This month we take a look at five tips and tricks that you can use with Microsoft Visio.

Tip 1 - Maintain permanent documents in recent documents

Your Recent Documents list is limited to 12 documents. In order keep a recent document in the list, you may need to pin it to the list.

Step 1: Select File, Recent and click on the pin beside the document you wish to keep.

Tip 2 - Send as a PDF Document

You may have a need to send a file in a more secured universal format. PDF (Portable Document Format) is the current standard.

Adobe PDF reader is a free tool that enables users to open a PDF based Visio document without the requirement of having the Visio application. You will need an email program such as Microsoft Outlook for this example.

Step 1: Select File, Save & Send.
Step 2: Click on Send Using E-Mail.
Step 3: Click on Send as PDF.

Tip 3 - Reposition the screen

If you zoom into a document, the use of scroll bars can be cumbersome to move around a page. Fortunately, a neat shortcut can be used to reposition a document.

Step 1: Hold down Ctrl + Shift, press and hold the right mouse button and drag the page to a new position.

Tip 4 - Pan & Zoom

You can navigate documents with ease by using the Pan & Zoom function.

Step 1: Expand the Task Panes command in the Show group of the View tab.
Step 2: Select Pan & Zoom.
Step 3: Draw a square around an object in the Pan & Zoom dialog box and reposition it over other objects.

Tip 5 - Perfect Position and Size.

Like Microsoft Publishers Measurement function, the Size & Position box can be used to refine the exact size and position of objects (e.g. shapes etc.) used in a Visio document.

Step 1: Expand the Task Panes command in the Show group of the View tab.
Step 2: Select Size & Position.
Step 3: Move the object on the page and observe the changes in the Size & Position Dialog box.