Visio 2002® Developer's Survival Pack
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Table of Contents

Part 1: Overview Of The Visio Development Environment 17

• Chapter 1: Introduction 19
  • Programmable Diagramming: Enter Visio 20
  • The Development Challenges 20
  • Who This Book Is For 21
  • What This Book Covers 22
  • What This Book Does Not Cover 22
  • Caveat: This Book Is Probably Wrong! 22
  • Companion Website for Tools, Samples, Updates 23
  • Visio Version Information 23
  • Acknowledgements 23
• Chapter 2: Overview of Visio Territory 25
  • The User's View 25
  • The Developer's View 26
    • Generic Solution Structure 26
    • At the Heart 26
    • Automation 26
    • Added Functionality 27
    • Connections To Data 29
    • Example Scenarios 30
  • First Look At Visio Structure 30
    • "Model + View + Controller" Structure 32
    • Document Types and Roles 33
    • Where The ShapeSheet Environment Fits In 33
    • ShapeSheet Heavily Used In Automation Too 34
    • The Automation Environment 34
  • Visio Model vs. Solution Model 35
  • From Here 36
• Chapter 3: A Plan For Coping 37
  • Planning Your Course Of Study 37
  • Preparation 39
    • Developing Visio Solutions Book ("DVS") 39
    • Multiple Monitors 39
    • Get Comfortable With VBA 39
  • Visio 2002 Developer's Survival Pack Browser Tools 40
    • Events Browser 40
    • UIObjects Browser 40
    • CommandBars Browser 40
    • Inheritance Browser 40
    • XML Browser 40
    • Bulk VS?-to-XML Converter 40
    • Visio.bin Browser 40
    • Download and Installation 41
  • Visio 2002 Developer's Survival Pack Utilities 41
    • VB-to-VSL Adapter Component 41
    • Registration Tools 41
  • Other References and Support 41
    • Books 41
    • Newsgroups 41
    • Websites 41
    • More Visio Tools 42
  • Preliminary Visio and VBA Skillset 42
    • Preliminary User-level Visio Activities 42
    • Some ShapeSheet Activities 43
    • Preliminary Developer-Level Activities 43
  • From Here 44

Part 2: Visio Structural Breakdowns 45

• Chapter 4: Visio Object Model 47
  • Expanded Object Model 47
    • Objects with Cells 49
    • Collections Versus Individual Objects 49
    • User Interface Objects Shown Abbreviated 49
    • Layer Objects 49
    • Relationship To DVS and Poster Object Models 49
  • Browsable Object-Property-Method Tables 49
  • Tools for Object Model Browsing 50
    • Visimation Xpose 50
    • VBA Object Browser 51
    • VBA Locals Window 51
    • XML Browser 52
    • Additional Tools 52
  • From Here 52
• Chapter 5: ShapeSheet Structure and Functions Introduction 53
  • Orientation 53
    • Complete Automation Understanding Must Include Cells ! 53
    • ShapeSheet-Environment Covers "Content" Branch of Object Model 54
    • ShapeSheet Organized as Sections, Rows and Columns 54
  • ShapeSheet Section-Row-Cell Reference Tables 56
  • ShapeSheet Orientation Continued 56
    • "All ShapeSheets Behave the Same" 56
    • How the ShapeSheet Applies to Diagram Shapes 56
    • Objects Which Contain Cells Via Dummy Shapes 57
    • Objects Which Contain Cells Directly 57
  • ShapeSheet Sections and Rows 58
    • Varying Section-Row Structures 58
    • Sections and Rows vs. Objects 60
  • ShapeSheet Formulas and Functions 60
  • From Here 62

