businesses offer shapes and other downloads.

Save the downloaded stencils

After you download a stencil of shapes, copy it to your My Shapes folder. By default, your My Shapes folder is located inside your default Documents folder. Then, open the stencil in Visio by navigating to My Shapes.

To open a stencil saved in My Shapes

  • In the Shapes window, click More Shapes, point to My Shapes, and then click the stencil name.

Find shapes installed with Visio 2010

The Search for Shapes feature uses the Windows Search service to search the Visio stencils that are installed on your computer. The Windows Search service must be running to enable quick searching.

When you first start Visio, the Search for Shapes box is hidden to leave more room for shapes.

  1. In the Shapes window, click More Shapes, and then click Search for Shapes.

  2. In the Search for Shapes box, type one or more words that describe the shape you want. You can separate the words with spaces, commas, or semicolons.

    For example, to find shapes that represent office chairs, type office chair.

  3. Click the magnifying glass icon or press ENTER.

    The results are added to a search results stencil.

Quick TasksIskysoft data eraser keygen.

Task

Action

Save search results as a new stencil.

Right-click the title bar of the search results stencil, and then click Save As. Type a name for the stencil and save it in your My Shapes folder.

Save an individual shape to your Favorites stencil or a different stencil.

Right-click the shape, point to Add To My Shapes, and then click Favorites to add the shape to your Favorites stencil.

You can also click Add To New Stencil to create a stencil that contains only that shape, or click Add to Existing Stencil to select a stencil, for example from your My Shapes folder.

Open a saved stencil.

In the Shapes window, click More Shapes, point to My Shapes, and then click the stencil name.

Expand or refine your search.

Set Visio search options:

  1. Click the File tab.

  2. Under Visio, click Options. In the Options dialog box, click Advanced and then scroll down to the Shape search section.

For example, to find office chairs and no other kind of chair, select All of the words (AND) under Search for, and click OK. Then type office chair in the Search for Shapes box. If you want to find chairs and tables, select Any of the words (OR) under Search for, and click OK. Then type chair table in the Search for Shapes box.

Find shapes on the web

If you have an Internet connection, you can search the web for shapes.

You can find shapes by searching the Microsoft Download Center for 'Visio shapes download.' Here are some of the shapes you can download:

Visio shapes are also created by people and companies outside of Microsoft. If you are looking for some very specific or unusual shapes, you might try non-Microsoft providers such as these:

  • Equipment manufacturers If you are looking for shapes that represent specific pieces of equipment, you can often find them at the equipment manufacturer's website.

  • Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs)Visio MVPs are Visio experts who freely answer questions and offer solutions, tips, and suggestions, most often in the Visio discussion groups. You can find often stencils of shapes on their web sites.

  • Other external sites Some sites on the web (such as Visio Cafe) run by independent Visio users and businesses offer shapes and other downloads.

Save the downloaded stencils

  1. After you download a stencil of shapes, copy it to your My Shapes folder. By default, your My Shapes folder is located in the [drive]:Usersuser nameDocumentsMy Shapes folder.

  2. To open the stencil, in the Shapes window, click More Shapes, point to My Shapes, and then click the stencil name.

Flowcharts are diagrams that show the steps in a process. Basic flowcharts are easy to create and, because the shapes are simple and visual, they are easy to understand.

Note You can also automatically create a basic flow chart from data by using a Data Visualizer diagram in Visio. For more information, see Create a Data Visualizer diagram.

The Basic Flowchart template in Visio comes with shapes that you can use to show many kinds of processes, and it is especially useful for showing basic business processes like the proposal development process shown in the following figure.

In addition to the Basic Flowchart template, Visio provides a variety of templates for more specific kinds of diagrams, such as data flow diagrams, timelines, and software modeling.

Newer versionsOffice 2010Office 2007

Create a flowchart

  1. Start Visio.

  2. Click the Flowchart category.

  3. Double-click Basic Flowchart.

  4. For each step in the process that you are documenting, drag a flowchart shape onto your drawing.

  5. Connect the flowchart shapes by holding the mouse pointer over the first shape, and then clicking the small arrow that appears that points to the shape you want to connect to. If the second shape is not directly across from the first shape, click and hold the small arrow, drag it to the second shape, and drop the connector in the middle of the second shape.

