Editing protected (?!) properties on a master

[radski]

Hi everyone,

I'm having trouble editing some properties when creating new master. I'll
give an example, but it's a generic problem.

1) Open "Servers" stencil under Networks and lookup icon representing the
database server (has a small blue cylinder)

2) I normally create a new master by dragging the shape onto the drawing and
then back to my own stencil

3) Now all I want is to change the colour of the cylinder from blue to say
yellow (after ungrouping the whole master)

I can't seem to be able to do that. It would be nice to know what keeps me
from doing that - there's no protection on the shape.

Any suggestions welcome...

 

[Mark Nelson [MS]]

Many Visio shapes define specific images and are not designed for
customization. The parts of the server shapes are an example of this.
There is no way to change this through the regular user interface.

If you understand a little about the Shapesheet (Window menu), you can see
how the protection is set up. Each property has a GUARD formula in the cell
that prevents any formatting changes. It is possible to modify the formulas
to remove the guards. You would need to modify each sub-shape within the
server that makes up the database image.

Keep in mind that ungrouping shapes destroys important functionality that is
not restored by simply regrouping. If you want to edit the parts of a shape
while leaving the group intact, go to the menu Edit > Group. Alternatively,
you can use the Drawing Explorer / Master Explorer to see the parts of the
shape and access them that way.

 

[radski]

Thanks a lot Mark, your detailed explanation is very much appreciated.

Rad