1. Select the shape, and then type the text.

Tips

You can also use these methods for typing text in a shape:

• Double-click the shape, and then type the text.
• Select the shape and press F2, and then type the text.
2. When you finish typing, press ESC or click outside the text block (text block: The text area associated with a shape that appears when you click the shape with the text tool or select it with the pointer tool.).

1. Click the Text tool .
2. Click once anywhere on the drawing page, or click and drag until the text block is the size you want.
3. Type the text.

When you start typing, Microsoft Office Visio creates a text-only shape and, depending on your settings and the font size, zooms in on the text block.

4. When you finish typing, press ESC or click outside the text block (text block: The text area associated with a shape that appears when you click the shape with the text tool or select it with the pointer tool.).

Note  To delete a text-only shape, use the Pointer tool to select the shape, and then press DELETE.

1. Select the text in an existing shape that you want to use to create a new text shape.
2. Make sure no other shapes are selected on the page, and then do one of the following:
• To create a new text shape and delete the text from the original shape, drag the selected text onto a blank space on the drawing page.
• To create the new text shape without deleting the text from the existing shape, press CTRL and drag the selected text onto a blank space on the drawing page.

1. Double-click the shape.

Tip

To start editing text at a precise point, select the Text tool , and then click once at the location in the text block where you want to begin editing the text.
2. Click where you want to add or edit text.

You can move the insertion point (insertion point: The blinking vertical line that appears in text when you select a shape with the text tool and click the text with the mouse. Text you type appears at the insertion point.) by clicking anywhere in the text block or by pressing the arrow keys.

3. Type to add text or edit the text.
4. When you finish typing, press ESC or click outside the text block (text block: The text area associated with a shape that appears when you click the shape with the text tool or select it with the pointer tool.).

1. Do one of the following:
• To edit the main text in a group, click to select the group. (A dashed green line and green selection handles indicate the group.)
• To edit the text in a shape within the group, click to select the group, and then click the shape in the group.

Note  If your group doesn't work this way, it might have unique group settings that you should not change.

2. Click the Text tool .
3. Type to add or edit text.
4. When you have finished, press ESC or click outside the text block (text block: The text area associated with a shape that appears when you click the shape with the text tool or select it with the pointer tool.).

1. Click the Text Block tool .
2. Click the shape that contains the text block you want to select.

To select the text block in a shape within a group, click to select the group, and then click to select the shape in the group.

• Do one of the following:

• To select all the text in a text block, double-click the shape.
• To select part of the text in a text block, double-click the shape, and then drag the insertion point over the portion of text that you want to select. To extend a selection, click at an insertion point, and press SHIFT and the RIGHT ARROW key, or press SHIFT and the LEFT ARROW key to select text.

Note  When you select text, the drawing often is magnified so that you can see what you're typing (unless you change the text magnification setting). To return to the original magnification, press ESC, or click anywhere outside the shape or text block after you type the text.

About text in shapes and drawings

1. Double-click the shape that contains the text you want to delete.
2. Select the text you want to delete, or press CTRL+A to select all the text in the text block.
3. Press DELETE.

1. To open a text block (text block: The text area associated with a shape that appears when you click the shape with the text tool or select it with the pointer tool.), double-click a shape, and then select the text that you want to format.
2. On the Format menu, click Text.
3. Select the formatting options you want.

1. Click the Text Block tool .
2. Click the shape to select its text block (text block: The text area associated with a shape that appears when you click the shape with the text tool or select it with the pointer tool.).

Note  If the text is in a group, click to select the group, and then click to select the text in the shape.

3. Do one of the following:
• To rotate the shape's text block, drag the rotation handle .

When the pointer is over a rotation handle (rotation handle: The round handle that appears at the top of a 2-D shape's or text block's selection rectangle when you select the shape or text block using the Pointer tool or select a text block using the Text Block tool.), it changes to an arrow that forms a circle . As you drag, the pointer changes to four arrows that form a circle .


• To move the shape's text block, drag the double rectangle that appears when the pointer is over the text in the text block.

The text block remains part of the shape, so you can move the text block completely outside the shape's borders and still move, rotate, and resize it with the shape without changing its new position relative to the shape.

• To resize the shape's text block, drag a selection handle until the text block is the width or height you want.

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Under Drawing window options, in the Automatically zoom under points when editing box, enter 0 (zero) for the point size.