Creating and Using Templates

A template is a prepared base for a drawing. The more you can get ready in advance, the closer you are to a finished drawing right from the start.

Not so long go drafters would begin drawing on a pre-printed drawing sheet. The sheet would have the border, title block and various other markings already printed on the sheet. This was a drawing template. It eliminated drawing sheet  linework, it provided a consistent appearance and ensured that at least fundamental border and drawing ID information was included on the sheet.

Computerization eliminates the need for a physical template like that old drawing sheet but the concept of preparation is exactly the same.

The secret to success with templates is planning ahead. You need to consider all the possible combinations of elements that your drawings require. Then, knowing what you do and how you like it to look, you can distill the elements down to the most efficient number of templates. How many templates your office needs depends on the variety of drawings you create and the variety of output formats you use.

Each time you start Visio or click on New in the Visio menu you have the option of selecting a template on which to base you new drawing. Visio ships a number of sample templates that can, with modification, serve as the groundwork for you own custom templates, saving your time and maintaining a high standard of consistent presentation for your drawings.

Templates can define:

• Sheet size
• Page orientation
• Drawing scale
• Backgrounds
• Output format
• Headers & footers
• Layer definitions
• Style definitions
• Borders, standard marks, ID, title blocks
• Standard linework
• Stencils
• VBA code

By creating a base drawing for each different type of drawing you usually make, you can save time getting started  with each new drawing. You can also preserve quality standards throughout your organization, by having other Visio users base their drawings on the same templates, preferably by referencing the same templates from a shared network drive.

To create a template from an drawing or an existing template:

• Open the drawing or start a new drawing based on the template you wish to modify.
• Open any stencils you wish to include in the new template.
• Modify the drawing page settings, styles, background and linework to reflect the features you want in your template.
• When you are ready to save, select File > Save As then...
  • for Save As Type select Template (*.vst)
  • for File name enter a name for your template, use the long file name to make you template name descriptive and unambiguous
  • for Save ensure that Workspace is checked
  • for Save In select the folder for your template. To have your custom template display when you choose new from the Visio menu, save your template in the Solutions folder or one of its subfolders. Use a new subfolder for your custom templates if that will assist in finding or categorizing them.
• Click Save

Well done! You have now you created a custom template and are immediately on you way to increased productivity.