  6. To add text to a shape or connector, select it, and then type. When you are finished typing, click on a blank area of the page.

  7. To change the direction of a connector's arrow, select the connector, and then, on the Shape tab, in the Shape Styles group, click Line, point to Arrows, and select the arrow direction and style that you want.

Fix alignment and spacing

  1. Press CTRL+A to select everything on the drawing page.

  2. On the Home tab, in the Arrange group, click Position, and then click Auto Align & Space.

If that doesn’t do what you want, press Ctrl+Z to undo it, and then try some of the other options under the Align and Position buttons.

What the flowchart shapes represent

When you open the Basic Flowchart template, the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil opens too. Each shape on the stencil represents a different kind of step in a process. However, there is no standard, universal meaning for the shapes – any shape can carry whatever meaning is agreed on by the people who will create and read the flowcharts. Most flowcharts tend to use only three or four of the shapes, unless there is a clear business reason to use more.

That said, Visio shapes have names that suggest their most common uses. Here are some of the most common shapes:

  • Start/End Use this shape for the first and last step of your process.

  • Process This shape represents a typical step in your process. This is the most frequently used shape in almost every process.

  • Decision This shape indicates a point where the outcome of a decision dictates the next step. There can be multiple outcomes, but often there are just two — yes and no.

  • Subprocess Use this shape for a set of steps that combine to create a sub-process that is defined elsewhere, often on another page of the same document. This is useful if the diagram is very long and complex.

  • Document This shape represents a step that results in a document.

  • Data This shape indicates that information is coming into the process from outside, or leaving the process. This shape can also be used to represent materials and is sometimes called an Input/Output shape.

  • On-page reference This small circle indicates that the next (or previous) step is somewhere else on the drawing. This is particularly useful for large flowcharts where you would otherwise have to use a long connector, which can be hard to follow.

  • Off-page reference When you drop this shape onto your drawing page, a dialog box opens where you can create a set of hyperlinks between two pages of a flowchart or between a sub-process shape and a separate flowchart page that shows the steps in that sub-process.

Want More?

What the flowchart shapes represent

When you open the Basic Flowchart template, the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil opens too. Each shape on the stencil represents a different step in a process.

Visio 2010 includes many other, specialized stencils and shapes that you can use in your flowchart diagram. For more information about how to find more shapes, see Use the Shapes window to organize and find shapes.

  • Start/End Use this shape for the first and last step of your process.

  • Process This shape represents a step in your process.

  • Subprocess Use this shape for a set of steps that combine to create a sub-process that is defined elsewhere, often on another page of the same drawing.

  • Document This shape represents a step that results in a document.

  • Data This shape indicates that information is coming into the process from outside, or leaving the process. This shape can also be used to represent materials and is sometimes called an Input/Output shape.

  • On-page reference This small circle indicates that the next (or previous) step is somewhere else on the drawing. This is particularly useful for large flowcharts where you would otherwise have to use a long connector, which can be hard to follow.

  • Off-page reference When you drop this shape onto your drawing page, a dialog box opens where you can create a set of hyperlinks between two pages of a flowchart or between a sub-process shape and a separate flowchart page that shows the steps in that sub-process.

Note:Can't find the shape you need? To learn about how to find other shapes, see Use the Shapes window to organize and find shapes

Create a flowchart
  1. Click the File tab.

    Don't see the File tab?

    If you do not see the File tab, proceed to the next step in the procedure.

  2. Click New, click Flowchart, and then under Available Templates, click Basic Flowchart.

  3. Click Create .

  4. For each step in the process that you are documenting, drag a flowchart shape onto your drawing.

    Note: See the section What the flowchart shapes represent for information on which shapes to use for each step.

  5. Connect the flowchart shapes in either of the following ways.

    Connect two shapes together.

    1. On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Connector.

    2. Drag from a connection point on the first shape to a connection point on the second shape. The connector endpoints turn red when the shapes are connected.

    Connect one shape to many from a single connection point.

    By default, connectors are set to Right-Angle so that if you connect a single point on one shape to three other shapes it will look like the figure below.

