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#1
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Shape Data: Ask on drop for compound shapes.
Hi all,
First post he I'm trying working on a couple of custom shapes with associated Shape Data. The "Ask on drop" feature combined with Fields is very nice but doesn't seem to work for compound shapes; a master consisting of multiple shapes. Any idea why? Also: Id like to have one shapes Shape Data show up as a field in another shape, but haven't been able to do this. I was hoping this could be done without having to hack code. Thanks, T |
#2
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Shape Data: Ask on drop for compound shapes.
I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to do, but let me take a stab at
it. When you create a master that consists of more than one shape, make sure that you create a group. There should only be one top-level shape and the rest should be sub-shapes of the group. If you don't do this, Visio will automatically group your shapes when the master is dropped on a page. This would defeat behaviors such as Ask on Drop. Having a single top-level shape also resolves all the issues around where to put things like Shape Data. You need to put the Shape Data in the top-level shape. -- Mark Nelson Office Graphics - Visio Microsoft Corporation This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. "twingate" wrote in message ... Hi all, First post he I'm trying working on a couple of custom shapes with associated Shape Data. The "Ask on drop" feature combined with Fields is very nice but doesn't seem to work for compound shapes; a master consisting of multiple shapes. Any idea why? Also: Id like to have one shapes Shape Data show up as a field in another shape, but haven't been able to do this. I was hoping this could be done without having to hack code. Thanks, T |
#3
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Shape Data: Ask on drop for compound shapes.
Mark,
Thanks for your answer, it helped clarify some things. A follow-up question: I'd like to insert the shape data from the main group in various sub-shapes. Is there any way I can do this through the shapesheet? Something like Text Fields - Value: MainGroup.Prop.Row_1 ? Thanks, Thomas Mark Nelson [MS] wrote: I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to do, but let me take a stab at it. When you create a master that consists of more than one shape, make sure that you create a group. There should only be one top-level shape and the rest should be sub-shapes of the group. If you don't do this, Visio will automatically group your shapes when the master is dropped on a page. This would defeat behaviors such as Ask on Drop. Having a single top-level shape also resolves all the issues around where to put things like Shape Data. You need to put the Shape Data in the top-level shape. |
#4
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Shape Data: Ask on drop for compound shapes.
Indeed you can:
It would be useful if you named your Shape Data rows first, instead of leaving the default, Row_1, Row_2, etc. To do this, either use the ShapeSheet, or ensure that you are in Developer Mode (Tools / Options / Advanced ) before you open the Define Shape Data dialog. Then, get the Sheet ID number of the parent group shape - use Format / Special Finally, you can then select a sub-shape and then Insert / Field. In the Custom Formula option you can then enter something like: =Sheet.52!Prop.MyProperty where 52 was the ID number of the Group shape, and Prop.MyProperty is the name of the Shape Data row. (You could use Prop.Row_1 etc but you can see that this is less clear) "twingate" wrote in message ... Mark, Thanks for your answer, it helped clarify some things. A follow-up question: I'd like to insert the shape data from the main group in various sub-shapes. Is there any way I can do this through the shapesheet? Something like Text Fields - Value: MainGroup.Prop.Row_1 ? Thanks, Thomas Mark Nelson [MS] wrote: I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to do, but let me take a stab at it. When you create a master that consists of more than one shape, make sure that you create a group. There should only be one top-level shape and the rest should be sub-shapes of the group. If you don't do this, Visio will automatically group your shapes when the master is dropped on a page. This would defeat behaviors such as Ask on Drop. Having a single top-level shape also resolves all the issues around where to put things like Shape Data. You need to put the Shape Data in the top-level shape. |
#5
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Shape Data: Ask on drop for compound shapes.
David,
Thanks a bunch, this speeds things up a great deal when building diagrams. Relating to my original post: Visio still seems to group the shapes a second time when the shape is dropped, and thereby ignoring 'Ask on drop' for Shape Data. Any ideas why and hoe to circumvent this? Goodwill, Thomas David Parker wrote: Indeed you can: It would be useful if you named your Shape Data rows first, instead of leaving the default, Row_1, Row_2, etc. To do this, either use the ShapeSheet, or ensure that you are in Developer Mode (Tools / Options / Advanced ) before you open the Define Shape Data dialog. Then, get the Sheet ID number of the parent group shape - use Format / Special Finally, you can then select a sub-shape and then Insert / Field. In the Custom Formula option you can then enter something like: =Sheet.52!Prop.MyProperty where 52 was the ID number of the Group shape, and Prop.MyProperty is the name of the Shape Data row. (You could use Prop.Row_1 etc but you can see that this is less clear) "twingate" wrote in message ... Mark, Thanks for your answer, it helped clarify some things. A follow-up question: I'd like to insert the shape data from the main group in various sub-shapes. Is there any way I can do this through the shapesheet? Something like Text Fields - Value: MainGroup.Prop.Row_1 ? Thanks, Thomas Mark Nelson [MS] wrote: I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to do, but let me take a stab at it. When you create a master that consists of more than one shape, make sure that you create a group. There should only be one top-level shape and the rest should be sub-shapes of the group. If you don't do this, Visio will automatically group your shapes when the master is dropped on a page. This would defeat behaviors such as Ask on Drop. Having a single top-level shape also resolves all the issues around where to put things like Shape Data. You need to put the Shape Data in the top-level shape. |
#6
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Shape Data: Ask on drop for compound shapes.
