bVisual

Visio Services

Published on by

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:

SNAGHTML47319fc

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

[Read more…] about Linking SQL database on Azure to Visio via SharePoint Online

Published on by

Using JavaScript to Display Visio Shape Data and Hyperlinks in SharePoint Content Editor

I like embedding Visio diagrams into SharePoint web pages, but I am not too enamoured with the Shape Info panel and the popup hyperlinks menu because they clutter the diagram surface. So, I thought I would take some time to make an html document that can be included in a Content Editor web part. This html document includes JavaScript to read the hyperlinks and Shape Data of each selected shape, and, besides providing the opportunity to style the resultant table, allows you to interpret the content of the Shape Data values, and even the hyperlinks. I have shown an example where the multiple hyperlinks on the selected shape are clickable in the top list, and those interpreted from the values in Shape Data rows are clickable, and listed below the regular Shape Data rows. Of course, I could have combined the two types of hyperlinks into one list, separated from the regular Shape Data. Note that the values in the built-in Shape Info panel are not clickable. 

image

So, this means that I can do away with the Shape Info panel and the hyperlinks popup within the Visio Web Access control, and provide hyperlinks, buttons, images, media files, or whatever, in the Content Editor html document. Therefore, I untick the Show the Shape Information Pane option, and tick the Disable Hyperlink option in the web part editor.

[Read more…] about Using JavaScript to Display Visio Shape Data and Hyperlinks in SharePoint Content Editor

Published on by

Connecting Visio and Excel Web Access controls in SharePoint 2013

I have recently been working on an FM project where I have spaces and personnel shapes in Visio floor plans data linked to Excel tables. I constructed a number of related tables in an Excel workbook and wanted to demonstrate the relationships. I decided that this is best explained with a combination of a diagram and sample data , so this article describes how to connect Visio and Excel web parts together in SharePoint 2013 web pages, without code.

Preparation

First, I constructed an Excel Services workbook and a Visio Services document.

Excel Workbook Tables

The Excel workbook has a number of tables on similarly named worksheets.

image
[Read more…] about Connecting Visio and Excel Web Access controls in SharePoint 2013

Published on by

Mapping SharePoint List Columns to Visio Shape Data Types

The shape data in Visio 2013 diagrams can be linked to many external data sources, and one of the most useful is a SharePoint List. However, the Shape Data rows have a smaller number of expected data types than the column types that are available in SharePoint. This article begins an exploration of the mapping of SharePoint list column types to Visio data types.

The Type cell of a Shape Data row defines the data type, which is a number from 0 to 7, that is stored in that row.

Data TypeDescription
0String
1Fixed List
2Number
3Boolean
4Variable List
5Date or Time
6Duration
7Currency

The Format cell can modify the display of Value, or can provide the option values for the two list types.

[Read more…] about Mapping SharePoint List Columns to Visio Shape Data Types

Published on by

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 Microsoft Visio 2013 Business Process Diagramming and Validation, and, although this is an update to my 2010 book (with an extra chapter for integration with Office365 and SharePoint 2013), it should resonate with a wider audience because Microsoft decided to merge the Premium and Professional editions into one Professional edition for Visio 2013, so that it now includes Visio Services and Validation. This means that there are millions more Visio users who can take advantage of validation rules to ensure that they have well-constructed diagrams in Visio. I would also like to stress that validation rules can be applied to all types of diagrams, not just process diagrams, and I will demonstrate this over the next few months here.

8002EN
[Read more…] about New Visio book out now!