Applies ToVisio Plan 2 Visio Professional 2021 Visio Standard 2021 Visio Professional 2019 Visio Standard 2019 Visio Professional 2016 Visio Standard 2016

Preventing changes to shape attributes in Visio (like width or height) and locking shapes from being selected are handy ways to prevent changes to your drawings. The following list specifies the characteristics of a selected shape that you can lock using the Protection dialog box.

Width

Locks the selected shape's width to prevent resizing. To lock a 1-D shape against rotation, you must lock its width.

Height

Locks the selected shape's height to prevent resizing.

Aspect ratio

Locks the ratio between a shape's height and width so that its proportions won't change when you resize it.

X position

Locks the x (horizontal) position of a shape so that it cannot be moved.

Y position

Locks the y (vertical) position of a shape so that it cannot be moved.

Rotation

Locks a shape so that you cannot rotate it by using the Rotation tool. You can still rotate a 1-D shape by dragging its endpoints. To lock a 1-D shape against rotation, you must lock its width.

Begin point

Locks the begin point of a 1-D shape to a specific location so that it cannot be moved.

End point

Locks the end point of a 1-D shape to a specific location so that it cannot be moved.

Text

Locks the text in the shape so that it cannot be edited.

Format

Locks the formatting (line, fill, text, shadow, corner rounding, transparency) in the shape so that it cannot be edited.

From selection

Locks the shape so it cannot be selected. For this setting to take effect, you must also select Shapes in the Protect Document dialog box.

To display the Protect Document dialog box, on the View menu, click Drawing Explorer Window. Right-click the icon for the drawing file, and then click Protect Document.

From deletion

Locks the shape so it cannot be deleted.

From group formatting

Locks the formatting (color, fill, line, and shadow) in sub-shapes so that they do not change if the grouped shape is formatted. You can still format a sub-shape by selecting it.

From theme colors

Locks the shape so that it does not change if a color theme is applied.

From theme effects

Locks the shape so that it does not change if an effects theme is applied.

From theme connectors

Locks the shape so that it does not change if theme connectors are applied.

From theme fonts

Locks the shape so that it does not change if theme fonts are applied.

From theme index

Locks the shape so that it does not change if a theme index is applied.

All

Locks all options under Protect.

Note: The Protection section in the ShapeSheet spreadsheet includes protection options not available in the Protection dialog box, such as locking against cropping, editing with any drawing tool, text editing and formatting, group editing, and recalculation of height and width when you size the shape.

None

Unlocks all options under Protect.

To learn more about preventing or allowing changes to shapes in Visio, see Prevent or allow changes to shapes.

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