Visio 2002: Auto Height Box problem in Cross-Functional Flowcharts

[MdF]

Hiya,

I have an issue when I try to use the Auto Height Boxes in Cross-Functional
Flowcharts - they don't re-size. They work fine in Basic Flowcharts, but not
in Cross-Functional Flowcharts.

The Shapesheet details for the Auto Height box template has
"=GUARD(Scratch.B1*Scratch.X1)" under Shape Transform > Height, but this is
replaced with a figure (eg, 25mm) once you drag it onto the main drawing page.

Can anyone offer any advice? I'm finding this quite frustrating!

Many thanks,

 

[Paul Herber]

Hiya,

I have an issue when I try to use the Auto Height Boxes in Cross-Functional
Flowcharts - they don't re-size. They work fine in Basic Flowcharts, but not
in Cross-Functional Flowcharts.

The Shapesheet details for the Auto Height box template has
"=GUARD(Scratch.B1*Scratch.X1)" under Shape Transform > Height, but this is
replaced with a figure (eg, 25mm) once you drag it onto the main drawing page.

Can anyone offer any advice? I'm finding this quite frustrating!

I don't have 2002 but I've just tried this in Visio 2003 and 2007 and
it seems fine. What happens when you put the formula back to the
guared formula? Does it stay guarded?
Doers it happen with any other shapes?
Do you have any macros or addins installed that could be detecting
added shapes and changing the formula?

 

[MdF]

Hi Paul,

If I copy an auto height box that is working correctly, the GUARD formula
disappears in any new copies of a 'correct' auto height box, and is replaced
by the actual height of the box being copied. It seems to be the only thing
that changes on the Shapesheet between the original and copy.

I haven't noticed any similar issues with other shapes. I have the basic
set up of 2002 on the PC, with no Add Ons that I'm aware of. I've placed a
request for my IT dept to install Vision 2002 Service Pack 2, so I will let
you know if this sorts out the problem....

 

[Paul Herber]

Hi Paul,

If I copy an auto height box that is working correctly, the GUARD formula
disappears in any new copies of a 'correct' auto height box, and is replaced
by the actual height of the box being copied. It seems to be the only thing
that changes on the Shapesheet between the original and copy.

But you are right, it's the copy and paste that causes the problem,
not just putting the shape on the page. Putting the shape on a
standard flowchart page and then copying and pasting to the
cross-functional chart doesn't copy the guarded formula in the height
cell. If the shape is added directly from the stencil then it's ok.
This seems to also be so in V2003 but fixed in V2007

 

[MdF]

If the shape is added directly from the stencil then it's ok.

Hi Paul,

Unfortunately, lifting the shape from the stencil doesn't work for me! Is
there a quick way to apply that setting to a number of shapes at once? It's
a bit of a faff to adjust the Shapesheet for each faulty box!

Thanks,

M

 

[Paul Herber]

Hi Paul,

Unfortunately, lifting the shape from the stencil doesn't work for me! Is
there a quick way to apply that setting to a number of shapes at once? It's
a bit of a faff to adjust the Shapesheet for each faulty box!

Does this also happen with a brand new diagram?
In your existing diagrams open the document stencil
menu File -> Shapes -> Document stencil
There will be an AutoHeight Box shape in there, edit the formula in
that shape, when you close the shape window you will be asked if you
want to update the shapes in the document.

 

[MdF]

Hi Paul,

I've discovered that this auto height problem only occurs in Horizontal
Cross Functional Flowcharts, Vertical charts are unaffected. I will use
Verticals from now on!

Thanks for the tip for adjusting the details in the Document Stencil, it
seemed to work for some of the boxes but not others.

Cheers,

Martin