Master Properties dialog box

This dialog box sets the properties of the selected master, including the master's name, how it is aligned, the size of the master's icon and how the icon is updated, how instances of the master are formatted, and the master prompt.

It is available only when you are editing a stencil.

Properties

Name

Specifies the name that appears under the master icon in the stencil window.

Prompt

Specifies the text that appears when you point to the master icon in the stencil window. To change the text, type new text in the Prompt box.

Icon size

Choose Normal, Tall, Wide, or Double. The default icon size is Normal.

• Tall is the same width as Normal, but twice the height.

• Wide is the same height as Normal, but twice the width.

• Double is twice as wide and twice as tall as Normal.

Align master name

Specifies how the master's name is aligned below the icon; select Left, Center, or Right.

Search

Keywords

Lists keywords that are used when you search for shapes in the Shapes window. The master must contain at least one shape for the Keywords field to be available.

Behavior

Match master by name on drop

If you create a stencil, this preserves the formatting you apply to the stencil's masters.

• If selected for the shapes on a particular stencil, then when you drag a shape from the stencil onto the page, Microsoft Office Visio checks to see if the shape you are dragging matches any of the masters in that stencil. If a match is found, the shape is formatted with the changes you made to the master.

• If not selected for the shapes on a particular stencil, then when you drag a shape from the stencil onto the page, the shape is added to the drawing file with the default formatting.

Generate icon automatically from shape data

Updates the master icon each time you edit the drawing of the master. If you edit the icon manually and you want to keep those changes, do not use this option.