Visio has had a Number Shapes add-on for many years, even since before Microsoft bought the application in 2000. The add-on autmatically creates three Shape Data rows to hold the number, any prefix text, and a value to indicate whether the shape number text should be shown. It is useful, but it can also be very annoying if you also want to label your shapes, such as with process flow shapes, or you want the shape number to be displayed outside of the main shape. Fortunately, there is a solution….
[Read more…] about Displaying Visio Number Shapes data clearlyData Graphics
Updates to MSIgnite Visio Session Documents
I will be leaving soon for Atlanta to the MS Ignite Conference, but first I checked the latest schedule and found some additions and some slight title changes, so I have updated the documents provided in my last two posts:
MS Ignite Conference 2016 Sessions in Visio
Visio Sessions at MS Ignite Conference 2016
Also, I have produced a short, silent video of the process to import your own Ignite Trip Report.docx from the MS Ignite website to Visio.
See you in Atlanta!
Visio Sessions at MS Ignite Conference 2016
I will be a co-presenter at the Microsoft Ignite Conference on 28th Sept. 2016 ( see Dive deep into advanced Data Visualization with Visio ) along with my fellow MVPs Scott Helmers and Ed Richard, and led by Sandeep Srivastava, from Microsoft. I am really looking forward to it because it will be a great opportunity to learn more about all of the exciting developments happening at Microsoft nowadays. Of course, I will also be showing off what we can do in Visio too, and to that end I have created a session location finder in Visio.
The MS Ignite Conference is an enormous 5 day event, with over 1300 sessions spread over three buildings and 5 floors. The conference website provides the opportunity to build your personal schedule, and to download a Word trip report. Unfortunately, this report does not include the rooms and the zone or building that they are in. Therefore, I used some of my facilities management experience and Visio to provide a multipage Visio document with building section and plans provide the location context for each session in my, or attendees, schedule.
The Visio document contains macros to import the Word report downloaded from the MS Ignite website, and for running a timer between a start and end time.
I have provided the Visio document for download*, so that it can be used by any attendees how have Visio Professional 2016 or Visio Pro for Office 365:
MS Ignite Trip Reporter.vsdm
I will explain how it all works in a future posting, but the document contains full instructions of how to use it, and it includes my current schedule of sessions so that it can be played with even by non-attendees.
*This document was updated with the up to date Session locations on 20 Sept. 2016
New book available for pre-order : Mastering Data Visualization with Microsoft Visio Professional 2016
I have a new book on Visio coming out in June called Mastering Data Visualization with Microsoft Visio Professional 2016. It covers the ins and outs of data with Visio!
Please visit http://bit.ly/1SeVfwW for more information.
Packt Publishing are currently running a deal on my last book, Microsoft Visio 2013 Business Process Diagramming and Validation , until 12th April 2016:
Follow this link : 1LHNDwI
Using Visio Professional 2016 Text Callouts, Icon Sets and Data Bars to display data directly
Last year, I blogged about using the master shapes used in Data Graphics in Visio 2013 Professional for displaying data directly, rather than embedded in other shapes as graphic items. Now that Visio Professional 2016 is released, and because there have been some improvements to the graphics, especially for Text Callouts, I have created stencils from the new masters, with some slight changes as outlined in my earlier articles. As before, the stencils can be downloaded into the My Shapes folder, from where they will be available for use at any time. These stencils are freely available to anyone with a Visio Professional 2016 licence.
Text Callouts
Improving the legend of multi-data Data Graphic items in Visio
Data Graphics in Visio Professional (and Premium) are a great way of surfacing the information in each shape, but it can be easy to forget what the Color By Value, Icon Sets or Data-bars represent:
