• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

bVisual

  • Home
  • Services
    • How Visio smartness can help your business
    • Visio visual in Power BI
    • Visio Consulting Services
    • Visio Bureau Services
    • Visio Training and Support Services
  • Products
    • Visio Shape Report Converter
    • SS Plus
    • LayerManager
    • visViewer
    • Metro Icons
    • Rules Tools for Visio
    • The Visio 2010 Sessions App
    • Multi-Language Text for Visio
    • Document Imager for Visio
    • multiSelect for Visio
    • pdSelect for Visio
  • Case Studies
    • Case studies overview
    • Visualizing Construction Project Schedules
    • Visio Online Business Process Mapping
    • Nexans Visio Template
    • CNEE Projects, WorldCom
    • Chase Manhattan Bank
  • News
    • Recent news
    • News archive
  • Resources
    • Articles➡
      • ShapeSheet Functions A-Z
      • Comparing Visio for the Web and Desktop
      • Customising Visio Shapes for the Web App
      • Key differences between the Visio desktop and web apps
      • Using the Visio Data Visualizer in Excel
      • Using Visio in Teams
      • Creating Visio Tabs and Apps for Teams with SharePoint Framework (SPFx)
      • Designing Power Automate Flows with Microsoft Visio
      • Innovative uses of Visio Lists
    • Webcasts ➡
      • Visio in Organizations
      • My session and other Visio sessions at MSIgnite 2019
      • Power up your Visio diagrams
      • Vision up your Visio diagrams
      • The Visio 2010 MVP Sessions
    • Visio Web Learning Resources
    • Books➡
      • Mastering Data Visualization with Microsoft Visio
      • Microsoft Visio Business Process Diagramming and Validation
      • Visualizing Information with Microsoft Visio
  • Blog
    • Browse blog articles
    • Visio Power BI articles
    • Visio for Web articles
    • A history of messaging and encryption
  • About us
    • About bVisual
    • Testimonials
    • Bio of David Parker
    • Contact Us
    • Website Privacy Policy
    • Website terms and conditions
    • Ariba Network
You are here: Home / Shape Design / Data Graphics / Keeping Visio Data Graphic Items Level

Published on September 6, 2021 by David Parker

Keeping Visio Data Graphic Items Level

My good friend Scott Helmers, Visio author and trainer, of Harvard Computing Group , recently asked for some help in keeping data graphic items level when their target shape is rotated. Fortunately, I was able to assist, so I thought I would explain how this can be done, and also update my Icon Maker macro from a few years ago. The updated macro is available to download for free and includes the extra ability of sizing the icons. I chose to use some bee stickers from the Insert / Illustrations / Icons tool in Visio Plan 2, and the Status options from the Process shape in the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil to demonstrate.

All I had to so was to associate a suitable bee with a Status value 🙂

The trick is to ensure that the graphic item is a group shape without any visible text or geometry, but must contain at least one line which is preferably horizontal. Then to have a User-Defined Cell, named, say, Angle with the following formula:

"=ANGLETOPAR(ANGLEALONGPATH(Geometry1.Path,1),Width,ThePage!PageWidth)"

This formula uses the ANGLEALONGPATH(…) function to get the angle of a specified geometry segment, then the ANGLETOPAR(…) function to get the angle relative to the page. See Visio ShapeSheet Functions A-C for more of an explanation of these functions.

Then the Angle cell in sub-shapes just need to reference the User.Angle cell of the top shape, but prefixed with a minus sign. The effect is that the icons will remain level to the page when the target shapes are rotated:

Busy Bees

Simply run the bVisualIconSetMaker.IconSetMaker.MakeIconSetFromShapes macro in the bVisualIconSetMaker.vssm macro-enabled stencil to create a data graphic icon set from the selected shapes.

Update to LayerManager add-in for non-English users

A French user of LayerManager recently reported that the Refresh Counts button was not working for him, and a few other users were recently finding that the trial period was reporting expired immediately after download. Both of these issues have hopefully been addressed in the latest version 23.3.1, which is available for free to current…

Pushing Data Visualizer in Visio beyond its limits

My last post was about some of the lessons learnt when trying to push Data Visualizer to its limits, but this one has some ways of overcoming these limitations. The main lesson learnt is that DV binds the shapes within the DV container shape, CFF Data Visualizer, and controls some of the ShapeSheet cells that…

Pushing Data Visualizer in Visio to the limits!

Regular readers of my blog will know that I like to use the Data Visualizer (DV) in Visio Plan 2, but I recently tried to help a user who really decided to push it to the limits. In this scenario, there were multiple connections, but with different labels, being created between the same flowchart shapes,…

Teams Tuesday Podcast Recording about Visio

I am delighted to share the link to my recent demonstration and conversation with fellow MVP Peter Ward about Visio in Teams. We discussed more than just Visio … and I look a bit like Max Headroom! (more…)

Linking Data to Visio Shapes in Code

One of the most useful capabilities of Visio Professional and Visio Plan 2 is to link external data to shapes and have them refreshed by changes in the data source. So, many of my solutions involve writing code to make these links, and they are covered with some VBA examples in my book, Mastering Data…

Editing Visio Layer Colours with LayerManager

Desktop Visio has a tremendous ability to assign shapes to none, one or more layers, and the efficient use of them can make a drawing so powerful by toggling layers visibility or locking certain layers whilst working on other layers. The same drawing can be used, displayed or printed for many different purposes just by…

Related

Filed Under: Data Graphics, ShapeSheet Formulas, Visio for Desktop Tagged With: Data Graphics, Icon Sets, ShapeSheet Functions, Visio

About David Parker

David Parker has 25 years' experience of providing data visualization solutions to companies around the globe. He is a Microsoft MVP and Visio expert.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • Update to LayerManager add-in for non-English users
  • Pushing Data Visualizer in Visio beyond its limits
  • Pushing Data Visualizer in Visio to the limits!
  • Teams Tuesday Podcast Recording about Visio
  • Linking Data to Visio Shapes in Code

Categories

Tags

Accessibility Add-Ins Connectors Containers Data Export Data Graphics Data Import Data Visualizer Educational Excel GraphDatabase Hyperlinks Icon Sets JavaScript Layers Legend Link Data to Shapes Lists MSIgnite MVP Office365 Org Chart PowerApps PowerBI PowerQuery Processes Shape Data Shape Design ShapeSheet ShapeSheet Functions SharePoint 2013 SQL Teams Themes Validation VBA Video Visio Visio 2007 Visio 2013 Visio for the Web Visio Online Visio Services Visio Viewer Webinar

Footer

bVisual Profile

The UK-based independent Visio consultancy with a worldwide reach. We have over 25 years experience of providing data visualization solutions to companies around the globe.

Learn more about bVisual

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Search this website

Recent posts

  • Update to LayerManager add-in for non-English users
  • Pushing Data Visualizer in Visio beyond its limits
  • Pushing Data Visualizer in Visio to the limits!
  • Teams Tuesday Podcast Recording about Visio
  • Linking Data to Visio Shapes in Code

Copyright © 2023 · Executive Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in