Visio® 2007 For Dummies®

Chapter 1. Visio 101

In This Chapter

• Getting the scoop on Visio features

• Understanding the lingo of Visio

• Opening Visio and touring the screen

• Getting help

• Closing the program

Close your eyes for a minute and picture the amount of visual information that comes to you on any given day. Magazines, newspapers, reports, television programs, and presentations illustrate a great deal of information in the form of charts, tables, graphs, diagrams, and technical drawings. These graphical elements often convey ideas far more quickly and clearly than long, boring paragraphs. You don't typically think of charts, diagrams, and graphs as art, but they are graphical, and this is where Visio comes in.

Although Visio is easy to use, you can benefit from a bit of explanation before you jump right in creating drawings. In this chapter, you become familiar with what you see on the Visio screen and find out how Visio works conceptually.

Getting the Scoop on Visio

In simple terms, Visio is a diagramming tool for anyone who needs to create drawings, even self‐confirmed nonartists. Although many people view Visio as a drawing tool, it isn't one, because it requires no artistic ability. It's more accurate to say that Visio is a diagramming tool. That's reassuring because even in highly analytical, non‐art‐related careers, you may need to create a chart, diagram, or drawing! If the suggestion of drawing anything strikes terror in your heart, Visio can help.

Visio's grab bag of icons — or shapes, as Visio calls them ...