Visio offers a variety of ways to get help while you're working, as shown in the following table.
Task | Action |
|---|---|
|
See sample diagrams for every diagram type in Visio and find ideas about who could use the diagrams and how | On the Help menu, click Diagram Gallery. |
See animation for step-by-step procedures that teach you the basic skills that you need to create and share any Visio diagram | On the Help menu, click Getting Started Tutorial. |
Quickly find answers to your questions by using keywords | Type a keyword in the "Type a question for help" box on the Visio menu bar, and then press the F key. Visio searches through its Help topics to find the ones related to the keyword. |
|
Peruse the list of Help topics included with Visio | On the Help menu, click Microsoft Office Visio Help to show the Visio Help task pane. Then in the Assistance area, click Table of Contents. |
Find specific information about how to use a template | Type the name of the template followed by template in the "Type a question for help" box on the Visio menu bar, and then press the |
Find specific information about how to use a shape | Right-click a shape, and then click Help. |
|
Find product tours, templates, sample diagrams, tutorials, tips and tricks, in-depth articles about using Visio, answers to frequently asked questions, and links to Microsoft Knowledge Base articles | On the Help menu, click Microsoft Office Online. Or, in the Visio Help task pane, click Microsoft Office Online. |
Tip
To get the most recent Visio Help topics, make sure you're connected to the Internet when you use Visio Help. If you're not connected to the Internet, Visio will use the Help topics installed with the Visio program. To change Visio Help settings, on the Help menu, click Customer Feedback Options. Then in the Service Options dialog box, in the Category list, click Online Content.
In this exercise, you get help using a particular template and shape, and you search Visio Help using a keyword. You also open the Diagram Gallery to see Visio suggestions for how to use a particular diagram type.
Start Visio. In the Choose Drawing Type window, in the Category area, click Charts and Graphs.
In the Template area, click Charts and Graphs.
Visio opens a blank drawing page and three stencils.
On the View menu, click Task Pane.
Click the down arrow on the Getting Started task pane's title bar, and then click Help.
The Visio Help task pane appears.
In the task pane's Search for box, type Charts and Graphs template, and then press the
key.Visio displays a list of Help topics for the keyword in the Search Results task pane.
In the Search Results task pane, click About charts and graphs.
The Help window opens to the right of the Visio window and displays the Help topic that you selected.
In the upper-right corner of the Help window, click the Close button to close the window.
The Help window closes and the Visio window is resized.
Click the down arrow on the Search Results task pane's title bar, and then click Help to return to the Visio Help task pane.
On the Visio menu bar, click in the Type a question for help box, type pages, and then press the
key.Visio displays a list of Help topics about pages in the Search Results task pane.
In the Search Results task pane, click About dragging shapes onto a drawing page.
The Help window opens to the right of the Visio window and displays the Help topic that you selected.
On the Help window's title bar, click the Close button to close the window.
On the Help menu, click Diagram Gallery.
Visio opens the Diagram Gallery window over the Visio window.
In the Diagram Gallery window, in the left pane, click Charts and graphs.
Under the Charts and graphs heading, click Charts and graphs.
The Diagram Gallery window displays the selected topic, which shows an example diagram and suggests who might find this type of diagram most useful and how it can be used.
On the Diagram Gallery window's title bar, click the Close button to close the window.
From the Charting Shapes stencil, drag the Bar graph 1 shape onto the drawing page.
In the Custom Properties dialog box that appears, click OK.
Right-click the shape on the drawing page, and then click Help.
The Help window opens to the right of the Visio window and displays a Help topic that explains how to use the shape.
In the Help window's title bar, click the Close button to close the window.
On the File menu, click Exit, and in the dialog box that appears, click No so that you don't save the diagram.
Visio closes.
Tip
When you open a dialog box in Visio, you can get help with each option in the dialog box. To open a dialog box Help topic, click the Help button in the dialog box (usually located in the lower-left corner).
You can create Visio diagrams by using the templates that come with Visio or templates that you can download from the Microsoft Office Online Web site.
If none of the templates meet your needs, start your diagram by using a template that closely matches the diagram type.
If you don't know which diagram type to use, browse the Diagram Gallery for inspiration.
You can customize the Visio drawing environment so you can work efficiently.
If you don't know which command or tool a toolbar button represents, position the pointer over it to see a ScreenTip.
You can right-click an item to see its shortcut menu.
Whenever you're stuck and need help, type your question in the "Type a question for help" box.
If you need help using a particular template, type the template name in the "Type a question for help" box.
If you don't know how to use a particular shape, right-click it, and then click Help.