RF Schematic & Block Diagram Symbol Stencils for Visio™ - v3.1
These stencils have been superseded by
RF & Electronics Symbols for Visio™

NOTE: v3.1 has been superseded by

RF & Electronics Symbols for Visio™

It has a convenient new single file presentation that replaces the stencils format.
There are hundreds of additional symbols!
The file is native Visio XML (.vsdx) to play well with Visio 2013 and later.

Site License allows an unlimited number of users at one (1) location. Users must be officially affiliated with the site during the time of use. That means the license does not follow a user who permanently leaves the site (graduation, new employment, etc.). The license extends to persons whose primary job is normally performed at that location, but works occasionally from home or at a remote location. Hobbyists employed at the same location are welcome and encouraged to use the software. The single location restriction is imposed to limit distribution to local use for companies with multiple physical locations. This software may not be redistributed in any form, nor posted on the Internet or anywhere that it can be publicly accessed. The file(s) may be distributed on a server, via e-mail, etc., as needed.

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Important: RF Stencils for Visio v3.1 has been verified to work in Visio 2002 through 2019. If your colors are not appearing properly, or if you receive security warnings from Visio, see the simple resolution instructions at the bottom of this page.

Important: Visio 2013 and beyond require additional Security settings to open the Stencils. See screen shot below.

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Recommended Usage

I recommend that you begin by using one of the included Page Template .vsd files for developing your diagram since they are scaled for a good presentation. Some basic information is on the page to help you get started.

I also recommend creating a new folder titled "RF Stencils" inside the default "My Shapes" Visio stencils folder and then unzipping the files into it. Doing so allows the folder to appear along with the standard stencils when the stencil button is clicked on the toolbar. The default "My Shapes" folder is usually installed in the "My Documents" folder. So, for versions of Windows through Win10, the path looks like this:

C:\Documents and Settings\<your ID name>\My Documents\My Shapes\<RF Stencils>\

You can omit the "RF Stencils" subfolder and just dump all the stencil files directly into the "My Shapes" folder.

To access the stencils from within Visio, click on the Shapes icon on the toolbar (yellow folder with green stencil), and then click the "My Shapes" option. The menu will then show your RF stencils.

Please note that if you have a set of custom colors (aka 'Color Themes') selected in Visio, it will probably be necessary to turn that feature off in order for the stencils to appear properly.

END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA): This product is NOT Shareware, Freeware, or an Evaluation version. Its legal use is contingent upon purchase directly from RF Cafe, as no distributors are authorized. Unauthorized copying, alteration or distribution of this product is prohibited by law. Please visit the RF Cafe website to submit payment for this product. Simply put, if you are using this product in any way and have not paid for it, then you are a criminal.

Disclaimer: RF Stencils for Visio is offered AS IS. Your use of this product implies you alone accept responsibility for results obtained through its use, and will hold harmless Kirt Blattenberger, RF Cafe, and all associates for any losses incurred through its use. This product has been tested very thoroughly, and there are no known problems at the time of this release.

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NOTES:

Version 3b - Node dot replaced in the "Resistors-Capacitors-Inductors-Passives.vss" stencils. 

Version 3.1 - Added "Panel Components.vss" stencils.

Basic Instructions

Every stencil set has a "Info - RF Stencils Visio v3.0" object that contains tips on Layers and how to edit Grouped objects without needing to first Ungroup them. This comes in handy for changing line, text, and/or background fill colors.

Page Templates

Standard A- and B-size drawing templates are provided that come with a Page Scale preset to play well with the supplied stencil objects. You may, of course, change the page scale to whatever is most convenient for you. If large changes are made, you might need to re-size text and line widths.

Switches

The position selection pointer has its rotation axis set on the common "C" terminal so the pointer can easily be made to contact any of the switch positions.

Component Parameters

Rather than attach an electrical parameter set to each stencil, a separate generic stencil is provided that can be dropped onto shapes and modified as needed.

Rather than clutter the stencil selection with essentially redundant components, a single version is provided, and the specification text, where applicable, is provided as a separate component. You can of course add your own text objects to the drawing, just as you can add any other type of Visio built-in objects.

Newly Added Components

Download this VSS file with newly added components that have not yet made it into a overall RF Stencils for Visio revision.

Known Issues (all due to Visio settings that can be easily changed)

• Security warning?
  In Visio 2013 and newer, you will probably need to change the "File Block Settings" that have been added for security purposes. Please see the Microsoft support page for detailed instructions on File Block Settings (it's easy to do).
• Per the book Microsoft Visio 2016 Step-by-Step: "Visio 2016 can open .vsd and .vdx files from Visio 2002 but cannot save in either of those formats."