Visio is a must-have for drawing massive clear shape molds

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A stencil (.vss file) is a collection of shapes that is associated with a specific Microsoft Office Visio template (.vst file). You can add any shape in your drawing to an editable stencil by dragging the shape from the drawing page onto the stencil ； You can also add a shape from one stencil to another using the Add to My Shapes command on the shape's shortcut menu. Your Favorites stencils and custom stencils you create are editable, while the stencils provided with Microsoft Office Visio templates are not editable. Add shapes to stencils from the drawing page Open a new stencil, your Favorites stencil, or other custom stencils you have created previously: To open a mold, on the File menu, point to Shapes, and then click New Mold. To open a custom stencil, on the File menu, point to Shapes, point to My Shapes, and then click the name of the stencil. If the stencil is not editable, right-click the stencil title bar and click Edit Mold. The icon in the stencil title bar will change from (indicating that the stencil is read-only) to (indicating that the stencil is editable). On the drawing page, select the shapes you want to add to the stencil. Please do one of the following: To move a shape from the drawing to the stencil, drag the shape from the drawing page to the stencil. To copy the shape, hold down the CTRL key while dragging the shape onto the stencil. The shape is now on the mold. The shape appears as an icon labeled "Mastershape.x", where x is a number. To rename a shape, right-click the shape icon, point to Edit Master, and then click Master Properties. Type a name in the Name box. To save your changes, right-click the stencil title bar and click Save. Back to top Copy shapes from one mold to another Open a mold that contains shapes you want to add to another mold: On the File menu, point to Shapes, and then point to My Shapes or the other folder that contains the stencil. In an open stencil that contains the shape you want to copy, right-click the shape, point to Add to My Shapes, and then click Favorites, Add to New Mold, or Add to Existing Mold. To open a stencil that contains a copied shape, on the File menu, point to Shapes, and then point to My Shapes or the other folder that contains the stencil. Tip If both stencils are editable, you can copy and paste shapes from one stencil to the other without using the Add to My Shapes command. Note Shapes in Visio stencils are often called master shapes. When you drag a master onto the drawing page, you create a copy (or "instance") of the master. The master shape itself remains on the stencil, so you can reuse it to create new copies of the master shape on the drawing page. Visio masters provided by Microsoft Corporation are copyrighted. You can copy and reorganize masters for your own use, and you can modify masters and distribute drawings that contain masters for your own use. You may not sell or distribute original or modified Visio masters.