Connecting Visio with a Database

[mariacardoso27]

Hello everyone,

i work at a big company in Germany and i have a new job to do...so i´d
like to make some basic questions:

I need to take information from a Database (or Excel...) and transform
in a Network Diagram...
I have all the Models (Components i want to use) and the connections in
this DB...

How is the best way to do that? How can i start, (i mean)?
Is there better Programs to do that? I have found others (NetFormx,
NetViz, SmartDraw..)...
I´ll need, latter, to make it automatically....

Thank you all!
Maria Cardoso

 

[wr]

Hi Maria,

You can link a database to a visio mastershape.
Once that is established you can drop the masters on the drawing.
The point however is that a visio shape has its own administration, the
shapesheet.
Your database has to be organized to populate this structure
Most of those elements are normal, like WIDTH, HEIGHT
but you also have elemenst like PINX, PINY
The data are stored in custom properties.

I don't know the other programs but the interoperability of Visio with other
(database)applications
is one of its features
the best is to take some simple networkshapes and work with them to such how
much work it will be
tell me a bit more perhaps of the structure

René

(e-mail address removed)> wrote in message
Hello everyone,

i work at a big company in Germany and i have a new job to do...so i´d
like to make some basic questions:

I need to take information from a Database (or Excel...) and transform
in a Network Diagram...
I have all the Models (Components i want to use) and the connections in
this DB...

How is the best way to do that? How can i start, (i mean)?
Is there better Programs to do that? I have found others (NetFormx,
NetViz, SmartDraw..)...
I´ll need, latter, to make it automatically....

Thank you all!
Maria Cardoso

 

[mariacardoso]

Hi René, thank you for you answer...

I'm trying to take more informations in how can i make a Network
Diagram automatically from a DB. I've found Visimation
(http://www.visimation.com/index.asp) that make a work very similar
with what i'm looking for....

More details: I have ALL the information of my Design in the DB... I
mean: all the structure of the project (details, connections,
equipaments...) will be in the DB.
I need to create two things: templates with my equipaments (also
Shapes/Stencils) and create a structure that take the project in my DB
and put into "automacally" (in future!) in a graphic Diagram in Visio.

Not so easy! If you have more information, write me please!

Thanks,
Maria

 

[wr]

Hi Maria,

This is the best article to start off your database connection experience
with Visio.
First you create a simple excel file and save it as dbdemo.xls
Then you open a blank new drawing in visio
you drop a rectangle on the page
you open a new stencil
drop the rectangle on the stencil
save stencil as dbdemo.vss
save drawng as dbdemo.vsd
then you start the database wizard with tools/add-ons/visioextras/database
wizard
follow the steps and after that you have succesfully linked the data to the
mastershape
this mastershape can be used to create a linked drawing, see the last steps

I said that you need to restructure the names of your database
This is untrue
Suppose you have a cell defined as 'breitte' then in the section 'To link
ShapeSheet cells to fields in a database record: ' step 1 you see that you
can choose 'width' and link that to 'breitte'

This way you can connect your database to Visio and create the drawing

If you encounter problems just ask.

René


Hi René, thank you for you answer...

I'm trying to take more informations in how can i make a Network
Diagram automatically from a DB. I've found Visimation
(http://www.visimation.com/index.asp) that make a work very similar
with what i'm looking for....

More details: I have ALL the information of my Design in the DB... I
mean: all the structure of the project (details, connections,
equipaments...) will be in the DB.
I need to create two things: templates with my equipaments (also
Shapes/Stencils) and create a structure that take the project in my DB
and put into "automacally" (in future!) in a graphic Diagram in Visio.

Not so easy! If you have more information, write me please!

Thanks,
Maria

 

[Al Edlund]

and what are you programming in (vb, vba, c#, vb.net)?
al

Hi René, thank you for you answer...

I'm trying to take more informations in how can i make a Network
Diagram automatically from a DB. I've found Visimation
(http://www.visimation.com/index.asp) that make a work very similar
with what i'm looking for....

More details: I have ALL the information of my Design in the DB... I
mean: all the structure of the project (details, connections,
equipaments...) will be in the DB.
I need to create two things: templates with my equipaments (also
Shapes/Stencils) and create a structure that take the project in my DB
and put into "automacally" (in future!) in a graphic Diagram in Visio.

Not so easy! If you have more information, write me please!

Thanks,
Maria

 

[wr]

forget to mention the article
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/254591/en-us

René

Hi René, thank you for you answer...

