Add a new fill pattern line pattern or line ends pattern

Newer versionsOffice 2007

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Note: You will need to run Visio in developer mode to be able to work on patterns in Drawing Explorer. To do that, click the File tab. Under Visio, click Options. Click Advanced, and scroll down to the General section, and then select Run in developer mode.

1. Do one of the following:

   • To make the pattern available only in the current drawing, on the Developer menu, click Drawing Explorer.

   • To save the pattern with an existing stencil so that you can open it in any drawing, open the stencil: In the Shapes window, point to My Shapes, and then either click Favorites or open a stencil. If the stencil cannot be edited, right-click the stencil title bar, and then click Edit Stencil. Then, click Developer > Drawing Explorer.

   • To create a new stencil with which to save the pattern (to make it available in any drawing): In the Shapes window, click More Shapes, and then click New Stencil. Then, click Developer > Drawing Explorer.

2. In the Drawing Explorer window, right-click Fill Patterns, Line Patterns, or Line Ends, and then click New Pattern.

3. Under Details, in the Name box, type a name for the pattern, and then click the pattern type you want.

4. Under Behavior, choose an option.

   Behavior options

   Pattern type	Description	Button
   Fill pattern	Create multiple copies of the image to fill a shape (tile the image)
   	Use a single, centered, image.
   	Stretch a single image to fill the shape.
   Line pattern	Bend the pattern to the line so that the pattern is tiled and distorted along the path of the line.
   	Tile multiple images along the line without distorting them.
   	Stretch a single image along the line.
   	Tile multiple images along the line without distorting them, while still retaining the line's original formatting.
   Line end pattern	Orient the line end to the direction of the line.
   	Orient the line end so that it is always upright.

5. To adjust the pattern as the drawing page scale changes, select the Scaled check box.

   Note: An unscaled line pattern or line end pattern will adjust itself to the line's weight (or thickness).

6. Click OK.

7. In the Drawing Explorer pane, open the appropriate folder, right-click the new pattern, and then click Edit Pattern Shape.

8. Create the shape or shapes you want to designate as a pattern. You can create shapes from scratch, modify existing shapes, or insert bitmaps.

   Note: If you use a bitmap to create the fill pattern, the pattern will not have transparent areas where the background shows through. However, if you use Visio shapes to create the fill pattern, the background will show through the pattern.

9. Close the window, and then click Yes in the prompt to update the pattern.

Note: You will need to run Microsoft Office Visio in developer mode to be able to work on patterns in Drawing Explorer. To do that, on the Tools menu, click Options, click the Advanced tab, and then click Run in developer mode.

1. Do one of the following:

   • To make the pattern available only in the current drawing, on the View menu, click Drawing Explorer Window.

   • To save the pattern with an existing stencil so that you can open it in any drawing, open the stencil (on the File menu, point to Shapes, point to My Shapes, and then click Favorites or another stencil name). If the stencil cannot be edited, right-click the stencil title bar, and then click Edit Stencil. In developer mode, click the title bar icon again, and then click Drawing Explorer Window.

   • To create a new stencil with which to save the pattern (to make it available in any drawing), on the File menu, point to Shapes, and then click New Stencil. In developer mode, click the title bar icon, and then click Drawing Explorer Window.

2. In the Drawing Explorer window, right-click Fill Patterns, Line Patterns, or Line Ends, and then click New Pattern.

3. Under Details, in the Name box, type a name for the pattern, and then click the pattern type you want.

4. Under Behavior, choose an option.

   Behavior options

   Pattern type	Description	Button
   Fill pattern	Create multiple copies of the image to fill a shape (tile the image)
   	Use a single, centered, image.
   	Stretch a single image to fill the shape.
   Line pattern	Bend the pattern to the line so that the pattern is tiled and distorted along the path of the line.
   	Tile multiple images along the line without distorting them.
   	Stretch a single image along the line.
   	Tile multiple images along the line without distorting them, while still retaining the line's original formatting.
   Line end pattern	Orient the line end to the direction of the line.
   	Orient the line end so that it is always upright.

5. To adjust the pattern as the drawing page scale changes, select the Scaled check box.

   Note: An unscaled line pattern or line end pattern will adjust itself to the line's weight (or thickness).

6. Click OK.

7. In the Drawing Explorer Window, open the appropriate folder, right-click the new pattern, and then click Edit Pattern.

8. Create the shape or shapes you want to designate as a pattern. You can create shapes from scratch, modify existing shapes, or insert bitmaps.

   Note: If you use a bitmap to create the fill pattern, the pattern will not have transparent areas where the background shows through. However, if you use Visio shapes to create the fill pattern, the background will show through the pattern.

9. Click the Close Window button, and then click Yes to update the pattern.

Tip: If you design your own dash pattern as a custom line pattern, draw your dash segments as lines with zero weight so they inherit the original shape's line weight. Line segments are more efficient than filled shapes, and when a line is thin, line segments are displayed better on the screen.

See Also

Open the Drawing Explorer window