    To have each connector radiate straight from the central point on the first shape to points on each of the other shapes you need to set the connectors to Straight Connector as shown in the following figure.

    1. On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Connector.

    2. For each shape you want to connect to, drag from the same connection point on the first shape to a connection point on each of the other shapes.

    3. Right-click each connector and click Straight Connector.

  6. To return to normal editing, on the Home tab, in the Tool group, click Pointer Tool.

  7. To add text to a shape or connector, select it, and then type. When you are finished typing, click on a blank area of the page.

  8. To change the direction of a connector's arrow, select the connection, and then in the Shape group, click the arrow to the right of Line, point to Arrows, and select the arrow direction that you want.

Print a large flowchart

The easiest way to print a flowchart that is larger than your printer paper is to print it onto multiple pieces of paper and then tape the pieces together.

Before you start to print, it's important to make sure that the drawing page, as it appears in Visio, contains the whole flowchart. Any shapes that hang off the edge of the Visio drawing page will not print.

To print a large flowchart, do the following:

  1. With your flowchart open, on the Design tab, in the Page Setup group, click Size, and select Fit to Drawing.

  2. Click the File tab.

    Don't see the File tab?

    If you do not see the File tab, proceed to the next step in the procedure.

  3. Click Print, and then click Print Preview.

  4. To print your flowchart onto multiple pieces of paper, do the following:

    1. In Print Preview, in the Print group, click Page Setup.

    2. On the Print Setup tab, in the Printer paper box, select the paper size you want if it isn't already selected.

    3. Click OK.

    4. In the Preview group, click Single Tile to see how your drawing will print on each sheet. (You can switch between pages by clicking Next Tile or Previous Tile.)

    5. When you are satisfied with how your drawing looks, in the Print group, click Print.

    6. After the drawing is printed, you can trim the margins, overlap the pages, and tape them together.

  5. To print your flowchart onto a single piece of paper, do the following:

    1. In Print Preview, in the Print group, click Page Setup.

    2. On the Print Setup tab, in the Printer paper box, select the paper size you want if it isn't already selected.

    3. Under Print zoom, select Fit to.

    4. To the right of Fit to, type 1 in the box next to sheet(s) across , and type 1 in the box next to sheet(s) down .

    5. Click OK.

    6. In the Print group, click Print.

What the flowchart shapes represent

When you open the Basic Flowchart template, the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil opens too. Each shape on the stencil represents a different step in a process.

Of all of the shapes on the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil, only a few are commonly used. Those commonly used shapes are described here. For more information about the less commonly used shapes open the expandable link (Less frequently used flowchart shapes) at the end of this section.

  • Terminator Use this shape for the first and last step of your process.

  • Process This shape represents a step in your process.

  • Predefined process Use this shape for a set of steps that combine to create a sub-process that is defined elsewhere, often on another page of the same drawing.

  • Decision This shape indicates a point where the outcome of a decision dictates the next step. There can be multiple outcomes, but often there are just two —yes and no.

  • Document This shape represents a step that results in a document.

  • Data This shape indicates that information is coming into the process from outside, or leaving the process. This shape can also be used to represent materials and is sometimes called an Input/Output shape.

  • Flowchart shapes You can right-click this multi-shape to set to any of the following shapes: Process, Decision, Document, or Data. Any text you type onto the shape, or information you add to its Shape Data, remains with the shape.

    This is what the shape looks like on the stencil:

    This is what you see when you drag the shape onto the drawing page and right-click it:

  • Stored data Use this shape for a step that results in information being stored.

  • On-page reference This small circle indicates that the next (or previous) step is somewhere else on the drawing. This is particularly useful for large flowcharts where you would otherwise have to use a long connector, which can be hard to follow.

  • Off-page reference When you drop this shape onto your drawing page, a dialog box opens where you can create a set of hyperlinks between two pages of a flowchart or between a sub-process shape and a separate flowchart page that shows the steps in that sub-process.

Less frequently used flowchart shapes

  • Dynamic connector This connector draws a path around shapes it encounters.

  • Line-curve connector This connector has adjustable curvature.

  • Auto-height box This is a bordered text box that adjusts to accommodate the amount of text you type. You can set the width by dragging the sides of the shape. Although this shape doesn't represent a step in a process, it is a handy way to add a text box to your flowchart.

