Having developed Node and Edge/ Dynamic connector masters shapes for creating Node and Edge table entries for a SQL Server 2017, I decided that I should write some validation rules. The validation feature has been in Visio since the 2010 edition, but is underused, even though I wrote a book about them … see Microsoft Visio 2013 Business Process Diagramming and Validation . I think that only six rules are necessary to validate that a page with Node and Edge shapes is well constructed before attempting to update the tables in SQL Server, or any other GraphDatabase.
Search Results for: validation rules
New MSDN Article : Introduction to Validation Rules in Visio Premium 2010
I was planning to write a quick blog today, but it seems that Microsoft have moved all spaces.live.com bloggers to WordPress! Another new tool to learn ….
In the meantime, I am pleased to announce that Microsoft have just published an article that I have written at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff847470.aspx
This article goes through the new diagram validation feature in Microsoft Visio Premium 2010 and shows you how to use the Validation API to create your own rules and rule sets to validate Visio 2010 diagrams.
Of course, those of you who wish to delve deeper could always buy my book from all good bookstores – see http://www.visiorules.com
Visio 2010 Validation Rules (part 2)
In my previous post, I began to explore the new Validation objects in the Visio 2010 Technical Preview, an I used some VBA code to do this. Well, I have now uploaded the code to OneDrive ( bVisualValidationExplorer.vss ), so that you can use it too! So, this post is about using this code …
First, download the stencil and save it to you My Shapes folder (if you trust me). This will make it available to you to use in any Visio 2010 document.
Then, whenever you want to use the code, simply open the stencil from the More Shapes / My Shapes category….
The stencil will be docked with the other shape stencils, but, of course, this stencil does not have any shapes … only VBA code.
Visio 2010 Validation Rules (part 1)
The Microsoft Visio team recently blogged about Creating custom validation rules for Visio 2010 , in which it was suggested that we can use Visual Basic for Applications to interact with the new validation API. I thought, there’s a challenge … so I will develop a VBA project to do just that. I will upload the code soon, but, as it is only half developed today, I will demonstrate how to understand why a rule has been broken.
In the following BPMN diagram, I have failed to connect a Task to the End Event. I have made it obvious here but it could be easy to overlook in a larger diagram. In fact, I know of one company who were advised by a “consultant” that there must be something wrong when the end of a connector goes red therefore you should move it away from the shape until it goes green! The result was that the company had over 300 flow diagrams without a single valid connection! That company is no more!
Rules Tools for Visio
RulesTools is free for personal, non-commercial use. If you should like the product, then we invite you to donate just $29 / copy. This will ensure that the product is developed further, and encourage us to provide more tools for you.
The new Validation API enables businesses to write custom validation rules for their own purposes.
Microsoft Visio 2010 Premium edition introduced provides built-in rule sets for flowcharts, BPMN diagrams and SharePoint Designer Workflows. They subsequently became part of Visio Professional and Visio Online Plan 2. However, Microsoft Visio does not provide a rule set developer interface for the analyzing, amending or creating rules. This Rules Tools add-in fills this gap by providing an extra group in the Process tab in Visio that allows users to analyze existing rules, display issues, and to export/import rule sets..
It is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, but the particular thousand words understood by each individual are more likely to be the same if the picture was created with commonly available rules. The structured diagramming features and Validation API in Visio 2010+ enable business diagramming rules to be developed, reviewed and deployed. The first diagramming types to have these rules applied to are process flowcharts, reminiscent of the vertical markets attacked by the first versions of Visio itself, but these rules can and will be extended beyond this discipline
Key Benefits
- Review existing rule sets
- Create, update or delete rules
- Analyze and annotate issues
- Export/import rule sets to/from XML
- Standard and developer mode
Related Blog Articles
Creating Visio Validation Rules for Graph Database template
See how Visio Validation can be used in Visio to check integrity for SQL Server Graph DB
Visualising SharePoint and SQL Data with Visio Professional
I will be venturing to the dark side of the moon on Saturday 12th September 2015 at SQL Saturday in Cambridge, UK ( see http://www.sqlsaturday.com/411/EventHome.aspx ). (more…)
New Visio book out now!