I have tried this in a number of different ways and the only
thing that works is if the master only contains a single shape. If I build the master from a collection of shapes and then group these Visio will still group all the shapes a second time when they are dropped David Parker wrote: You should only have one shape in your Master. This can be a Group with sub-shapes, but if you have more than one shape in the Master, then Visio will automatically group them all when you drop them on the page. "twingate" wrote in message ... David, Thanks a bunch, this speeds things up a great deal when building diagrams. Relating to my original post: Visio still seems to group the shapes a second time when the shape is dropped, and thereby ignoring 'Ask on drop' for Shape Data. Any ideas why and hoe to circumvent this? Goodwill, Thomas David Parker wrote: Indeed you can: It would be useful if you named your Shape Data rows first, instead of leaving the default, Row_1, Row_2, etc. To do this, either use the ShapeSheet, or ensure that you are in Developer Mode (Tools / Options / Advanced ) before you open the Define Shape Data dialog. Then, get the Sheet ID number of the parent group shape - use Format / Special Finally, you can then select a sub-shape and then Insert / Field. In the Custom Formula option you can then enter something like: =Sheet.52!Prop.MyProperty where 52 was the ID number of the Group shape, and Prop.MyProperty is the name of the Shape Data row. (You could use Prop.Row_1 etc but you can see that this is less clear) "twingate" wrote in message ... Mark, Thanks for your answer, it helped clarify some things. A follow-up question: I'd like to insert the shape data from the main group in various sub-shapes. Is there any way I can do this through the shapesheet? Something like Text Fields - Value: MainGroup.Prop.Row_1 ? Thanks, Thomas Mark Nelson [MS] wrote: I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to do, but let me take a stab at it. When you create a master that consists of more than one shape, make sure that you create a group. There should only be one top-level shape and the rest should be sub-shapes of the group. If you don't do this, Visio will automatically group your shapes when the master is dropped on a page. This would defeat behaviors such as Ask on Drop. Having a single top-level shape also resolves all the issues around where to put things like Shape Data. You need to put the Shape Data in the top-level shape. |
#7
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Shape Data: Ask on drop for compound shapes.
You should only have one shape in your Master. This can be a Group with
sub-shapes, but if you have more than one shape in the Master, then Visio will automatically group them all when you drop them on the page. "twingate" wrote in message ... David, Thanks a bunch, this speeds things up a great deal when building diagrams. Relating to my original post: Visio still seems to group the shapes a second time when the shape is dropped, and thereby ignoring 'Ask on drop' for Shape Data. Any ideas why and hoe to circumvent this? Goodwill, Thomas David Parker wrote: Indeed you can: It would be useful if you named your Shape Data rows first, instead of leaving the default, Row_1, Row_2, etc. To do this, either use the ShapeSheet, or ensure that you are in Developer Mode (Tools / Options / Advanced ) before you open the Define Shape Data dialog. Then, get the Sheet ID number of the parent group shape - use Format / Special Finally, you can then select a sub-shape and then Insert / Field. In the Custom Formula option you can then enter something like: =Sheet.52!Prop.MyProperty where 52 was the ID number of the Group shape, and Prop.MyProperty is the name of the Shape Data row. (You could use Prop.Row_1 etc but you can see that this is less clear) "twingate" wrote in message ... Mark, Thanks for your answer, it helped clarify some things. A follow-up question: I'd like to insert the shape data from the main group in various sub-shapes. Is there any way I can do this through the shapesheet? Something like Text Fields - Value: MainGroup.Prop.Row_1 ? Thanks, Thomas Mark Nelson [MS] wrote: I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to do, but let me take a stab at it. When you create a master that consists of more than one shape, make sure that you create a group. There should only be one top-level shape and the rest should be sub-shapes of the group. If you don't do this, Visio will automatically group your shapes when the master is dropped on a page. This would defeat behaviors such as Ask on Drop. Having a single top-level shape also resolves all the issues around where to put things like Shape Data. You need to put the Shape Data in the top-level shape. |
#8
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Shape Data: Ask on drop for compound shapes.
