Connecting Layers

[meppinger]

I am building electrical schematics. My desire is to on one layer have representations of individual components while on another layer have the electrical schematic symbol for those components. I want to make it so when I drag the picture of a component, it automatically places the symbol underneath. I have already created a new template with the picture representations I want in their own stencils. I also know how to assign layers to shapes. The part I don't know is making Visio automatically drag the symbol shape when I drag the representation shape.

I'm working in Visio 2007. Is this possible to do?

[Jumpy]

I think yes, but the way you plan to go sounds very complicated. Some heavy lifting in VBA.
I would suggest another solution (just using "ShapeSheet-magic"), as you already created your own stencil with the shapes you need. Now I would just join the two versions of a shape in one. Therefore:

- Give the page a new user.defined cell (for example: User.SchemVisible)
- Give it the value "true" for starters
- Define some mechanism, to toggle that value between false and true,
  you could use: Actions (=right-click-menu), Doubleclick-Event, ShapeData,...

- Take a shape and take it's shematic representaion shape.
- Place one above the other.
- Group both shapes.
- Give the group a new user.defined cell (for example: User.SchemVisible)
- Place a formula in it, to look at the same cell on page level: "=ThePage!User.SchemVisible"
- Look at and remember the name of the group, for example Sheet.123
- Select the group, select the schematic shape inside the group and in it's geometry section in the NoShow cell and in the misc-section in the HideText-cell enter a formula like "=not Sheet.123!User.SchemVisible"
- Select the other Shape in the group and in the afore mentioned cells enter a slightly different formula: "=Sheet.123!User.SchemVisible"
- Place the group as your new shape in the stencil, give it a name and a picture

-Repeat steps 4-12 for every Shape needed.
-You now can switch between "views" on page level using the mechanism created in step 3

- Eventually you have to think about how you place the two shapes inside the group and if you can somehow adjust their connection points to each other. As you will make electrical schematics, you surly want to connect the shapes with connectors (=wire-shapes or sth. like that). Therefore you have to think about what happens to your connectors if you change from "schematic view" to "real shape view". Are the still attached or do they seem to stop in front of a shape.

[meppinger]

Thank you for this advice