Resizing UML shapes in Visio 2003

[Michael Skelton]

Is it really true that one can not resize certain UML stencil shapes in
2003? I see that there is an option under Format -> Protection that should
allow one, in theory, to enable changes to a shape's height or width.
However, disabling these "protection" features is seemingly ignored by
Visio.

If this is really the case, I really would have to put this up there among
the more stupid design decisions in application development history. Are you
kidding me? Visio is a drawing application, for crying out loud. What moron
at Microsoft decided to prevent the user from resizing their drawings? It's
analgous to buying a car in which the steering wheel can not be turned.

-Michael

 

[Mark Nelson [MS]]

The UML add-on is designed to limit manipulation of the shapes because the
program automatically makes changes to those shapes as the model changes.
Obviously this is frustrating for those that want to customize the
arrangement of their drawing. A more sophisticated design would support
both automatic changes from the software and user customization.

Perhaps the real question is whether you would prefer a UML drawing that is
not manipulated by Visio at all. Would it be better just to provide shapes
and let the user arrange them and populate them with information?

--
Mark Nelson
Office Graphics - Visio
Microsoft Corporation

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