Yesterday I covered how to create a simple Visio object that you can use to display a network segment for VLANs or IP subnet which would be useful for a high level or overview type diagram.

Lets assume that we now need to turn this object into something that we can use on a daily basis. That is, we want to add the following details:

• VLAN name
• VLAN number
• IP Subnet
• VRF name

Detailed Information

The first step is to select the segment and Double Click. This will take you into the text mode:

Lets enter some text for the VLAN number and IP subnet:

This isn’t very useful because the visual part of the line is lost. So double click the text again, and press the enter key to insert a new line.

Now we need to make the line “come through”. By default, Visio inserts the text block with a solid background…we can change that by right clicking the line and select Format, Text,

Now, go Text Block and set the Text Background to be ‘None’ and press OK.

So now our segment object looks like:

When you are in an MPLS network, or need a description, then use the second line to put some more information.

In most diagrams, I would always use the font Arial Narrow so that I can get more text in less space. There is never enough space in a Visio diagram. Check the difference in this graphic.

Wrapup

Again, because this is a single element (not a combined object) it will line up on the grid, select more efficiently and be easier to use.