3 dimension image rotation

I was wondering if Visio supports a 3D image rotation. Here is the problem I
am having:
I am drawing a computer rack with servers, routers, and other network
hadware, and what I need to do is show how the equipment is connected. I can
create a front image of the rack but it would be really helpful if the rack
could be rotated and allow a "back" view of the equipment and then setup all
the connections. I don't know if other people have a need for a complete 3D
image of their drawings, but from an application standpoint this would allow
the creation of "complete" drawings instead of a flat front image that
sometimes just doesn't meet the need.

Hello 101,

The short answer is no.

Visio is basically a 2D application and as such enables you to draw in an xy
space. That said, there are ways to produce faux 3D to some extent but this
is really limited to an impression of 3D.

However if you're looking to show front and back rack views my
recommendation would be to have a front rack view page and a back rack view
page. You could easily link the data between the front and rear view's of
the shapes and with hyperlinks your could 'rotate' (or at least flip) the
view. You won't necessarily get any clever animation, which if it's really
vital you should look at WPF, but in terms ease of linking the actual rack
data to the diagram Visio is hard to beat.

Best regards

John

John Goldsmith
www.visualsignals.co.uk

"Visio101" wrote in message
news
I was wondering if Visio supports a 3D image rotation. Here is the problem
I
am having:
I am drawing a computer rack with servers, routers, and other network
hadware, and what I need to do is show how the equipment is connected. I
can
create a front image of the rack but it would be really helpful if the
rack
could be rotated and allow a "back" view of the equipment and then setup
all
the connections. I don't know if other people have a need for a complete
3D
image of their drawings, but from an application standpoint this would
allow
the creation of "complete" drawings instead of a flat front image that
sometimes just doesn't meet the need.

It's a little more than that but you can get something similar since you may
not need a full 3d look (tops, bottoms, and sides with covers don't often
add much value). For front and back you might consider NetZoom from Altima
Technologies (they often have front and back views), it is not for free....
You can then create your images on two pages (front and rear).
al

"Visio101" wrote in message
news
I was wondering if Visio supports a 3D image rotation. Here is the problem
I
am having:
I am drawing a computer rack with servers, routers, and other network
hadware, and what I need to do is show how the equipment is connected. I
can
create a front image of the rack but it would be really helpful if the
rack
could be rotated and allow a "back" view of the equipment and then setup
all
the connections. I don't know if other people have a need for a complete
3D
image of their drawings, but from an application standpoint this would
allow
the creation of "complete" drawings instead of a flat front image that
sometimes just doesn't meet the need.

"Visio101" wrote:

I was wondering if Visio supports a 3D image rotation. Here is the problem I
am having:
I am drawing a computer rack with servers, routers, and other network
hadware, and what I need to do is show how the equipment is connected. I can
create a front image of the rack but it would be really helpful if the rack
could be rotated and allow a "back" view of the equipment and then setup all
the connections. I don't know if other people have a need for a complete 3D
image of their drawings, but from an application standpoint this would allow
the creation of "complete" drawings instead of a flat front image that
sometimes just doesn't meet the need.

Hello John Goldsmith,

I appreciate your reply and from what you are suggesting I should make a
back view reproduction of my rack. Here comes the question for which I don't
know the answer...are there backview images of servers and other devices for
Visio that reproduce a somewhat close to reality image or should I draw boxes
that will represent that view and go from there?

Kind Regards

Visio 101

Yes, there are. As Al points out Altima has some rear views in their
collections. You may also want to checkout the following links:

http://visio.mvps.org/Information_Sites.htm
www.shapesource.com
www.visiocafe.com

Hope that helps.

Best regards

John

John Goldsmith
www.visualsignals.co.uk

"Visio101" wrote in message
...


"Visio101" wrote:

I was wondering if Visio supports a 3D image rotation. Here is the
problem I
am having:
I am drawing a computer rack with servers, routers, and other network
hadware, and what I need to do is show how the equipment is connected. I
can
create a front image of the rack but it would be really helpful if the
rack
could be rotated and allow a "back" view of the equipment and then setup
all
the connections. I don't know if other people have a need for a complete
3D
image of their drawings, but from an application standpoint this would
allow
the creation of "complete" drawings instead of a flat front image that
sometimes just doesn't meet the need.

Hello John Goldsmith,

I appreciate your reply and from what you are suggesting I should make a
back view reproduction of my rack. Here comes the question for which I
don't
know the answer...are there backview images of servers and other devices
for
Visio that reproduce a somewhat close to reality image or should I draw
boxes
that will represent that view and go from there?

Kind Regards

Visio 101

There are several companies that offer Visio add-ons that convert to 3D, for
example:
www.wisedimensions.com
http://visi3d.com/serverroom.aspx


"Visio101" wrote in message
news
I was wondering if Visio supports a 3D image rotation. Here is the problem
I
am having:
I am drawing a computer rack with servers, routers, and other network
hadware, and what I need to do is show how the equipment is connected. I
can
create a front image of the rack but it would be really helpful if the
rack
could be rotated and allow a "back" view of the equipment and then setup
all
the connections. I don't know if other people have a need for a complete
3D
image of their drawings, but from an application standpoint this would
allow
the creation of "complete" drawings instead of a flat front image that
sometimes just doesn't meet the need.