Custom Swimlane

Started by VisioDeveloper, January 27, 2016, 05:55:31 PM

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VisioDeveloper

Following JohnGoldsmith advice i'm creating a new thread so the other one doesn't get filled with too many questions/issues.  :)

So I need to create a custom swimlane. With the default Visio options i can almost get it right, but with some issues.

It should look like this:



The first problem i'm having is how to get the Title and Functions to appear on both sides of the swimlane. There's an option to choose left or right but i can't find any option for both. Can i achieve this through the shapesheet? Or do i have to create a custom solution?

Second issue is how can i get the design exactly like in the picture. I'm pretty close but i'm still not sure how can i achieve the white separator between lanes and all the borders without fill.

And my last problem is maintaining this design when adding lanes. I've looked at themes but if i'm not mistaken this applies to the whole document? Not sure if it's possible to create a theme that only applies to my custom swimlane.

Thanks.

SubPlanner

Are you trying to create timelines ?

SubPlanner

VisioDeveloper

Quote from: SubPlanner on January 27, 2016, 07:27:53 PM
Are you trying to create timelines ?

SubPlanner

nope, just a business process

JohnGoldsmith

#3
Quote from: VisioDeveloper on January 27, 2016, 05:55:31 PM
Following JohnGoldsmith advice i'm creating a new thread so the other one doesn't get filled with too many questions/issues.  :)

Excellent idea :)

Are you using the builtin Cross Functional Flowchart template (or at least modifying it)?

Assuming that's the case, then there's a few things that are worth thinking about. 

1) this template makes heavy use of structured diagramming types such as containers and lists.  It also makes use of an Addon that supports things in the background.  My first approach would be to try and work with the addon and existing shapes where possible.  I would start with a copy of the respective template and stencils and then modify the masters from there.

2) for the second Function label, you'd need to add a second sub shape, increase the heading styles count (User.msvSDContainerStyleCount) and then set the formulas in the new shape to correspond to the way you want it to appear for your new index.

3) for the white line divider, if you have a look at the SwimlaneList shape you'll find a cell (User.msvSDListSpacing) that control the gap between the list items (Swimlanes).  Adjusting this should get you what you're after (post drop, or reorder - you won't see it change immediately).

4) themes - themes generally do apply to the whole page but you can also set them at shape level (and therefore master) as well.  If you want to tweak a particular cell and then Guard it using ThemeGuard or lock done the whole shape using the protection section you're absolutely free to do that.  if you're interested in more theming details I've written a few posts that might be worth wading through:
Best regards

John
John Goldsmith - Visio MVP
http://visualsignals.typepad.co.uk/

VisioDeveloper

#4
I'm having a really hard time just trying to add anything to the container. I've made a copy of the stencil with the swimlance and started working on it but it seems like i really can't do much. I'm using the BPMN pool/lane shape.

So far there are a couple of problems:

- When editing the master, no matter what shape i add to it (not even inside the container) the "cross-functional flowchart" addon is disabled (greyed out)

- I have no idea how to add a new shape inside the swimlane. So far i've tried to ungroup the shape and make another copy the "function" part but that didn't work. Even worse, i'm not even able to regroup the shapes after i ungroup them, even if i don't make any changes.

I'm not sure if what i'm trying to achieve requires a substancial amount of effort. I thought it would simply be a question of creating a copy of the "function" and "title" parts and adjusting the formulas accordingly. If it's not as straightforward as this i think i'll just abandon the idea for now and focus simply on the theme.

Edit: It seems like i can't even add the pool/lane master to my custom stencil. It appears on the document stencil but not on the stencil. Tried it with another BPMN shape (message) and the same thing happens.

JohnGoldsmith

#5
Hi,

I think what you're trying to do is certainly at the more advanced end of the Visio skills spectrum, so I guess if you could live without editing the masters you will save yourself some work.

That said, I've just tried this and I can copy the stencil (XFUNC_M.VSSX) and template (XFUNC_M.VSTX) from the builtin content (C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\Visio Content\1033 on my machine) to a new folder on my Desktop.  I can then double click the template and create a new drawing and all of the cross functional flowchart addon functionality continues to perform as expected.

