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Making the Off-Page Reference Hyperlink URL Safe

One of my favourite shapes in Visio is the Off-page reference shape on the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil. I have written about this shape before ( see http://blog.bvisual.net/2011/09/02/page-grids-and-off-page-references/ ) but I did not notice a slight issue with it previously, so this article show how to overcome a couple of issues that I discovered whilst working on a project recently.

The shape is so useful for creating links between different pages and shapes within a Visio document (and can even be used to link between Visio documents), but it achieves this is a couple of ways. When dropped on to a page, it runs an add-on to prompt for the creation of a paired shape on an existing or new page.

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Bi-directional Labels on Off-Page Grid References

I have previously written about using off-page references and labelled page grids in Visio, see A Page Grid with Labels and Page Grids and Off Page References, however a reader pointed out that the label on the Off-Page Reference shape is duplicated on both ends. This is not always ideal, however it is all I could do using just ShapeSheet formulas alone. So, in this article, I show how a VBA macro can enhance the reciprocal labels on the twin Off-Page Reference shapes, and they automatically update if either end is moved between grids. This is especially useful in electrical wiring diagrams, but the principal can be adapted for other purposes.

  • Follow Link to Second Page-C7
  • Follow to Third Page-D1
  • Follow Link to First Page-A4
  • Follow Link to First Page-C3
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Page Grids and Off Page References

A recent question in the Visio 2010 Forums asked how to create a Complicated Off Page Reference; one that displays the page name and grid reference of the target shape. The questioner assumed that a macro would be needed, so I couldn’t resist seeing how much could be done without using macros.

This particular user wants his page to be divided into ten rows from 0 to 9, and eight columns, from A to H. In his case the rows are numbered from top to bottom, and the columns are from left to right. I decided to allow from 1 to 26 (the number of letters in the alphabet) rows and columns in my solution, and to allow for the row and column header text to be customizable.

My starting point is the useful Off-page reference master on the Basic Flowcharts Shapes stencil. This provides the ability to utilize a standard Visio add-on, OPC, so that two shapes on different pages can have reciprocal links.

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Jumping between Shapes in Visio

Many Visio diagrams get quite large, and sometimes it is useful to provide the ability to jump to another shape quickly in the same document, either on a different page or on the same one. Although there is an add-on provided in desktop Visio that is used by the Off-Page Reference shape provided in the Basic Flowcharts Shapes stencil (see my other posts), this article is about using the hyperlinks available in both the desktop and browser editions of Visio. Fortunately, Visio desktop has the ability to create hyperlinks to a specific shape by selecting the page and entering the name of the target shape. This creation ability is not available in Visio for the web, but using the desktop created ones is!

  • Insert Field to display shape ID and Name
  • Hyperlink Sub-Address
  • Following a hyperlink
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ShapeSheet Functions A-Z

Most of the smartness of Visio comes from the power of the ShapeSheet. Every shape in Visio, even if it is just text, has a ShapeSheet that most users do not see. In fact, a lot of users do not realise that there is a Developer ribbon tab that is not visible by default.

It can be made visible by ticking it in the Developer tab in the Visio Options / Customize Ribbon dialog. This can be opened from File / Options, or by using the Customize the Ribbon… right-mouse menu option in a blank area of the ribbon.

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Visio Data Visualizer Tips

The Microsoft Visio product team have released a great video introduction to the Visio Data Visualizer, but even that does not reveal all of its power. So, here are some tips about using the Microsoft Visio Data Visualizer add-in in Excel. Firstly, the add-in currently offers three different types of diagram, and each have a number of alternative layout arrangements.

  • Basic Flowchart – 4 layouts
  • Cross-Functional Flowchart – 5 layouts
  • Organization Chart – 5 layouts

Although these are the proposed diagram types, there is no reason why other types of data, such as network devices, cannot be used with any of them.

Sample Org Chart with Visio Data Visualizer in Excel
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