  • Annotation This bracketed text box adjusts to accommodate the amount of text you type. You can set the width by dragging the sides of the shape. Like the Auto-height box shape, this shape doesn't represent a step in a process. Use this to add comments about your flowchart shapes.

  • Manual input This is a step where a person provides information to the process.

  • Manual operation This is a step that must be performed by a person.

  • Internal storage This shape represents information stored on a computer.

  • Direct data This shape represents information stored so that any single record can be accessed directly. This represents how a computer hard-drive stores data.

  • Sequential data This shape represents information stored in sequence, such ad data on a magnetic tape. When data is stored in sequence, it must be retrieved in sequence. For example, in order to access record 7 you would have to first go through records 1 through 6.

  • Card and Paper tape This shape represents a physical card or paper tape. Early computer systems used a system of punch cards and paper tape to store and retrieve data and to store and run programs.

  • Display This shape represents information that is displayed to a person, usually on a computer screen.

  • Preparation This shape indicates where variables are initialized in preparation for a procedure.

  • Parallel mode This shape shows where two different processes can operate simultaneously.

  • Loop limit This shape marks the maximum number of times a loop can run before it must go on to the next step.

  • Control transfer This shape indicates a step that goes to a step other than the typical next step when certain conditions are met.

Create a flowchart

  1. On the File menu, point to New, point to Flowchart, and then click Basic Flowchart.

  2. For each step in the process that you are documenting, drag a flowchart shape onto your drawing.

  3. Connect the flowchart shapes in either of the following ways.

    Note: For information on other ways to connect shapes, see Add connectors between shapes in Visio.

    Connect two shapes together.

    1. Click the Connector tool on the Standard toolbar.

    2. Drag from a connection point on the first shape to a connection point on the second shape. The connector endpoints turn red when the shapes are connected.

    Connect one shape to many from a single connection point.

    By default, connectors are set to Right-Angle so that if you connect a single point on one shape to three other shapes it will look like the figure below.

    To have each connector radiate straight from the central point on the first shape to points on each of the other shapes you need to set the connectors to Straight Connector as shown in the following figure.

    1. Click the Connector tool on the Standard toolbar.

    2. For each shape you want to connect to, drag from the same connection point on the first shape to a connection point on each of the other shapes.

    3. Right-click each connector and click Straight Connector.

  4. Click the Pointer tool on the Standard toolbar to return to normal editing.

  5. To add text to a shape or connector, select it, and then type. When you are finished typing, click on a blank area of the page.

  6. To change the direction of a connector's arrow, select the connection, and then on the Shape menu, point to Operations, and click Reverse Ends.

Printing large flowcharts

The easiest way to print out a flowchart that is larger than your printer paper is to print it onto multiple pieces of paper and then tape the pieces together.

Before you start printing, however, it's important to make sure that the drawing page, as it appears in Visio, contains the entire flowchart. Any shapes that hang off the edge of the Visio drawing page will not print. You can see whether the drawing page is large enough for the flowchart by checking the preview on the Page Setup dialog box (File menu, Page Setup, Print Setup tab).

1. A flowchart that is too large for the Visio drawing page.

2. A flowchart that fits the Visio drawing page.

Make your Visio drawing page fit your flowchart

  1. With your flowchart open, on the File menu click Page Setup.

  2. Click the Page Size tab.

  3. Under Page size click Size to fit drawing contents.

To see how the flowchart will print, look at the Print Preview, which is on the File menu. The figure below shows a flowchart that prints on four pieces of letter-sized paper.

Print a large flowchart onto multiple pieces of paper

  1. On the File menu, click Page Setup.

  2. On the Print Setup tab, in the Printer paper box, select the paper size you want if it isn't already selected. Don't click OK yet.

  3. On the Page Size tab, click Size to fit drawing contents. The preview now shows the difference between the new page and the printer paper.

  4. Click OK.

  5. On the File menu, click Print Preview to see how the flowchart will print.

    Note: If there are shaded margins between the pages, they mark areas that print on both pieces of paper so that when you assemble the pieces there are no gaps in the flowchart.

  6. After the drawing is printed, you can trim the margins, overlap the pages, and tape them together.