Is there a way apply the same change to multiple shape instances?

[healthNut]

I have multiple instances of a shape on a document as well as multiple documents.
Currently, I have to go in each shape to make the same change.
Is there a way to make a change, like to the master shape and have it apply to all instances?

Thanks ahead.

[JohnGoldsmith]

If you've just changed values in some cells in the instances then this will have made those values local to each shape instance and so any changes you make to the same master cells will have no effect.  In order to 're-inherit' the master cell formula you can set the instance formula to "=" and you should see the master formula appear in the instance once more.  You can then make changes to the master shape and any instances that inherit from the changed cell will be reflected in the instance.

To change the instance formulas to "=", you can either do this manually in the ShapeSheet or via code if you have a large number of cells to process.

If you want an example of the code option there's a ResetInheritance procedure at the bottom of this post:

http://visualsignals.typepad.co.uk/vislog/2007/11/looping-through.html

Also you might find this post interesting as well:

http://visualsignals.typepad.co.uk/vislog/2013/11/making-use-of-master-inheritance-in-visio.html

Hope that helps.

Best regards

John