Visio2000: How to Reduce the Size of a Visio Drawing File

If you create large Visio diagrams, you may want to reduce the size of your VSD files. This article addresses several ways to reduce the size of a VSD file, including:

• Removing unused shapes in the local stencil.
• Splitting a multiple-page diagram into several files.
• Setting Preview picture to None.
• Reducing the number of grouped shapes.
• Converting duplicate shapes to a single master shape.

IMPORTANT: Before you try any of the solutions in this article, Microsoft recommends you make a backup of your Visio diagram.

Removing Unused Shapes in the Local Stencil

The local stencil stores master shapes, including those master shapes that have been deleted from the drawing page. Therefore, unused master shapes can take up unnecessary disk space, and removing them reduces the file size of your diagram.

To remove unused master shapes from the active drawing's local stencil, you can download and run the CleanIt utility. The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file. NOTE: Microsoft Product Support Services does not provide technical support for this utility.

Alternatively, you can follow these steps to delete unused master shapes:

1. Open the Visio drawing.
2. Do one of the following:
   • If you have Visio 2000, on the Window menu, click Show Document Stencil.
     
     
   • If you have an earlier version of Visio, on the Window menu, click Show Master Shapes.
   
   
   
3. Delete the master shapes not in use from the local stencil.
   
   Visio warns you if any master shapes are being used by your diagram. If you receive this warning, click Cancel.
4. Click Close to close the stencil.
5. Save your drawing.

The drawing file size is reduced.

Splitting a Multiple-Page Diagram into Several Files

If you need to reduce the file size of a multiple-page diagram to transfer it electronically, or if you need to save the diagram to a diskette, consider saving each page of your Visio file as a separate file. Use the Save As command to split the multiple-page diagram into several files.

To split a multiple-page diagram into several files:

1. Open the Visio drawing.
2. On the File menu, click Save As, type a new file name, and then click OK.
   
   EXAMPLE: Type filename_pageX.vsd, where file name is the name of your document, and pageX is the page number.
3. Repeat Step 2 for each page of your diagram.
   
   EXAMPLE: Save page 1 as filename_page1.vsd, save page 2 as filename_page2.vsd, and so on.
4. For each new Visio drawing file, delete the other pages that don't correspond with the file name by doing one of the following:
   
   
   • If you have Visio 2000, right-click the page tab for the page that you want to delete in the lower-left corner of the window, and then click Delete Page.
     
     
   • If you have an earlier version of Visio, follow these steps:
     
     
     1. On the Edit menu, point to Drawing Page, and then click Delete Page.
     2. Select the page to delete, and then click OK.
   EXAMPLE: If your drawing has four pages and you open filename_page2.vsd, you should delete pages 1, 3, and 4.
5. On the File menu, click Save, and repeat this procedure for each diagram.

You now have separate Visio files for each page of your diagram.

Setting Preview Picture to None

You can reduce the file size of your diagram by turning off the Preview picture setting in the Properties dialog box.

To turn off the Preview picture setting:

1. On the File menu, click Properties.
2. In the Properties dialog box, click the Summary tab.
3. Click None for the Preview picture setting.

Reducing the Number of Grouped Shapes

If your Visio diagram includes many grouped shapes, your diagram can become very large and complex. Reducing the number of levels of grouping can help to reduce the size and complexity of your files. To reduce the levels of grouping:

• Use Shape operations, such as the Combine operation.
  
  
• Convert the grouped shape to a Windows Metafile (WMF).

To convert a grouped shape to a Windows Metafile (WMF):

1. On the Edit menu, click Copy.
2. On the Edit menu, click Paste Special. The Paste Special dialog box appears.
3. Click Picture, and then click OK.

Converting Duplicate Shapes to a Single Master Shape

If you created shapes in your Visio drawing, consider converting duplicate shapes to masters. When you create a master shape, Visio stores it in the drawing's local stencil. When you drag a shape to a stencil, a master shape icon based on the shape appears in the stencil window.

EXAMPLE: Instead of your drawing containing 20 copies of a shape, it could contain a single copy--the master shape and the instances of the master as references. The references take up a lot less disk space than duplicate copies of the shape.

To convert a shape to a master:

1. In the Drawing window, display the shape that you want to convert to a master, or draw a shape to convert.
2. On the File menu, click Open, and then select the stencil file (VSS) in which you want to store the new master.
3. Click Original or Copy, and then click Open.
4. Click the drawing page to make it active, and then drag the shape from the drawing page and drop it on the stencil. You can create a copy of the shape by holding down the CTRL key while you drag.
   
   The shape icon appears with a label "Master.X," where "X" is a number representing the number of shapes on the stencil.
5. If you have a version of Visio earlier than Visio 2000, on the View menu, click Arrange Icons.
   
   Visio rearranges the existing icons to align the new icon. This happens automatically with Visio 2000.
6. Click the stencil to make it active. On the File menu, click Save to save the changes to the stencil.

To learn more about combining shapes or creating a master shape, see Visio Help.