I'm trying to take more informations in how can i make a Network
Diagram automatically from a DB. I've found Visimation
(http://www.visimation.com/index.asp) that make a work very similar
with what i'm looking for....

More details: I have ALL the information of my Design in the DB... I
mean: all the structure of the project (details, connections,
equipaments...) will be in the DB.
I need to create two things: templates with my equipaments (also
Shapes/Stencils) and create a structure that take the project in my DB
and put into "automacally" (in future!) in a graphic Diagram in Visio.

Not so easy! If you have more information, write me please!

Thanks,
Maria

 

[mariacardoso]

Hi René and Al,

thanks!!

This article i have already done last week and it was helpfull

Now I´m trying with this:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/archive/d...en-us/dnarvisio/html/facilitiesmanagement.asp

But i can not understand why i can´t make a second time the demo....
I´m trying all again, since the beginning, but doesn´t work...
I put the new employee but i can not assign the information... also i
can not set the database name.

Al,
I´ve found this link that you´ve suggested in a old question hier....

Maybe you still remember and can tell me what´s my mistake...

Thank you all.
Bye

 

[Al Edlund]

regarding changing the database name, is it being stored in the pagesheet
(that's done in the embedded vba code).
al

Hi René and Al,

thanks!!

This article i have already done last week and it was helpfull

Now I´m trying with this:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/archive/d...en-us/dnarvisio/html/facilitiesmanagement.asp

But i can not understand why i can´t make a second time the demo....
I´m trying all again, since the beginning, but doesn´t work...
I put the new employee but i can not assign the information... also i
can not set the database name.

Al,
I´ve found this link that you´ve suggested in a old question hier....

Maybe you still remember and can tell me what´s my mistake...

Thank you all.
Bye

 

[mariacardoso]

I´ve already done, but doesn´t work

regarding changing the database name, is it being stored in the pagesheet
(that's done in the embedded vba code).
al

Hi René and Al,

thanks!!

This article i have already done last week and it was helpfull

Now I´m trying with this:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/archive/d...en-us/dnarvisio/html/facilitiesmanagement.asp

But i can not understand why i can´t make a second time the demo....
I´m trying all again, since the beginning, but doesn´t work...
I put the new employee but i can not assign the information... also i
can not set the database name.

Al,
I´ve found this link that you´ve suggested in a old question hier....

Maybe you still remember and can tell me what´s my mistake...

Thank you all.
Bye

 

[wr]

Hi Maria,

First you need to create a ODBC connection
You go to control panel/administrative tools/data sources(odbc)
In user dsn click 'add'
select microsoft access driver (*.mdb)
click finish
as data source name type 'FMDemo'
click on select
locate a copy or renamed version from FacMgt.mdb
click OK

open the flr16.vsd
rightclick on page and click on 'select database name'
and type the file filepath plus filename in the box

most of the functions are avalaible then
but not all because they rely on the macros inside the document
I have noticed that they don't work
they need to be adjusted for the visio 2002/2003 environment

but it is a good document to start with for the project you have in mind

René
I´ve already done, but doesn´t work

 

[mariacardoso]

Hi René,

I´ve already done, and it worked, but just once.
And I'm not able to do it once more.....
I've already cheged the name of the Database, how Al suggested, but
still doesn't work.....

 

[cheky]

Hi maria
I'm working in a project like you with Visio, and I hope you can help
me too, chek your e-mail:[email protected] because I sent
you one e-mail the last monday.....
well the point is my english is not good............you know, can you
speak in spanish? if you can do it, that would be better
thanks

Sergio

*Hi Ren=E9,

I=B4ve already done, and it worked, but just once.
And I'm not able to do it once more.....
I've already cheged the name of the Database, how Al suggested, but
still doesn't work.....


wr schrieb:
[vbcol=seagreen]

Hi Maria,

First you need to create a ODBC connection
You go to control panel/administrative tools/data sources(odbc)
In user dsn click 'add'
select microsoft access driver (*.mdb)
click finish
as data source name type 'FMDemo'
click on select
locate a copy or renamed version from FacMgt.mdb
click OK

open the flr16.vsd
rightclick on page and click on 'select database name'
and type the file filepath plus filename in the box

most of the functions are avalaible then
but not all because they rely on the macros inside the document
I have noticed that they don't work
they need to be adjusted for the visio 2002/2003 environment

but it is a good document to start with for the project you have in mind

Ren=E9
I=B4ve already done, but doesn=B4t work

Al Edlund schrieb:

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visio/html/facilitiesmanagement.asp[vbcol=seagreen]
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