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SharePoint 2013

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Using JavaScript to Find and Highlight Visio Shapes by Shape Data values in SharePoint Content Editor

In August, I wrote about Using JavaScript to Display Visio Shape Data and Hyperlinks in SharePoint Content Editor ( see http://blog.bvisual.net/2014/08/16/using-javascript-to-display-visio-shape-data-and-hyperlinks-in-sharepoint-content-editor/ ), so now I have added the ability to select shapes by a property value. The main advantage of using JavaScript in the client is that there is no need to go back to the server to refresh the page.

In the following screenshot, I have used the standard web part connections between the BeSmart Ltd document library view and the Visio Web Access control in order to set the Drawing URL.

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Linking SQL database on Azure to Visio via SharePoint Online

My last post was entitled Linking SQL database on Azure to Visio (see http://blog.bvisual.net/2014/09/11/linking-sql-database-on-azure-to-visio/), but that was only half the solution I wanted to present because I was having issues with linking my SQL database on Azure to my SharePoint Online. So, I enlisted my friend and colleague, Nick Ajderian, who looked into it and wrote the following blog article : http://softwaremechanik.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/connecting-microsoft-azure-to-sharepoint/ . Well, I still failed, until I realised a subtle error that I was making …

In my previous article, I showed how to connect directly to the SQL database on Azure by using the Data Connection Wizard, where I entered the Server name with the “, 1433” suffix in order to address the port. Well, when I kept on entering the same server name in the SQL Server Connection dialog for the new connection in the Data Source Explorer for a External Content Type in SharePoint Designer, everything was looking fine because I could expand the connection to view the tables and create the operations. I could even create the External List okay, but I could not view any records in it, and kept getting a connection error. I was getting very frustrated until I dropped the “, 1433”, then everything worked!

Here is my Floors table from my SQL database on Azure in SharePoint Online:

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So, now I can select this list, as a Microsoft SharePoint Foundation List, using Link Data to Shapes in Visio:

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Visio 2013 BPM Maturity Model

In my book, Microsoft Visio 2010 Business Process Diagramming and Validation (see http://www.visiorules.com/ ), I presented a table of the progressive maturity of BPM within Visio. I have now extended this diagram in the figure below to show how Visio 2013 increases this maturity level.

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I have just been running 2 day Visio 2013 Services introductory courses to Microsoft partners in Oslo and Copenhagen, and I think there has been a very positive response to the new capabilities of Visio 2013 along with SharePoint 2013.  The two products together provide some great capabilities that should lead to exciting value propositions to business. New features include co-authoring of Visio files; commenting with or without the Visio client application; deeper integration with SharePoint Designer for SharePoint Workflows; and rendering of Visio files in high quality images, making them usable from any browser on any device.

Microsoft have also merged Visio Premium into Visio Professional for the 2013 product, making all of these features available to the normal business user. The good news about my book mentioned above is that it is very current for Visio 2013 Professional, as there have been no significant changes in this area … Smile

Update : Just got my latest copy of Redmond Magazine ( see http://redmondmag.com/ ). Great article about SharePoint 2013 and Visio 2013!