How to Make Curved Blocks in Visio
By Tommy Charles
With Microsoft Visio's drawing toolbar you can create your own custom shapes and designs. This feature will allow you to more accurately illustrate the concepts that are unique to your own diagrams. For instance, if you are creating a diagram of work flow in your organization and you have unique positions to describe, you may find it very helpful to be able to create these custom shapes. Visio offers rounded corners in various angles, and you are likely to find one to suit your needs.
Click "Start" and then type "Visio" into the search box. Click the "Microsoft Office Visio" result that appears to start the program.
Click "File" and then click "New." Click "New Drawing (US units)" or "New Drawing (Metric)," depending on your preference.
Activate the drawing toolbar by clicking "View," pointing the mouse cursor to "Toolbars" and then clicking "Drawing."
Click the "Rectangle" icon located on the left-hand side of the drawing toolbar.
Create a block by pressing and holding the mouse button and then moving the mouse. Release the mouse click when you have created a block of satisfactory size.
Select the box that you have just created by clicking within it.
Click the small black arrow beside the "Corner Rounding" icon. This icon is located directly below the font size and type in the main Visio toolbar.
Select a rounded corner type by clicking its icon in the "Corner Rounding" dialog box that opens.
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Tips
- Your block will immediately change to reflect the new rounded corner. You can change the corner type as many times you like until you find one that you like.
- You can also create rounded blocks and egg-shaped stencils in Visio by using the "Arc Tool" that is located on the drawing toolbar. Simply click the tool and then click within the workspace to create an arc. Click a point on the newly created arc to make it longer or shorter. Connect two arcs by dragging one to the other.
Writer Bio
Tommy Charles is a professional writer and researcher for several websites. Focusing primarily on financial markets, he also writes for broader arenas and has written several articles focusing on general interest topics such as secure Web browsing, coin collecting and computer science. His ongoing series of articles concerning the FOREX market and game theory have received a wide readership.