{"id":793,"date":"2012-09-25T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-24T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vm-officeblogs.cloudapp.net\/2012\/09\/25\/10-ways-to-be-more-efficient-in-the-new-visio\/"},"modified":"2022-06-28T10:25:31","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T17:25:31","slug":"10-ways-to-be-more-efficient-in-the-new-visio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/microsoft-365\/blog\/2012\/09\/25\/10-ways-to-be-more-efficient-in-the-new-visio\/","title":{"rendered":"10 ways to be more efficient in the new Visio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WhiteboardThe new Visio has a variety of improvements designed to make your diagramming experience easier and more fluid. Below is a list of 10 new ways you can be more efficient in the new Visio. Give them a try the next time you create a diagram and see how much time you save.<\/p>\n

If you don’t yet have the Visio Preview, you can find instructions for getting the preview\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0so that you can try the changes out for yourself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Duplicate Page<\/h2>\n

The ability to duplicate a page has been one of Visio’s most requested features, and we’re happy to announce it is now possible in the new Visio. Duplicate page provides you a fast and easy method, consistent with other Office apps like Excel, to copy not just shapes but also page properties from one page to another.<\/p>\n

To use Duplicate page, simply right click the page you’d like to duplicate, and click “Duplicate”. The new duplicated page will be created and placed next to your original page.<\/p>\n

\"Visio<\/p>\n

You can also access Duplicate page by going to the Insert tab, and selecting “Duplicate This Page” from the New Page dropdown menu.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Change Shape<\/h2>\n

The new Visio introduces a “Change Shape” feature that enables you to swap out a selected shape or group of shapes in the drawing with another type of shape. The new shapes retain the position, connections, formatting, shape text, and\/or shape data of the originals.<\/p>\n

For example, let’s say you’ve created the following simple flowchart<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"Visio<\/p>\n

However, your coworker noticed you used the wrong shape for the “Make a decision” step. Using Change Shape, you can swap the Process shape to a Decision shape with a single click. Just right-click the shape you want to change, select the Change Shape icon from the floatie, and choose the shape you want to replace with from the gallery provided. Hovering over shapes in the gallery will provide you with a live preview of the change so you can decide if it’s what you want before you click.<\/p>\n

\"Visio<\/p>\n

\"Visio<\/p>\n

To learn more about this new feature, check out our Change shapes in Visio 2013<\/a> post.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Match Shape Dimensions with Dynamic Grid<\/h2>\n

You now have a quick and easy way to make one shape the same size as another using dynamic grid. When you resize a shape (select the shape, then click and drag the white resize handles), matching dimensions found between shapes in your current view will be shown as green line segment overlays.<\/p>\n

When you resize on one axis (e.g. just resizing the shape’s width), only matching dimensions on the same axis are shown. When resizing on two axes, both matching dimensions for width and height are displayed. Guides showing equal width will show up at the bottom of all the shapes, while guides showing equal height will appear on the right side of all the shapes.<\/p>\n

\"Visio<\/p>\n

\n

4. \u00a0Alt+Drag Suspends Snap<\/h2>\n

Ever find yourself needing more precise control of a shape’s position? Holding down the Alt key while dragging a shape to move, rotate, or resize will suspend all forms of snapping, simulating the behavior if all checkboxes in the “View\u00e0 Visual Aids\u00e0 Snap to” list were unchecked and giving you finer control over your shape’s position.<\/p>\n

Alt+drag applies to 1D and 2D shapes, as well as multi-shape selections. It also applies to connectors, but they will still snap to glue targets.<\/p>\n

Alt+drag also works in combination with Ctrl and Shift modifier keys for drag actions.<\/p>\n