1.3.4 Visio for Patent Professionals: Sketching Process Diagrams

Try This Yourself:

Prerequisite for the Exercise

Before starting this exercise, please follow these steps:

1. Download the Files: Fill out the form below to get the Visio-How-Tos–Making-Process-Diagram.vsdx, IP-DaVinci-Stencil–Basic-Reference-Numbers-and-Lead-Lines.vssx, and  IP-DaVinci-Stencil–Basic-Process-Diagram-Elements.vssx files.
   

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   Visio-How-Tos–Making-Process-Diagram.vsdx IP-DaVinci-Stencil–Basic-Reference-Numbers-and-Lead-Lines.vssx IP-DaVinci-Stencil–Basic-Process-Diagram-Elements.vssx

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2. Open the File and Stencils: After downloading, open the file and stencil(s) to start the exercise.

Exercise Steps

1. Search for Color Printer Clip Art:

• Open your web browser and go to Google Images.
• In the search bar, type “color printer clip art” and press Enter.
• Browse through the search results and find an image that suits your needs.
• Right-click on the chosen image and select “Copy image” to copy it to your clipboard.

2. Paste and Adjust the Color Printer Clip Art:

• In Visio, click on the canvas where you want to place the image.
• Right-click and select “Paste” or press “Ctrl+V” to insert the copied clip art onto the canvas.
• Click on the pasted image to select it. Resizing handles will appear around the image.
• Hover over a corner handle until the pointer appears as a double-headed arrow.
• Hold down the left mouse button and drag the handle to resize the image as needed.
• Move the image to the desired position on the canvas by dragging it with the mouse.

3. Search for Power Grid Clip Art:

• Open a web browser and go to Google Images.
• In the search bar, type “Power Grid clip art” and press Enter.
• Browse through the search results to find a suitable image for your process diagram.
• Right-click on the chosen image and select “Copy image” to copy it to your clipboard.

4.  Paste and Adjust Power Grid Clip Art:

• Switch back to your Visio canvas.
• Right-click on the canvas and select “Paste” or press Ctrl+V to insert the copied Power Grid clip art.
• Click on the pasted image to select it. Resizing handles will appear around the image.
• Use the resizing handles to adjust the size of the Power Grid clip art to fit your diagram.
• Drag the image to position it appropriately within your process diagram.

5. Place and Scale ‘Desk Person 2’ Shape:

• In the Shapes window, locate the ‘Desk Person 2’ shape within the IP-DaVinci-Stencil–Basic-Process-Diagram-Elements.vssx stencil.
• Click and hold the ‘Desk Person 2’ shape, then drag it onto the canvas to the desired location.
• Release the mouse button to drop the shape.
• Click on the shape to select it. Resizing handles will appear around the shape.
• Use the resizing handles to scale the ‘Desk Person 2’ shape to the appropriate size for your diagram.

6. Place the ‘Network’ Shape (Cloud):

• In the Shapes window, locate the ‘Network’ shape (represented as a cloud) within the IP-DaVinci-Stencil–Basic-Process-Diagram-Elements.vssx stencil.
• Click and hold the ‘Network’ shape, then drag it onto the canvas to the desired location.
• Release the mouse button to drop the shape.

7. Connect Shapes with ‘Curved Connector 1’:

• Locate the ‘Curved Connector 1’ shape in the IP-DaVinci-Stencil–Basic-Process-Diagram-Elements.vssx stencil.
• Drag and drop the connector to connect the shapes as shown in the exercise.
• Adjust the endpoints of the connector by clicking and dragging the endpoint handles to the desired connection points on the shapes.
• If necessary, click and drag the middle handle of the connector to change its curvature and shape.

8. Add Text to Shapes:

• For the Network shape, simply click on the shape and start typing to insert text directly into it.
• To add text under the Power Grid clip art, select the Text tool, draw a text box of the appropriate size, and then type your text inside the box.
• For the Color Printer image, use the Text tool again, but this time just click once under the image to activate the default text box size and enter the text “Color Printer.”
• Similarly, use the Text tool to create a text box under the Desktop User shape and type “User” inside it.

9. Annotate Figure with Reference Numbers and Figure Number:

• Activate the preloaded IP-DaVinci-Stencil–Basic-Reference-Numbers-and-Lead-Lines.vssx by clicking on it.
• Drag and drop a Combo Lead Line shape next to the Power Grid clip art. Since the shape will be preselected, you can immediately start typing “101” to replace the placeholder text with the reference number 101.
• Repeat the same process for the other shapes, adding reference numbers 103, 105, and 107 respectively.
• Lastly, drag and drop a Figure Number shape from the stencil onto the canvas. There is no need to change the figure number, as the placeholder text already reads “Fig. 1,” which matches the figure number of the figure you are working on.