S
salgud
I use Visio, because I already have it and my boss won't spring for
something better, to do programming flow charts. Most of them are
fairly simple, but Visio makes them far more difficult than they
should be.
For example, I have a diamond shape for tests/decisions. Almost
always, there is a rectangle to the right of the diamond for one of
the results of the test. Like if the test is "If Temp > 32
degrees" (in the diamond), then I might want "Print temp above
freezing" in the rectangle to the right. And I want an arrow going
from the right point of the diamond to the center of the rectangle.
That's simple, isn't it? And I admit, most of the time, Visio handles
this just fine. But in the many occurences of this same configuration
in a flow chart, there is always that occasional one where Visio won't
let me put both shapes on the same centerline, and the connector has
to have a couple of right angle turns to get from the point of the
diamond to the center of the rectangle. And I can't move either the
exact amount needed to align the arrow and turn it into a straight
line!
This happens both horizontally and vertically at least once, it seems,
in any flow diagram. Or maybe once per page. Why? Is it stretching the
limits of AI technology to have the software understand that when I
have 2 geographic shapes adjacent to each other and I connect them
with an arrow that I prefer that arrow be a straight line rather than
a zig-zag? When I try to drag either shape a tiny bit up or down to
align them, the software aligns them for me? Sometimes it does, but
often enough, it not only won't auto-align them, it won't allow me to
manually align them. What's wrong with this picture? "Well, sir, it's
got a lot of funny looking zig-zaggy lines in it!"
Given that it's M$ software, I don't expect much. But it seems to me
that even M$ could recognize this glaring issue.
Does anyone know of a fix/workaround that might help? If so, thanks in
advance.
something better, to do programming flow charts. Most of them are
fairly simple, but Visio makes them far more difficult than they
should be.
For example, I have a diamond shape for tests/decisions. Almost
always, there is a rectangle to the right of the diamond for one of
the results of the test. Like if the test is "If Temp > 32
degrees" (in the diamond), then I might want "Print temp above
freezing" in the rectangle to the right. And I want an arrow going
from the right point of the diamond to the center of the rectangle.
That's simple, isn't it? And I admit, most of the time, Visio handles
this just fine. But in the many occurences of this same configuration
in a flow chart, there is always that occasional one where Visio won't
let me put both shapes on the same centerline, and the connector has
to have a couple of right angle turns to get from the point of the
diamond to the center of the rectangle. And I can't move either the
exact amount needed to align the arrow and turn it into a straight
line!
This happens both horizontally and vertically at least once, it seems,
in any flow diagram. Or maybe once per page. Why? Is it stretching the
limits of AI technology to have the software understand that when I
have 2 geographic shapes adjacent to each other and I connect them
with an arrow that I prefer that arrow be a straight line rather than
a zig-zag? When I try to drag either shape a tiny bit up or down to
align them, the software aligns them for me? Sometimes it does, but
often enough, it not only won't auto-align them, it won't allow me to
manually align them. What's wrong with this picture? "Well, sir, it's
got a lot of funny looking zig-zaggy lines in it!"
Given that it's M$ software, I don't expect much. But it seems to me
that even M$ could recognize this glaring issue.
Does anyone know of a fix/workaround that might help? If so, thanks in
advance.