Part 3: Visio Functional Areas In Depth 63

• Chapter 6: Visio Files: Drawings, Stencils, Templates 65
  • Top Concepts 65
    • Organizing Our Overview 66
    • Use XML Browser 67
  • File Relationships 67
    • Drawing File Point-of-View 67
    • Drawing File With Stencil 68
    • Template file 69
    • Summary of Roles of Document Components 71
    • Silly Visio File Tricks 71
  • File Architecture Implications 71
    • Developing Masters and Styles 72
    • Where To Put VBA Code? 72
  • From Here 72
• Chapter 7: Shapes 73
  • Comfort First 73
  • Shapes and Masters 73
  • "Hello World" via Automation and VBA 74
  • Single Shape Type, Distinguishing Attributes 74
  • Shape Features Overview 74
  • Identity and Name 76
    • Some Subtleties 78
  • Coordinate Space and Alignment Box 78
    • Coordinate Space 79
    • One-Dimensional Shapes (Connectors) 80
    • Alignment Box 80
    • Selectively Enabling/Disabling Various Geometry-Controlling Features 82
  • Geometry and Geometry Attributes 82
    • Geometry Row Types. 82
    • Geometry Attributes 83
    • Geometry-Related Formatting 83
  • Adjusting Feature Positions: Controls 83
  • Text 84
    • Text Position 84
    • Text Appearance 84
    • Useful Text Idioms 85
    • Fields: ShapeSheet Values to Text 86
    • Text To ShapeSheet: SHAPETEXT( ) 86
    • Text To ShapeSheet Value: EVALTEXT() 86
    • Setting the Text from the ShapeSheet 87
    • Selectively Enabling/Disabling Text Behaviors 87
    • Character Section: Controlling Text Format 87
  • Studying Visio's Supplied Stencils and Templates 88
  • From Here 89
    • Shapes With Member "Sub-Shapes" (Group Shapes) 89
    • Connectors, 1-D Shapes 89
    • Glue, Connections and Connection Points 89
    • Solution-Specific "Data" 89
    • Styles and Masters 89
    • Layers 89
    • Right-Click Context Menu: Actions 89
    • Events 90
    • Foreign Objects 90
    • Hyperlinks 90
• Chapter 8: Masters and Shapes 91
  • "Master" versus "Shape Instance" 91
  • Master-To-Shape and Shape-To-Master 92
    • Starting From the New Master Command 92
    • Starting From Drawing Page 92
  • Stencil File versus Document Stencil 93
    • Instances Are Always Created From Local Stencil 94
    • Master Matching Alternatives 94
    • Development Implications 94
  • Other Wrinkles 95
  • From Here 95
• Chapter 9: Some ShapeSheet Practicalities 97
  • ShapeSheet Cell Reference Syntax 97
    • Finding Out Cell Names 98
  • Universal and Local Row and Cell Names 98
    • Which Names Are Which? 99
  • ShapeSheet Calculation Dependencies 100
    • Cells Set Multiple Ways 100
    • Monitoring Recalc Loops 102
    • Keys To Solution 102
    • Trickier Example 102
    • To REALLY Break A Loop 103
    • Twin Peaks Example 103
    • Flaky Recalculation Problems 104
    • The DEPENDSON( ) Function 105
  • Guard( ) Function Revisited 107
  • ShapeSheet Cell Types and Units 107
    • Internal Numeric Value versus Output Appearance 107
    • "Magic" X, Y Extraction 108
    • Assumed Units 108
  • Formula Change Tracking 108
  • XML Files Handy for Studying 109
  • From Here 109
• Chapter 10: Composite Shapes Using Groups 111
  • Group Structure 111
    • Group As Holder Only 111
    • Group As Shape With Sub-Shapes 112
    • Member Coordinate Space 113
  • Group Behavior Variants 114
    • Resize Behavior 114
    • Add On Drop, a Very Promising Feature 115
    • Controlling The Alignment Box 116
    • Controlling Formatting 116
  • A Composite Shape Example 117
    • Structure 117
    • Behavior 118
    • ShapeSheet 118
    • Editing The Structure With VBA Functions 120
    • Embellishments 123
    • Protection/Enablement Issues 124
    • Composite Shapes: Ready To Deploy? 124
  • Form-Style Text Behavior 125
    • Navigation 125
    • Text Clipping 126
  • From Here 126
• Chapter 11: Connectors, Routing and Layout 127
  • Plan of Attack 127
  • Connectors Using Ordinary ShapeSheet Features 128
    • 1-D Coordinate Space 128
    • Straight Connector 129
    • Curve Connector 130