Another problem with grouping the shapes twice is that
individual hyper links for different sub-shapes will not work in the web-export David Parker wrote: You should only have one shape in your Master. This can be a Group with sub-shapes, but if you have more than one shape in the Master, then Visio will automatically group them all when you drop them on the page. "twingate" wrote in message ... David, Thanks a bunch, this speeds things up a great deal when building diagrams. Relating to my original post: Visio still seems to group the shapes a second time when the shape is dropped, and thereby ignoring 'Ask on drop' for Shape Data. Any ideas why and hoe to circumvent this? Goodwill, Thomas David Parker wrote: Indeed you can: It would be useful if you named your Shape Data rows first, instead of leaving the default, Row_1, Row_2, etc. To do this, either use the ShapeSheet, or ensure that you are in Developer Mode (Tools / Options / Advanced ) before you open the Define Shape Data dialog. Then, get the Sheet ID number of the parent group shape - use Format / Special Finally, you can then select a sub-shape and then Insert / Field. In the Custom Formula option you can then enter something like: =Sheet.52!Prop.MyProperty where 52 was the ID number of the Group shape, and Prop.MyProperty is the name of the Shape Data row. (You could use Prop.Row_1 etc but you can see that this is less clear) "twingate" wrote in message ... Mark, Thanks for your answer, it helped clarify some things. A follow-up question: I'd like to insert the shape data from the main group in various sub-shapes. Is there any way I can do this through the shapesheet? Something like Text Fields - Value: MainGroup.Prop.Row_1 ? Thanks, Thomas Mark Nelson [MS] wrote: I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to do, but let me take a stab at it. When you create a master that consists of more than one shape, make sure that you create a group. There should only be one top-level shape and the rest should be sub-shapes of the group. If you don't do this, Visio will automatically group your shapes when the master is dropped on a page. This would defeat behaviors such as Ask on Drop. Having a single top-level shape also resolves all the issues around where to put things like Shape Data. You need to put the Shape Data in the top-level shape. |
#9
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Shape Data: Ask on drop for compound shapes.
I would check the Master Explorer window to confirm that you definitely have
a single top-level shape in the master. -- Mark Nelson Office Graphics - Visio Microsoft Corporation This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. "twingate" wrote in message ... Another problem with grouping the shapes twice is that individual hyper links for different sub-shapes will not work in the web-export David Parker wrote: You should only have one shape in your Master. This can be a Group with sub-shapes, but if you have more than one shape in the Master, then Visio will automatically group them all when you drop them on the page. "twingate" wrote in message ... David, Thanks a bunch, this speeds things up a great deal when building diagrams. Relating to my original post: Visio still seems to group the shapes a second time when the shape is dropped, and thereby ignoring 'Ask on drop' for Shape Data. Any ideas why and hoe to circumvent this? Goodwill, Thomas David Parker wrote: Indeed you can: It would be useful if you named your Shape Data rows first, instead of leaving the default, Row_1, Row_2, etc. To do this, either use the ShapeSheet, or ensure that you are in Developer Mode (Tools / Options / Advanced ) before you open the Define Shape Data dialog. Then, get the Sheet ID number of the parent group shape - use Format / Special Finally, you can then select a sub-shape and then Insert / Field. In the Custom Formula option you can then enter something like: =Sheet.52!Prop.MyProperty where 52 was the ID number of the Group shape, and Prop.MyProperty is the name of the Shape Data row. (You could use Prop.Row_1 etc but you can see that this is less clear) "twingate" wrote in message ... Mark, Thanks for your answer, it helped clarify some things. A follow-up question: I'd like to insert the shape data from the main group in various sub-shapes. Is there any way I can do this through the shapesheet? Something like Text Fields - Value: MainGroup.Prop.Row_1 ? Thanks, Thomas Mark Nelson [MS] wrote: I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to do, but let me take a stab at it. When you create a master that consists of more than one shape, make sure that you create a group. There should only be one top-level shape and the rest should be sub-shapes of the group. If you don't do this, Visio will automatically group your shapes when the master is dropped on a page. This would defeat behaviors such as Ask on Drop. Having a single top-level shape also resolves all the issues around where to put things like Shape Data. You need to put the Shape Data in the top-level shape. |
#10
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Shape Data: Ask on drop for compound shapes.
Mark,
Apparently Ctrl-A did not select shapes not on the visible page/drawing area. Using the Master explorer did help me find this though. This means 'Ask on drop' works for the group Shape Data. Thanks for the hint But grouping shapes causes other problems in combination with web export: Exporting the diagram as a web-page using VML causes the independent hyperlinks assigned to different shapes in the master to stop functioning. This this is a problem if the shapes in the master are not grouped! Is there a way around this? If I avoid grouping the shapes then hyperlinks work well in both IE and Firefox but of course all the ActiveX stuff doesn't work in FF. Links to sub-diagrams(pages) work if the ActiveX component is not running; ie it works in Firefox and in IE (both browsers latest versions), but not if it is allowed! Surely this must be a bug or oversight? Interestingly enough the links work in the grouped master if the export is SVG but the rendering is missing a lot of graphic elements and is pretty much useless. Why support half-cooked SVG? If I turn all the Publishing Options off and set the output to JPG or PNG Visio still exports ActiveX components that cause some erratic behavior, but the links work as expected. Why include the controls if they are not used? Is there any way around this except hacking the html? To me the 'Save as Web Page' is half-finished beta. Why put this in a final product? All in all Visio has a lot of interesting and powerful functionality, it's just very convoluted and slightly irrational to learn and unfortunately we end up wasting a LOT of time. /T Mark Nelson [MS] wrote: I would check the Master Explorer window to confirm that you definitely have a single top-level shape in the master. |
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