Microsoft Visio 2010 : Working with Data - Introducing Shape Data Fields

Many Visio shapes already contain Shape Data fields, ready and waiting for your data. Whether or not these fields are right for your business, they let you quickly see the kinds of data you can attach to shapes.

Exploring Shape Data

Get a feel for Shape Data fields by looking at the fields in flowchart and network shapes.

Exploring Shape Data Fields

1.	Choose Flowchart, Basic Flowchart to start a new drawing.
2.	Drag any shape onto the page and inspect its Shape Data fields. The Shape Data window normally resides on the left side of the drawing window, docked above or below the Shapes window. As you can do with most task panes, you can tear it off from the left and float it or dock it to another side. If you don’t see the Shape Data window, you can make it visible in the following three ways: Right-click any shape and choose Data, Shape Data. Go to View tab, Show, Task Panes, Shape Data. Go to the Data tab (Pro and Premium only), Show/Hide, Shape Data Window check box. With the Shape Data window visible, you need only select shapes in the drawing window to see their Shape Data fields.
3.	With your flowchart shape still selected, note the different Shape Data fields. Most flowchart shapes have seven fields: Cost, Process Number, Owner, Function, Start Data, End Date, and Status. They are blank by default, just waiting for you to fill them out with your business-specific information.
4.	Inspect the data fields for network equipment. Open the Computers and Monitors stencil. You can access it via More Shapes, Network, Computers and Monitors.
5.	Drag a few network equipment shapes onto the page. Network shapes have quite a few more fields than the flowchart shapes. Figure 1 contrasts flowchart and network Shape Data fields. Figure 1. Built-in Shape Data fields for flowchart and network shapes. Note that this image is a composite; only one Shape Data window exists per drawing window. You can see that the flowchart fields are process related, and the network fields relate to hardware, software, and facilities management.
6.	Select two or more flowchart shapes. Notice that their fields still appear in the Shape Data window. The reason is that they have the same set of fields.
7.	Select a flowchart shape and network shape. The Shape Data window is empty. Because flowchart and network shapes have no properties in common, the Shape Data window punts and displays no fields. Shape Data only shows fields that the selected shapes have in common. However, shapes that have no data fields are ignored from this consideration. In Figure 1, note that the connectors between the flowchart shapes are also selected. Because they have no data fields, they don’t interfere with this common-properties calculation.
8.	Set a value for multiple shapes at once. Select several flowchart shapes. In the Shape Data window, enter Bob for the Owner field.
9.	Click on each flowchart shape separately. Notice that each shape received the value Bob for its Owner property. You can set fields for many shapes in one fell swoop!
10.	Note the different types of data that Shape Data fields can hold. Select a flowchart shape and enter some sample data for each field in the Shape Data window. Figure 2 shows how different data types present different input controls. Figure 2. Custom controls make data entry easier for certain data types. Visio has some rudimentary data validation that enforces correct entries. For example, in the Currency field, you must enter a number or a currency value.

So you can enter 1.50, $1.50, or EUR 1.50, but not Bob. Process Number must be a number, but Owner and Function can contain any text. The two date fields must have date values. Status is a variable list; you can pick from the drop-down list or enter a new value.

Types and Uses of Shape Data

Shape Data in flowchart and network shapes is purely “data behind the shape.” The fields have no effect on how the shapes appear but are useful for reports and interaction with the drawing.

Contrast this with Figure 3, where you see space planning shapes that graphically change depending on Shape Data values. This figure shows window and door shapes from the Walls, Shell, and Structure stencil (Accessed via: More Shapes, Maps and Floor Plans, Building Plan).

Figure 3. The appearance of window and door shapes changes, depending on certain Shape Data field values. Here the Window Width, Door Type, and Door Open Percentage values are being changed.

In Figure 3, the actual sizes of the shapes are affected by the Window Width and Door Width field values. Because the drawing is scaled, you can work in real-world units and choose typical door and window sizes from the pick lists.

Interestingly, the two door shapes come from the same master. The result of picking different door types and changing the opening percentage is shapes that are quite different in appearance. Because SmartShapes can be configured in so many different ways, the number of masters in stencils is vastly reduced. Other graphics programs supply hundreds of door symbols, but Visio has only a few—and these have hundreds of possible configurations thanks to Shape Data.