Microsoft Visio 2010 : Aligning and Arranging Shapes (part 1) - Working with the Dynamic Grid

Visio 2010 has several features for keeping your shapes neatly in order. Some help you maintain tidiness while you draw; others enable you to clean up the mess afterward.

1. Using the Dynamic Grid to Align Shapes as You Draw

If you’ve noticed thin, orange lines and arrows briefly appearing as you drop shapes on the page, you’ve already seen the Dynamic Grid in action. The Dynamic Grid aims to prevent the mess before it happens.

Working with the Dynamic Grid

1.	Create a new drawing using the Basic Flowchart template.
2.	For flowcharts, the Dynamic Grid is on by default, but you can double-check. Go to the View tab and make sure that Dynamic Grid in the Visual Aids group is checked.
3.	Drag and drop a Process shape onto the page.
4.	Drag a second Process shape directly to the right of the first one. As you drag, notice the orange line and arrow that appear, as shown in Figure 1. The horizontal line indicates vertical alignment between the shapes. The horizontal arrows indicate uniform spacing, which doesn’t mean much when you have only two shapes on the page. For the first two shapes on a page, the Dynamic Grid uses a standard spacing that is defined for the drawing. Figure 1. The Dynamic Grid appears while you drag. Here it indicates vertical alignment and standard spacing between the shapes.
5.	Drag a few more Process shapes onto the page, continuing to the right. Drop them when you see the alignment line and spacing arrows, as shown in Figure 2. The uniform spacing arrows now make a lot more sense! Figure 2. The Dynamic Grid helps to enforce uniform spacing between shapes.
6.	In a flowchart, you would normally connect as you go, which you haven’t done so far. Mouse over your last Process shape and use the AutoConnect arrows to add another Process shape to the right. Notice that it is aligned vertically with the other shapes and spaced equally. Figure 3 shows the result; you can see that AutoConnect uses the same standard spacing as the Dynamic Grid to place new shapes. Figure 3. AutoConnect uses the same standard spacing that the Dynamic Grid uses when offsetting new shapes.
7.	Drag any of the existing Process shapes so that it is below one of the others. As you drag, notice that a vertical line and vertical arrows appear. The Dynamic Grid ensures alignment and uniform spacing for vertical rows of shapes as well.
8.	Drag one last Process shape so that it aligns vertically and horizontally with the shapes already on the page. You should see alignment lines and spacing arrows in both the horizontal and vertical directions, as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4. The Dynamic Grid works in both directions simultaneously.