Video 7 Creating and Saving Stencils in Visio

This video is from a series of instructional videos designed to help you create illustrations of electrical components using Microsoft Visio. Each video builds on the previous one, and so if it seems like steps are being jumped, then go back and make sure you have gone through all previous videos. *IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE CUSTOM TOOLBAR USED IN THIS, WATCH VIDEO 1 TO FIND OUT HOW TO GET IT.
Video Intro: Why Microsoft Visio and a tour of the shape possibilities?
Video 1: Loading a custom toolbar
Video 2: Basic sizing and alignment tools
Video 3: Basic fragmentation and unions of shapes
Video 4: Basic grouping and layering of shapes
Video 5: Dynamic connectors and connection points
Video 6: Line operations - Rounding, weighting, and format tool
Video 7: Creating and saving stencils
Video 8: Creating a Decora receptacle
Video 9: Creating a wire fan
Video 10: Building a contactor
Video 11: Building a Wire connector
Video 12: Creating a wiring diagram from Stencil shapes.
Video 13: Creating Manual starter by modifying your Contactor Shape
Video 14: Creating a Decora Switch by modifying your Receptacle shape
Video 15: Tips and Tricks
20 years of working in the electrical industry has resulted in me developing affinities to certain brands or products. As a result, I draw components based around Schneider motor control components, Ideal wire connectors, and Decora receptacles. I am not affiliated with any of these companies, I just like their stuff.

[@joalexander103]

How do I search the new icons that I have in my stencil using the search bar on the shapes tab? I have renamed them, but I can't seem to find a way to make my new icons searchable.

[@joelteacheselectrical]

Unfortunately you cannot. At least as far I have found. Their search seems to default as results from their own libraries, but does not search user generated stencils.

[@jag7450]

How do I update my chart with newer version of stencil?

[@joelteacheselectrical]

It's pretty easy. Right-Click on the stencil (not the shape inside the stencil) and select "Edit Stencil". A little red * should show next to the stencil name. Now you can double-click on the shape in the stencil that you want to edit. It will open, you can adjust that, then re-save it and re-save the stencil. (Or you can delete the flawed shape from the stencil replace it with an updated one. I usually do that.)

[@jag7450]

@@joelteacheselectrical what I meant was: I already have a model with version 2.5 but now I would like it to be reflected with the latest version 2.6. Rather than changing every single shape, I was wondering if there is a way to update everything with latest version l?

[@jag7450]

@@joelteacheselectrical ??

[@joelteacheselectrical]

@@jag7450 I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what you’re referring to. Is this a software version that is being changed or some component you’ve drawn as “2.5” version that you would like to update as a “2.6”?

[@tallen917]

You spent half the presentation showing your creations and not how to create a unique one. Kind of a waste of my time Joel.

[@joelteacheselectrical]

It sounds like you are looking for videos on shape creation, and that is not what this one is about. A "Stencil" is a folder library in Visio that allows you to save and repeatedly use a shape. Creating that filing and recall system is all that this video shows, and shape creation is walked through in the earlier videos of the series. Cheers!