    • Right Angle Connector 130
    • Shortcomings 131
    • Universal Connector 131
    • Further Caveats 134
    • Summary of Simple Connectors Implementation 134
  • Dynamic Layout Services 135
    • Overview of Dynamic Layout Services 135
    • Basic DLS Participation Eligibility: ObjType 136
    • Dynamic Layout Services Details 137
    • Routing 138
    • Connector "Appearance" 139
    • Line Jumps 139
    • Plowing 139
    • Layout 140
    • Dynamic "Walking" Glue 141
    • Page-level DLS Disable: DynamicsOff 141
  • Dynamic Connectors 141
    • Dynamic Connector Geometry 142
    • Implications For Geometry Dependents 142
    • Text Pin 143
    • Connection Points 143
    • Control Points 144
    • Enable/Disable Dynamic Connector Functionality 144
    • Some Dynamic Connector Developer Issues 144
  • Alternative Solutions to Fancy Routing 147
    • Comments 149
  • Dynamic Layout Performance Hints 149
  • Comparison of Connector Strategies 150
  • From Here 151
• Chapter 12: Glue and Connects 153
  • Orientation 153
  • What Glues to What 155
  • Glue In Action 155
    • Initialization 155
    • How Gluer Depends on Gluee 157
    • Control Point to Connection Point 157
    • Connector Endpoint to Connection Point 157
    • Connector to "Shape": Dynamic or "Walking" Glue 157
    • Various Parts to Guide Lines 158
    • Visio's Gendered, Directional Connection Points 158
  • Factors Affecting User Operation of Glue 161
    • Enhanced Snap and Glue Control in Visio 2002 161
    • Lock/Guard Glue Formulas 162
    • Connections To/From Group Member Shapes 163
  • Some Glue Issues 163
    • Dynamic Glue (_WALKGLUE) Issues 163
  • Connects Objects: Reporting On Connections 163
    • Connects Just Reports on Cells 164
    • Some Connections Report As Two Connect Objects 164
  • Other Notes 164
    • Temporary Connection Points 164
  • From Here 165
• Chapter 13: Formatting Via Masters and Styles 167
  • Mastering Master Concepts 168
    • Copying versus Inheritance 168
    • The Initial Master-Instance Relationship 168
    • Verifying Inheritance/Local Behavior 169
    • Creating and Removing Local Override Formulas 170
    • Severing Master-Shape Inheritance 170
  • Master Identity and Names 170
  • Styles-The Basics 170
    • Style "Attribute Sets": Three Sets of Cells 171
    • Style-to-Style Inheritance 172
  • Master and Style Inheritance, Together At Last 172
  • Inheritance Browser 174
  • Three "Sub-Style" Attribute-Sets Versus Overall "Style" 174
  • Applying a Style 174
  • Applying a Style Switches Inheritance For Entire Attribute-Set 175
  • Applying a Local Formula or Value to a Cell 175
  • Does "Apply Style" Beat Guard() and LockFormat? 175
  • Reverting a Section or Cell to Inheritance 176
  • Un-Applying a Style (Revert to Inheritance-from-Master) 176
  • Style Collisions 176
  • Style Philosophy and Application 177
    • Styles as Named Sets of Attribute-Values 177
    • Styles for Conveying Semantics 177
    • The Evil "Color Scheme" Add-On 177
  • Rethinking the Motivation 178
    • Bottom Line 179
  • Style Miscellany 179
    • Seemingly Superfluous Sections? 179
  • Some Development Implications 179
    • Incomplete Inheritance Visibility 179
    • The Need for Tools 180
  • From Here 180
• Chapter 14: Line and Fill Patterns and Line Ends 181
  • Relationship Between Pattern Masters and Instances 181
    • Parameters 182
  • Line Pattern and Line End Miscellany 183
    • Creating Unscaled Line-Ends 183
    • Line End Sizing Ratios 184
    • Line Pattern and Line End Positioning 185
    • Other Wrinkles 186
  • From Here 186
• Chapter 15: Layers 187
  • Orientation 187
  • Layer Structure And Behavior 188
    • A Page's Layers Versus the Layers Object 188
    • A Shape's Layer Membership 188
    • Adding/Deleting Layers 188
    • Assigning Shapes to Layers 188
  • Using Layers 189
    • Layers For Shape Data Attributes and Querying 189
    • Querying Made Feasible 190
  • Layer Control Tricks 191
  • From Here 191

