I was recently asked how the color of one shape can be changed and for other shapes to be automatically updated to the same color … even if they are on different pages! Well, it is possible with Microsoft Visio’s awesome ShapeSheet formulas. In fact, this capability is not limited to the FillForegnd cell … check out the Microsoft Learn page about SETATREF(…), and view the video below to find out more.
[Read more…] about Synchronizing Visio Shape Fill Color (or almost any cell) across pagesShapeSheet Functions
Understanding Segments of Visio Geometry
I recently had to revise my understanding of the POINTALONGPATH(…) function in Visio because I was getting a #REF! error in some cases. My particular scenario requires a line with a number of vertices that are initially all in a straight line but can be moved by dragging controls around that each vertex is bound to. My assumption had been that a segment of a path is always between vertices in a geometry section, but this is not the case. So, I thought I would look deeper into the ShapeSheet functions of paths and segments. The following screenshots show a series of ShapeSheet formulas and the result of them on a single line that has 4 vertices that can be moved using a yellow control that they are bound to. Notice how the PATHLENGTH(…) formula fails to understand the segment parameter until the vertices are moved.
In case the screenshots are a little dry, I have recorded a short video to explain further.
My own need was for a boundary shape around some other shapes where I wanted to make the segments disappear if they were outside of the Visio page. The unexpected #REF! values were causing distortions because the co-ordinates were failing to update.
However, I can see that this understanding of line segments and points will be useful in many types of diagrams.
For completeness, I thought I would try the same exercise with a PolyLineTo row rather than multiple LineTo rows.
The PolyLineTo formula does have the advantage of being a single row, but this means that the PATHLENGTH(…) function does not have a segment index to that can be used to calculate with. In fact a PolyLineTo row does have two segments, but the last one is always 0 length!
However, I was able to calculate the lengths of each segment in both cases, by using the co-ordinates of the Controls in the Tip cell for each Controls row with the SQRT(…) and POW(…) functions..
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