A stencil (.vss file) is a collection of shapes associated with a particular Microsoft Office Visio template (.vst file). You can create a new stencil to hold shapes that you use often and want to find quickly.

1. On the File menu, point to Shapes, and then click New Stencil.
2. To save the stencil, right-click the stencil title bar, and then click Save.
3. Type a name for your stencil, and then click Save.

   By default, custom stencils are saved in your My Shapes folder.

 Notes 

• To open your new stencil in another drawing, on the File menu, point to Shapes, and then point to My Shapes.
• To edit your new stencil, right-click the stencil title bar and click Edit Stencil. The icon in the stencil title bar changes from (indicating that the stencil is read-only) to (indicating that the stencil is editable).
• To share your new stencil with someone, copy the stencil (.vss file) to their My Shapes folder.