Create a site plan

Use the Site Plan template to create architectural site plans and garden landscape plans.

1. Click File > New, and search for Site Plan. From the search results, click Site Plan > Create.

   By default, this drawing type opens a scaled drawing page in landscape orientation . You can change these settings at any time.

2. To incorporate buildings into your site plan, do one of the following:

   Draw outlines of the buildings

   On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click the dropdown arrow next to Rectangle for options such as Line or Rectangle to draw outlines of buildings.

   Insert a CAD floor plan

   1. Click Insert > CAD Drawing.

   2. Under Files of type, select AutoCAD Drawing (*.dwg, *.dxf). Locate the CAD file and click Open.

   3. To accept the size and location of the CAD drawing, click OK.

      After you have inserted the drawing, you can resize it, change its scale, or move it. You can also lock the Microsoft Office Visio layer that contains the CAD drawing.

   Copy and paste an existing Visio floor plan drawing into a new drawing

   1. Open an existing Microsoft Office Visio drawing.

   2. Click Design > Auto Size.

   3. On the Page Setup dialog box, click Drawing Scale. Make note of the scale setting in the existing drawing, and then set the scale of your new drawing to match.

   4. In the existing drawing, select the shapes you want to use in the new drawing and then copy them.

   5. Switch to the new drawing, and paste the shapes.

      Tip: You can lock the layers of a drawing so that you do not accidentally change them when you create a new plan on top.

3. Depending on your drawing type, do one or both of the following:

   Add roads and parking stalls

   1. From the horizontal and vertical rulers, drag guides and position them on the page to mark the locations of the site perimeter, stalls, and roads in the drawing.

   2. From Parking and Roads, drag curbs and driveways onto the drawing page.

   3. From Parking and Roads, position parking strips, stalls, and islands on the drawing page. Glue their endpoints ( or ) to guides.

      Tips: 

      • To reposition parking stalls, drag the guide to which they are glued.

      • To keep the alignment of a shape from changing while you move the shape, press SHIFT.

   4. From Vehicles, Site Accessories, and Planting, position vehicles, parking accessories, and landscape shapes around the parking strips and stalls. Glue their endpoints to guides.

      Tip: Use shapes from Annotations and Dimensioning to add labels or dimension lines to your site plan.

   Add landscaping elements

   1. From Garden Accessories, drag fence shapes and gate shapes onto the drawing page.

   2. From Sport Fields and Recreation, drag recreational equipment shapes, such as a pool or a swing set, onto the drawing page.

   3. From Garden Accessories, add patios and walkways by dragging shapes onto the drawing page.

   4. From Irrigation, add irrigation equipment by dragging shapes onto the drawing page.

4. Add plants by dragging shapes from Planting onto the drawing page. Use the Plant callout shape to label plants.

   You can record the plant's common name and foliage type as shape data.

   Enter shape data

   1. Right-click the shape and select Properties.

   2. In the Shape Data dialog box, enter the information as necessary.

   Tip: To create and arrange multiple copies of shapes, such as plants and paving stones, use the Array Shapes add-on. To do that, click View > Add Ons > Visio Extras > Array Shapes.