Part 4: Building Visio Solutions 193

• Chapter 16: Building Solutions: Introduction 195
  • Overview 195
  • Alternative Solution Forms 196
  • Implications 198
    • Angle of Upcoming Solution Topics 199
  • Different Visio Roles, Different Forms of Solution 199
    • Visio for Rendering/Output 199
    • Visio for Information Capture 200
    • "Discipline-Specific Drawing Environment" 200
    • Discrete Operations on Drawing 201
    • Adding Intelligence to Shapes: "Shape Services" 201
    • Adding Intelligence to Drawings: Drawing-wide Semantics 201
    • Drawings as Views of Models 202
    • Visio as Control Panel 202
  • From Here 203
• Chapter 17: The "User Interface" Functionality 205
  • Orientation 205
    • Two User Interface Models to Choose From! 206
    • Study Sequence 206
  • Overview of UIObject-Based Object Model 207
    • Items 207
    • "Groups" of Items 207
    • "Sets" Handle "Context" 207
    • Extent of User Interface Data 209
    • Three "Levels" Of UI Customization 209
    • UIObjects: Messy Details 210
    • UIObject Browser: Completing the Picture 211
  • Overview of CommandBars-Based UI Object Model 211
    • Visio's Use of CommandBars 212
    • CommandBarControl Events 213
    • CommandBar Browser 214
    • Document-Specific CommandBars? 214
  • UIObjects and CommandBars, Together At Last 215
    • UIObject-Based Model to CommandBars 215
    • CommandBars to UIObject-Based Model 217
    • Implications for CommandBarControl Events 218
    • Usability of CommandBar Model 218
  • General UI Strategy Using the UIObject-Based Model 219
    • Constructing a Custom UI 219
    • Working With The Active UI 220
    • Persisting and Instating a Custom UI 221
    • Don't Forget ShapeSheet Actions Section! 223
  • Wrinkles 223
    • Potentially Confusing UIObject Names 223
    • Persistent Events on Most Visio Templates Causes UI Confusion 223
    • Disappearing Toolbar Items 224
  • Example UI Exercises 224
    • Adding UI Elements 224
    • Minimal UI 226
  • From Here 227
• Chapter 18: Events and Other Notifications 229
  • Overview 229
    • Several Different Event Mechanisms 229
    • Where To Put The Code? 231
    • Event Persistence 231
  • Notifications from ShapeSheet Activities 231
    • CALLTHIS 232
    • RUNADDON 233
    • RUNADDONWARGS 235
    • Dedicated Event Cells 235
  • Automation Events Overview 235
    • Spectrum of Events Exposed 236
    • Event Filters 236
  • Document Events 236
  • WithEvents Event Handling 237
    • WithEvents Overview 237
    • Code for WithEvents: Simple Case 238
    • "Forgetful" VBA? 239
    • Example With Model 239
    • Code for WithEvents: More Realistic Case, Using Class Module 239
    • Further Issues 242
  • Events Via EventList.Add and AddAdvise 243
    • Events Browser 244
  • EventList.Add 244
  • EventList.AddAdvise 246
    • Simple Event Sink Example 247
    • Event Sink with Forwarding 248
    • Persistence 249
    • AddAdvise Compared To WithEvents 249
    • EventList Interacts With WithEvents 249
    • Filters 250
  • Miscellaneous Issues 252
    • NoEventsPending versus VisioIsIdle 252
    • BeforeXXX Events 253
    • VB/VBA Issue With Signed Two-Byte EventCode Values 253
    • Event Support That Visio Lacks 254
  • From Here 254
• Chapter 19: VBA-Based Solutions 255
  • Overview 255
  • The Modules of a VBA Project 256
    • Cross-Project and ShapeSheet-to-Project References 259
    • Project Names 261
    • Be Aware of VBA Project Behavior Options! 261
    • Getting Rid of a VBA Project 262
  • Where To Put Solution Code 262
    • Put VBA Code In Stencil 263
    • Solution-In-Stencil Gotchas 264
  • Benefits and Drawbacks of VBA-Based Solutions 266
  • From Here 266
• Chapter 20: Visio Solution Library Solutions: VSLs and Addons 267
  • Overview of VSL Features 268
  • The VSL API 268
    • The Visio-to-VSL Conversation 269
  • Introducing the VBVSL_Adapter 270
    • Overview of VBVSL and Adapter 270
