Is it possible to make a shape master, based on an icon, data graphics and a rectangle (to fit around everything), that works properly with linked data?
I'm reading-up on callouts, shapes, groups, data graphics, etc., but I don't want to find I'm trying something "impossible" in Visio.
Basically, I'd like to create my own master in Visio that connects to my "linked data" (Excel), with each instance resizing itself (the rectangle in the master), based on the data in the corresponding row. I'll need to individually link rows of external data with instances of the master, but I'd like the shape smart enough to resize itself based on the text.
I'm dealing with a set of diagrams (Visio files) with 400+ IT Systems, and I want to keep information about the 400+ IT Systems in Excel, and have a shape smart enough to display information for the "linked row", and change it's size (external rectangle) based on text displayed. Essentially, I'm trying to build a "poor-man's EA tool" for data-flow diagrams, where Excel is used as the central "Repository". The documents I inherited require that everything is updated manually, with no "smart shapes" involved.
Right now, I'm wondering if masters related to this are limited to individual "callout masters" used to manually setup data graphics, or if I can have a smart master that contains multiple callouts, and plays nice with my Excel file...