I'm sure you've already heard of D3.js and Tableau
https://github.com/d3/d3/wiki/Gallery (https://github.com/d3/d3/wiki/Gallery)
https://bl.ocks.org/mbostock
https://public.tableau.com/en-us/s/gallery (https://public.tableau.com/en-us/s/gallery)
Currently Visio must hide behind these two products. But why?
Data connectivity, API, automation? It's all available.
I'd say, it's only missing a spark to get it started.
If someone were to try to copy their functionality, what would be the features / functionality / ease-of-use that you would ask for?
How would you like to use the tool?
What would you see as pros and cons of such a project?
See the price. I saw it takes just 5 times of Visio for professional for Office 365.
I cannot afford to buy.
... So this is the second post to the subject.
Except Junichi-San who answered that the products are too expensive, no one replied to my post. I blame it on myself for not having been able to explain properly my intention.
If you look at D3.js – D3 stands for Data Driven Documents – you should, like myself – get envious of the product and ask yourself, why Visio whose most important feature, is its capability to handle data, is not capable of producing such beautiful charts, diagrams and graphics.
If I would been asked to guess, I'd say that Microsoft has other priorities and goals. The target market are big companies which need and can afford Sharepoint. How pity Visio does not belong to a small company, nor is it opensource.
Anyway, I think that the key for getting a reasonable comfortable charting solution is to provide the developers a solid framework, from where they can start writing their own diagramming routines.
Having the idea launched, improving the core framework should only be a matter of enthusiasm (brilliancy can be expected, considering Visguy's forum team ;) ).
What next? I built up a framework as proof of concept.
The focus lay on setting up the structure as generic as possible.
Accuracy and number of features being clearly a domain of the later application.
As language I chose VBA – not that much because of my personal preferences, but to enable any Visio user to write his own drawing modules.
I would have preferred to have one generic stencil, containing the basic routines and to put the actual drawing modules in separate stencils. I unfortunately did not manage to call routines between stencils without setting references, which caused more problems. So for the moment both the core and the application modules are in the same stencil. May be I can correct this later.
As data sources, I implemented already DataRecordsets, but the vision is to have all imaginable sources (Connection strings, files, etc.).
The explanation of the structure and the features are shown in the enclosed VSD – not VSDX to let the V2003 and V2007 fraction participate.
My wish is to get honest critics, suggestions to improve the core structure and feature requests. Especially regarding functions similar to those of the big players - d3js and tableau (ease of use, complexity, interactivity, ...).
Best regards,
Y.
.
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Polar coordinates and a colour management system.
and the stencil with the actual tool...
and data samples
Your development is quite impressive. Certainly amps up Visio's applicability.
You've put in quite a bit of thought and effort. I suspect it needs a bigger (and deserves) arena than what the forum provides.
Cheers.
Wapperdude
Thank you Wapperdude,
we may be a small group, but I don't know any better one.
I'll certainly stay here with this project.
Cheers,
Y.