    • Minimal "VBVSL_Min" Example 271
    • IVBVSL Interface Details 271
    • Fulfilling the Needs of VBVSL.cls 274
  • Structure For More Complex VSLs 278
    • Breaking Down Functionality By Addon Or "Command"? 279
  • Installation, Registration and Uninstallation 280
    • VSL/Addon Registration With Visio 280
    • Visio.bin Utilities 281
    • VSL Unregistration 281
    • Additional VSL Installation Considerations 282
  • Summary of Benefits and Drawbacks to VSLs 282
    • Benefits 282
    • Drawbacks 283
  • From Here 283
• Chapter 21: Exe and Out-of-Process Solutions 285
  • Out-Of-Process Concerns 286
  • Integration With Visio 286
  • ReflectArgs Exe Example 287
  • Conclusions 289
  • From Here 289
• Chapter 22: COM Addin Solutions 291
  • COM Addins Overview 291
  • COM Addins In Visio 292
  • Conclusion 293
  • From Here 293
• Chapter 23: Solution Window Management 295
  • Out-of-Process vs. In-Process Windows 295
  • Default Visual Basic Form Behavior 296
  • Modal Form 296
  • Modeless Form 296
  • Coordinating modeless windows with Visio 296
  • Plain Desktop window 297
  • Plain MDI Child window 299
  • Anchor window 300
  • Stencil window 304
  • From Here 305
• Chapter 24: ShapeSheet Service Addons 307
  • Event Lifetimes and "ShapeSheet Services" 307
    • ShapeSheet Services Pattern 308
    • Demo ShapeSheet Services Sample 308
    • Main ShapeSheet Services Concepts 309
  • "Demo ShapeSheet Services" Sample 309
    • I-Am-Selected Service 310
    • Supporting Utility Functions 313
    • Connect Count Service 314
    • Navigation Keys Service 315
    • Further Notes on Demo ShapeSheet Services Sample 316
  • Conclusions 317
  • From Here 317
• Chapter 25: Visio and XML 319
  • Visio 2002's XML Features 319
  • Making Sense of XML 320
    • What XML Looks Like 320
    • It's A Document, No Wait, It's A Database, No Wait... 321
    • MSXML 321
    • XSL and XSLT 322
    • Schemas 322
    • Namespaces 323
  • Hands-On "XML for Visio" 324
    • Studying VDXs To Learn Visio Structure 324
    • "XML for Visio" for Hard-to-Fix Fixups 325
    • SolutionXML Examples 325
  • Processing "XML for Visio" Files 328
    • Ideas 328
    • Using MSXML to Iterate Through All Nodes 329
    • View 329
    • Change: Re-Mastering Shapes 331
    • Let MSXML Do The Walking: XSL Patterns and XPath 331
    • Visio XML Straight To HTML, in Code 332
    • Visio XML Straight To HTML, in Browser 333
    • Wrinkles 334
  • Generating XML for Visio 335
  • From Here 338
• Chapter 26: Visio and ActiveX 339
  • Using Ordinary ActiveX Controls in a Visio Document 339
    • Dynamically Adding ActiveX Controls to Drawing 340
  • Documents Linked/Embedded In Visio 341
  • Visio ActiveX Control? Not Quite: Visio Embedded 342
    • WebBrowser-Based Demo 342
  • Accessing Visio from Within an "ActiveX Shape" 344
    • AXShape Sample 345
  • From Here 347
• Chapter 27: Common Solution Techniques 349
  • Drag And Drop to/from Solution Windows 349
    • Drag And Drop Demo 350
  • Persisting Solution Data 355
    • Text In Cell 355
    • XML 355
    • VisXData and IStorage 355
    • When to Persist 357
  • Undo 357
    • Undo Sample VBA 358
  • Bitmap Import and Export with Visio 359
  • Internationalization: Universal versus Local Names 360
  • Document Protection 361
  • Paths and Curves 361
  • Registry 362
  • Version Info 362
  • From Here 364

Part 5: Browsable Reference to Visio Structure 365

• Chapter 28: ShapeSheet Section-Row-Cell Structure 367
  • Reading The Tables 367
    • Constants 367
    • Finding The Section Of Interest 368
• Chapter 29: ShapeSheet Functions 387
• Chapter 30: Visio Objects, Properties and Methods 395
  • Object/Property/Method Table Organization 395
  • Object Summary Table 398
    • COM-Related Columns 398
    • Event DispInterfaces 398
• Chapter 31: Events Table 459

Index 463

Article Created: 2001-07-01  Last edit: Last edit: 01-07-26 Graham Wideman Go to:  DiagramAntics.com