default shape style: gradient or not!?

[Florian Demmer]

i just wasted half an hour on this...

my plan was to create a nice flowchart with shapes with gradient filling in
visio 2003. i have a german version and not sure how it was translated so i
quote the exact german names in ():

file - new - choose type (zeichnungstyp auswählen)

clicked "flowchart (flussdiagramm)" on the left then "standard flowchart
(standardflussdiagramm)" on the right... drag a shape into my sheet: it has a
thin border and simple light blue filling!

2nd try:
this time selected "business process (geschäftsprozess)" and again "standard
flowchart (standardflussdiagramm)" [which has the exact same preview image
btw]... drag the same shape on the new sheet: thick border nice blue/lighter
blue gradient!

who decided to put two different default styles in there with the same name
and icon?

 

[Mark Nelson [MS]]

It's easy to understand why this is confusing. Visio 2003 provides two
versions of the flowchart templates. One version is under the category
Flowchart. A second version is under the category Business Process. The
Business Process template has a different default style. Other than the
default style, there is no difference between the templates or the shapes.

This was done to improve the look of drawings for new users (who would use
Business Process). At the same time we wanted to go with a more
conservative look for existing users (who would use Flowchart). Silly, huh?