Edit a shape on a stencil

You can edit the shapes in an editable stencil, including your Favorites stencil and any custom stencils that you create. The stencils provided with the Microsoft Office Visio templates are not editable.

Note:  Shapes in Visio stencils are often referred to as master shapes. When you drag a master shape onto a drawing page, you create a copy (or "instance") of the master. The master itself remains on the stencil so that you can use it repeatedly to create new copies of the master on your drawing pages.

1. Open your Favorites stencil or a custom stencil that you created.

   • On the File menu, point to Shapes, point to My Shapes, and then click the name of the stencil.

2. If the stencil is not editable, right-click the stencil title bar, and then click Edit Stencil.

   The icon in the stencil title bar changes from (indicating that the stencil is read-only) to (indicating that the stencil is editable).

3. Right-click the shape that you want to change, point to Edit Master, and then click Edit Master Shape.

4. In the shape drawing window, revise the shape.

5. When you have finished, close the shape drawing window. When you are prompted to update the shape, click Yes.

6. To rename the shape, right-click it, and then click Rename Master.

7. To save the changes, right-click the stencil title bar, and then click Save.

Note: Visio master shapes supplied by Microsoft Corporation are copyrighted. You may copy and reorganize them for your own use, modify them for your own use, and distribute drawings that contain them. You may not sell or distribute original or modified Visio master shapes.