Select, move, resize, and rotate shapes

Select a single shape

1. On the Home tab, in the Tools group, click Pointer Tool.

2. Point to the shape on the drawing page until it becomes a four-headed arrow, and then click the shape.

Select multiple shapes with Area Select

1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Select, and select Area Select.

2. Place the pointer above and to the left of the shapes that you want to select, and then drag to create a selection net around the shapes.

3. After you select the shapes, you'll see blue selection handles around the shapes that you selected and magenta lines around the individual shapes.

Select multiple shapes with Lasso Select

1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Select, and select Lasso Select.

2. Drag a freeform selection net around the shapes that you want to select.

3. When you select multiple shapes, blue selection handles appear around the selected shapes.

Select shapes partially within a selection area

To enable Visio to select shapes partially within a selection area, do the following:

1. Click the File tab.

2. Under Visio, click Options.

3. In the Visio Options dialog box, on the Advanced tab, under Editing options, select the Select shapes partially within area check box.

Select multiple shapes on a page by using keyboard shortcuts

Press and hold SHIFT or CTRL while clicking shapes to select multiple shapes one at a time.

Select all the shapes on the drawing page

On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Select, and select Select All.

Select all a particular kind of object

1. On the Home tab, in the Edit group, click Select, and then select Select by Type.

2. In the Select by Type dialog box, check the type of object that you want to select, such as shapes, connectors, or containers, and then click OK.

Deselect one or more shapes

To deselect all shapes:

• Click a blank area on your drawing or press ESC.

To deselect one shape when several are selected:

• Press SHIFT and click a shape to cancel its selection.

Move shapes by using your mouse

1. Select all the shapes that you want to move.

2. Rest the pointer on one of the shapes. A four-headed arrow appears.

3. Drag the shapes to their new positions.

   All of the selected shapes move the same distance and direction from their original positions.

Move shapes a specific distance (requires Visio Professional)

1. Select all the shapes that you want to move.

2. On the View tab, in the Macros group, click Add-Ons, point to Visio Extras, and then click Move Shapes.

3. Under Direction, specify the coordinate system the you want to use to move the shape or shapes.

   • Horizontal/Vertical     This uses X-Y (Cartesian) coordinates to move the selection.

   • Distance/Angle     This uses polar coordinates to move the select.

4. Specify the distances to move the selection.

5. To move a copy of the selected shape or shapes and keep the original shape or shapes in the original position, select Duplicate.

6. When you have finished making your selections, click OK.

Nudge shapes by using the arrow keys

1. Select all the shapes that you want to move.

2. Do the following:

   • To move a shape to the next position to which it can snap, such as a grid line or ruler tick mark, press an arrow key.

     Note: If there is no position to which the shape can snap, pressing an arrow key moves the shape a single tick on the ruler.

     To move the shape one pixel, hold down SHIFT while pressing an arrow key.

Resize a 2-dimensional (2-D) shape (such as a rectangle) with the mouse

1. Select all the shapes that you want to resize.

2. Drag a selection handle until the shape is the size that you want. To resize the shape proportionally, drag a corner handle.

Resize a 1-dimensional shape, such as a line, with the mouse

1. Select the shape that you want to resize.

2. Drag an endpoint to the length you want.

Resize a shape using the Size & Position window

1. Select all the shapes that you want to move.

2. On the View tab, in the Show group, click Task Panes and select Size & Position.

3. In the Size & Position window, type new values into the Width, Height, or Length boxes.

Rotate a shape 90 degrees

1. Select the shapes that you want to rotate.

2. Do one of the following:

   • To rotate the shape counterclockwise, on the Home tab, in the Arrange group, click Position, point to Rotate Shapes, and select Rotate Left 90º.

   • To rotate the shape clockwise, on the Home tab, in the Arrange group, click Position, point to Rotate Shapes, and select Rotate Right 90º

Rotate a shape using the rotation handle

1. Select the shapes that you want to rotate

2. Drag a rotation handle .

   The shape rotates around the pin . To move the pin, rest the pointer over the rotation handle, and then move the pointer over the pin and drag it to a new location.

   The further you move the cursor from the selection while dragging the rotation handle, the finer (smaller) the rotation increment.

Rotate a shape by angle using the Size & Position window

1. Select the shapes that you want to rotate

2. On the View tab, in the Show group, click Task Panes and select Size & Position.

3. On the View tab, in the Show group, click Task Panes and select Size & Position.

4. In the Size & Position window, type a new values into the Angle boxes.

Flip a shape vertically or horizontally

1. Select the shapes that you want to flip.

2. On the Home tab, in the Arrange group, click Position, point to Rotate Shapes, and do the following:

   • To flip vertically, select Flip Vertical.

   • To flip horizontally, select Flip Horizontal.