Copyright: (C) 1993-1998 Visio Corporation
Citation: Visio Wizard Help (C) 1993-98 Visio Corporation


Creating an organization chart from information already stored in a file or database

The wizard requires the following fields:

  Name

  Reports_To

  Unique ID  (This can be the same as the Name field or another Unique ID that you specify.)

If the fields (or columns) in your data file use names other than those listed above, you can tell the wizard what names in your data file correspond to these fields.

The wizard will not generate a drawing if it encounters the following:

  Duplicate records.

  Circular references—that is, any person reporting to himself or herself.

  More than one record with a blank in the Reports_To field. (Only the person at the top of the chart should have a blank Reports_To field.)


Locating fields the wizard requires in your data file

To complete this screen:

From the list boxes, choose the column names from your data file that correspond to Name, Reports_To, and, optionally, Unique ID. If your data file doesn't include information that corresponds to these fields, cancel the wizard and revise the data file.

Reports_To  The person that the employee reports to, identified by Unique ID. This field should be blank only for the person at the top of the organization chart.

Unique ID (optional)  A way to uniquely identify each person. If each employee has a unique name, the Name field can serve as the Unique ID field. If more than one employee has the same name, you need another field, such as Unique ID, which can contain another unique identifier, for example, an employee number.


Designating fields in your data file as custom-property fields in your shapes

A custom-property field is a field in which you can enter data relevant to the shape.

The column headings listed under Data File Columns include any headings in your data file other than Name, Reports_To, and Unique ID (or their equivalents).

When the data is read from the file to build the organization chart, the values in the file are placed in the custom-property fields. After you run the wizard, you can change the values for the properties in each shape’s fields. (This does not change the values in the original file.)

To enter a value into a custom-property field, right-click a shape, then choose Properties from the shortcut menu. Enter the data in the Custom Properties dialog box.


Adding actions to shapes and drawing pages, and events to drawing pages

Right Mouse Actions

When you add an action to a shape, the action becomes available as a command on the right-click menu that appears when you right-click the shape.

Select Database Record  Check to add the Select Database Record command to the right-click menu for the linked shape. You can use this command to specify a new database record to link to the shape.

Refresh Shape Properties  Check to add the Refresh Shape Properties command to the right-click menu for the linked shape. You can use this command to look up the database record that is linked to the shape. If the values in the shape’s custom-property field differ from the values in the database record, the custom-property field values are refreshed.

Update Database Record  Check to add the Update Database Record command to the right-click menu for the linked shape. You can use this command to look up the database record that is linked to the shape. If the values in the shape’s custom-property fields differ from the values in the database record, the database field values are updated.

Delete Shape And Database Record  Check to add the Delete Shape And Database Record command to the right-click menu for the linked shape. You can use this command to delete the shape and its linked database record simultaneously.

Page Actions

When you add an action to a drawing page, the action becomes available as a command on the right-click menu, which appears when you right-click a drawing page on which no shapes are selected.

Refresh Shapes On Page  Check to add the Refresh Linked Shapes command to the right-click menu for the drawing page. You can use this command to look up the database records linked to the shapes on the page. If the values in the shapes’ custom-property fields differ from the values in the database records, the custom-property field values are refreshed. Choosing Refresh Linked Shapes refreshes all shapes on the page at once.

Update Database Records  Check to add the Update Linked Records command to the right-click menu for the drawing page. You can use this command to look up the database records linked to the shapes on the page. If the values in the database records differ from the values in the shapes’ custom-property fields, the database records are updated. Choosing Update Linked Records updates database records for all shapes on the page at once.

Events

When you add an event to a drawing page, you define how shapes on the page respond to particular user actions, such as opening a file.

Refresh Linked Shapes On Document Open  Check to refresh custom-property field values for all shapes in your organization chart each time you open the drawing. When you refresh shapes, values in each shape’s custom-property fields are refreshed to match values in the linked database records.

Periodically Refresh Based On NOW Function  Check to refresh custom-property field values for all shapes in a linked drawing at specific intervals defined by the NOW function. When you refresh shapes, values in each shape’s custom-property fields are updated to match values in the linked database records. When you choose this option, the wizard adds two right mouse actions to the drawing page. To start or stop the continuous refresh, right-click the drawing page when no shapes are selected, then choose the action you want from the right-click menu.

The NOW function goes out of date at an interval you set in the Visio.ini file. Each time the NOW function goes out of date, it returns the current date and time and runs the Database Refresh Add-on, which refreshes the values in the custom-property fields.

TIP  To set the interval at which the NOW function goes out of date, change the Animation setting in the [application] section of the Visio.ini file. The default setting is 60000 milliseconds (one minute).