I had the same problem with Visio 2016. I have the standard license. I think it is very strange that you can select a "UML Sequence" template when you search for it but it then opens a blank canvas without shapes. So you don't see anything and can't select the shapes under the "More Shapes" window on the side.
So I searched the shapes in the installation directory of Visio. I found in the directory C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\Visio Content\1033
a couple of Sequence diagram templates (ie: BASIC_UMLSEQUENCE_M.VSTX). They are using the stencil USEQME_M.vssx
. I found that out by right clicking the shapes in the left window and select "Save as". I saved them in "My Documents" under "My Shapes" just like custom shapes. I can than use them in any new document that I want.
Note the capital M
or U
in the name of the template or stencil for US Units
or Metric Units
. I'm from the Netherlands so I'm using the M
version.
A not really friendly way to get the shapes. But it works.