Exported to database, but impossible to re-import!

[namtip]

I have used the 'Export to database' tool under add-ons to create a table in MS Access showing all properties of all shapes of my flowchart (Original Flowchart.png).  These properties include position coordinates, sizing, rotations, text lables etc. etc.

How can I do the reverse?  How can I import this table back into a blank Visio project so that it 'regenerates' the original flowchart from the exported data?

All the info should be there that it needs to do this, but I just cannot find a way.  If I use any of the import functions from the ribbon, I end up with an 'External Data Window'  But when I drag this on to the page (with or without linked data), it ignores all the positioning and sizing information that was originally exported (Re-imported.png).

Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks!

Colin.

[Yacine]

That import/export thing does only handle the data of the shapes, not the whole diagram.
Theoretically you can do that with (a lot of) code, but that is not that easy.

Why do you want to re-create the drawing? Are you expecting some automated diagram creation?

[namtip]

Thanks for the reply Yacine.  I just can't understand why Visio provides the functionality to export a diagram as this data, yet not provide the functionality to import it to reconstruct a diagram!  It's the first time I've ever used Visio, and to be bumping my head on the ceiling this quickly is frustrating.

If code is the only way to do that, then I would consider that.  Do you mean VBA?  I am very comfortable with complex VBA in an Access database, but would need some kind of example to get me started in Visio.  Maybe I'll look at this next.

The reason I want to do this is because our organisation has hundreds of separate Visio flowcharts that document our processes, all written by different people at different times.  I wanted a global way of normalising the data and being able to change global attributes.  I also wanted to be able to generate standardised flowcharts via Access (or Excel in a pinch) that all had a uniform format, and I was hoping that Visio would act as a rendering engine for this if I could only pipe in the data in a format it understood.

[Yacine]

VBA and Access is definitely a big plus.
But let's go one step back. Visio can generate "some" diagrams from data.
Tell us more about your application case and may be upload some anonymized data and diagram.

[wapperdude]

Also, reference this article:  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-data-visualizer-diagram-17211b46-d144-4ca2-9ea7-b0f48f0ae0a6