Copyright: (C) Copyright 1996-1997 Visio Corporation
Citation: (C) Copyright 1996-1997 Visio Corporation


Program Structure Template

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The Program Structure Template includes the shapes you need to create structural diagrams of programs and memory objects.

For information about how a specific shape behaves, right-click the shape, then choose Shape Help.

Tips for efficiently using the Program Structure shapes

•	You can change the appearance or behavior of many shapes by choosing a command from the shortcut menu. For example, by right-clicking the Flowchart Shapes shape, you can choose the type of shape (Process, Decision, Document, Input/Output) you want.

•	When you connect shapes using connectors, such as the Invocation or Stack Pointer shapes, or any of the shapes from the Connectors stencil that opens with the Program Structure Template, you can glue the endpoints of the connector to connection points on the shapes you're connecting. When a connector is glued, its endpoint turns red. Once shapes are glued, you can move them without destroying the connection.

•	If you move a shape unintentionally or don't like the effect of a change, choose Edit > Undo.

•	Zoom in to align shapes, place icons over buttons, or do any other close work. Zoom in by pressing Ctrl+Shift, then left-clicking where you want to zoom. Zoom out by pressing Ctrl+Shift+right-click.

Adding properties to program structure shapes

You can associate data with shapes by giving the shapes custom-property fields-fields in which you can store information. For example, to give each function shape in a program structure diagram a description, you can add a Description custom property to the Function master. You can then associate a specific description with each instance of that shape by right-clicking the shape on the page.

To add custom properties to shapes, run the Custom Properties Editor. To enter data into existing custom properties, right-click a shape, then choose Properties.

To run the Custom Properties Editor:

•	Choose Tools > Macro > Custom Properties Editor.

See also:

Adding, editing, and deleting custom-property fields

Generating reports from properties

If you've entered data for the properties associated with your shapes, you can run the Property Reporting Wizard to generate inventory or numerical reports based on the data. For example, you could create an inventory report that includes the descriptions for each function shape in a program structure diagram.

To run the Property Reporting Wizard:

•	Choose Tools > Property Report.

See also:

Creating reports from custom data

Linking shapes to other drawing pages, other files, or World Wide Web locations

You can add navigational links to any shape in your diagram, so that users of the diagram can right-click the shape to jump to separate drawing pages, separate files, or documents on an intranet or the Web. For example, you can link a Data Block shape to a specifications document that describes the nature of the data.

To add links to shapes:

•	Choose Insert > Hyperlink. Follow the wizard screens.

See also:

About using hyperlinks

Placing Visio drawings on the World Wide Web

You can easily convert a Visio drawing to a format Web browsers can read. Then you can distribute the drawing on an intranet or the Web.

See also:

Exporting shapes and drawings in .jpg or .gif format

Saving drawings as HTML pages


Tips for efficiently using the Program Structure shapes

Adding properties to program structure shapes

Generating reports from properties

Linking shapes to other drawing pages, other files, or World Wide Web locations

Placing Visio drawings on the World Wide Web