Visio® 2007 For Dummies®

Chapter 12. Managing Shape Information, Behavior, and Protection

In This Chapter

• Storing information in a shape

• Creating reports from stored data

• Customizing the behavior of a shape

• Adding protection to your shapes and drawings

Visio is far more sophisticated than it might appear at a quick glance. You might never guess that a Visio diagram or drawing could have all sorts of data stored with it. It might be an even further leap to assume that you could run custom, sorted reports (simple or complex) on that stored data — but you can. In addition, you can program Visio shapes to behave or appear in a particular way or to adjust themselves to changes that you make in a drawing. These aren't trivial features. They're part of the functionality built into Visio that greatly enhances your ability to use the program in many creative ways, as you see throughout this chapter.

Storing Data in Visio Shapes

In Visio, shapes are more than what they appear to be. Some are smart — their behavior changes depending on the circumstances in which they're used; others have complex geometry rules. Whatever their particular characteristics, all shapes can store data.

Why would you want to store data in a shape? Well, you might not if your drawing illustrates a simple workflow process such as Get bills⇨Enter payables⇨Pay bills⇨Record in register⇨File paperwork. But what if the process is more complex, and costs are associated with each task? You might want to store cost data, the resources required to complete ...