After the trip to Hyderabad for the Visio MVP Conference, as described in my previous post, my wife and I went to Bangalore, Vadodara, and Mumbai. This gave me the chance to drop-in on Packt Publishing because this is the week that my new book is published ( see http://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-visio-2013-business-process-diagramming-and-validation/book ). The book’s title is…
New MSDN Article : Introduction to Validation Rules in Visio Premium 2010
I was planning to write a quick blog today, but it seems that Microsoft have moved all spaces.live.com bloggers to WordPress! Another new tool to learn …. In the meantime, I am pleased to announce that Microsoft have just published an article that I have written at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff847470.aspx This article goes through the new diagram validation feature…
Microsoft Visio 2010 Business Process Diagramming and Validation book published
Phew … my new book is published, and I have a new Visio 2010 add-in, Rules Tools, to accompany it. If you are a Microsoft Visio 2010 Premium Edition user or developer who wants to get to grips with both the basic features of Visio 2010 and the new Validation Rules in this edition, then…
Writing rules to validate diagrams in Visio 2010 – A worked example
Microsoft Visio 2010 Premium Edition introduced an extension to the Visio Type Library called the Validation API. This provides the capability to validate a Visio diagram to ensure that its construction complies with industry-standard or company –wide rules. Organizations are able to use this new feature to encapsulate business logic as validation rules, grouped within…
Microsoft Visio Business Process Diagramming and Validation
Learn how to write validation rules for Visio desktop
If you are a Microsoft Visio Professional or Online Plan 2 user or developer who wants to get to grips with both the basic features of Visio and the Validation Rules introduced in Visio 2010, then this book is for you. A working knowledge of Microsoft Visio, and optionally .NET for the add-in code, is required, though previous knowledge of business process diagramming is not necessary. More experienced Visio users will gain valuable knowledge for building add-ins and creating and publishing rules. If you want to achieve results from Visio desktop beyond the ordinary out-of-the-box features, then this book is ideal for you. Although this book covers the Professional and Online Plan 2 editions, much of the book is still useful if you are a Visio Standard edition user.
Who this book is written for:
This book is aimed at the departmental-level operational or business intelligence professional or Microsoft Office power-user who wants to create data diagrams with Microsoft Visio that can accurately represent business information visually.
What you will learn from this book:
- Master the Visio features supporting structured diagrams and Validation
- Learn new Validation functions, including creating and modifying Validation Rules to verify diagram correctness
- Successfully implement out-of-the-box content for Visio
- Gain a deeper understanding of Visio as a diagramming tool and the Visio document structure
- Discover the Visio Type Library
- Understand ShapeSheet functions for writing formulae in Validation tests
- Publish custom Visio templates that enforce company diagramming standards
- Build a Visio add-in for increased ease when creating Rules or analyzing existing Rules
- Use the provided Rules Tools add-in to export Validation Rules to XML
- View diagrams with corresponding issues using annotations
- Integrate validation diagrams with SharePoint on Premise
Table of contents
- Chapter 1. Overview of Process Management in Microsoft Visio 2013
- Chapter 2. Understanding the Microsoft Visio Object Model
- Chapter 3. Understanding the ShapeSheet™
- Chapter 4. Understanding the Validation API
- Chapter 5. Developing a Validation API Interface
- Chapter 6. Reviewing Validation Rules and Issues
- Chapter 7. Creating Validation Rules
- Chapter 8. Publishing Validation Rules and Diagrams
- Chapter 9. A Worked Example for Data Flow Model Diagrams – Part 1
- Chapter 10. A Worked Example for Data Flow Model Diagrams – Part 2
- Chapter 11. A Worked Example for Data Flow Model Diagrams – Part 3
- Chapter 12. Integrating Validated Diagrams with SharePoint 2013 and Office365
- Index