Re-using information

[mdavies]

I am currently using Visio to document the processes within our company. I have added fields to the shapes. I want to perform calculations on those fields. To do this I use Excel. However, if a field value changes in Visio I have to manually change it in Excel. Does anyone know of a solution for this? How can I centralize the information for both applications? Is anyone else in the same situation?

[Jumpy]

If you have a Visio Professional Version you can use the Datalink feature to link shapes with ShapeData to rows in an Excel sheet. You could than use Excel as the leading system and change values there. Visio will display the changes next time you open it or after a datalink refresh.

Or you forget about Excel and do the calculations in Visio, too, if possible.

[Rick Kachur]

Jumpy,

  I will give this process a shot and let you know what happened.

Thanks,

Rick

[mdavies]

It would be great if I could update the data from both applications and have it update everywhere. So update values in excel which then appear in the Visio drawing. But on the other hand, update values in Visio and have them update in the Excel sheet.

[Jumpy]

Ok than maybe the Datalink feature is not enough. There's afaik sth. like a database wizard that links a Database to Visio's Database visualisation tools. Maybe you can use that? Otherwise you have to write your own customized code for this.

Nevertheless I would srtongly suggest to only alter one aspect and update the other. It's always easier if you only have one leading system. Otherwise you would need a version control to see, which document is the more recent one that updates the other.