You can rename the template as you wish but it looks like the addon requires a stencil named 'XFUNC_M.VSSX', where 'M' is metric (but could be 'U' for US units).  If you store the stencil (with that name) in the same folder as the template then the Visio will locate your version rather than the builtin one.

[You should make sure the the template workspace is saved with your stencil.  Open the template as original (see image), close the cross functional template stencil and then open it again using 'More shapes' (navigating to the same folder location as the template).  you can then save the template once more and this will ensure it's your new copy stencil and not the builtin one.]

Are you able to get to this stage?

If you have / can, you're now in a situation where you've got an alternative copy of the stencil and template and you can begin to edit your masters.  The template carries a single persistent event - DocCreated.  The addon appears to listen for this and drops the new default shapes onto the page (it also adds a new persistent event (DocOpened) to the new drawing).

So ultimately you'll want to open your main stencil and make changes to the Swimlane master there, but first of all I would start by working with the local swimlane master in the document stencil in a standard drawing to get the behaviour you're after.  If you get problems then I would post that document and then I or others can take a look.

To come back to your point about the effort required, then, yes, I agree that it will require a reasonable amount of time.  The benefit of using and working with the cross functional flowchart template and addon is that you'll get all of that functionality for free at the cost of the time required to integrate your changes.

Anyway, see if you can get a working copy of the stencil and template running and then we can move on to solving the master editing problem.

Hope that's helpful.

Best regards

John
John Goldsmith - Visio MVP
http://visualsignals.typepad.co.uk/

JohnGoldsmith

#6
Quote from: JohnGoldsmith on February 02, 2016, 11:02:34 AM

[You should make sure the the template workspace is saved with your stencil.  Open the template as original (see image), close the cross functional template stencil and then open it again using 'More shapes' (navigating to the same folder location as the template).  you can then save the template once more and this will ensure it's your new copy stencil and not the builtin one.]


sorry, just amended my answer...meant to be 'stencil' not 'template'.

Best regards

John
John Goldsmith - Visio MVP
http://visualsignals.typepad.co.uk/

VisioDeveloper

Sorry for the delay in my response, I've been busy with other features since this is not my biggest priority right now.

Quote from: JohnGoldsmith on February 02, 2016, 11:02:34 AM
Hi,

I think what you're trying to do is certainly at the more advanced end of the Visio skills spectrum, so I guess if you could live without editing the masters you will save yourself some work.

That said, I've just tried this and I can copy the stencil (XFUNC_M.VSSX) and template (XFUNC_M.VSTX) from the builtin content (C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\Visio Content\1033 on my machine) to a new folder on my Desktop.  I can then double click the template and create a new drawing and all of the cross functional flowchart addon functionality continues to perform as expected.

You can rename the template as you wish but it looks like the addon requires a stencil named 'XFUNC_M.VSSX', where 'M' is metric (but could be 'U' for US units).  If you store the stencil (with that name) in the same folder as the template then the Visio will locate your version rather than the builtin one.

[You should make sure the the template workspace is saved with your stencil.  Open the template as original (see image), close the cross functional template stencil and then open it again using 'More shapes' (navigating to the same folder location as the template).  you can then save the template once more and this will ensure it's your new copy stencil and not the builtin one.]

Are you able to get to this stage?

If you have / can, you're now in a situation where you've got an alternative copy of the stencil and template and you can begin to edit your masters.  The template carries a single persistent event - DocCreated.  The addon appears to listen for this and drops the new default shapes onto the page (it also adds a new persistent event (DocOpened) to the new drawing).

So ultimately you'll want to open your main stencil and make changes to the Swimlane master there, but first of all I would start by working with the local swimlane master in the document stencil in a standard drawing to get the behaviour you're after.  If you get problems then I would post that document and then I or others can take a look.

To come back to your point about the effort required, then, yes, I agree that it will require a reasonable amount of time.  The benefit of using and working with the cross functional flowchart template and addon is that you'll get all of that functionality for free at the cost of the time required to integrate your changes.

Anyway, see if you can get a working copy of the stencil and template running and then we can move on to solving the master editing problem.

Hope that's helpful.

Best regards

John

Just copied the template/stencil and can confirm that it works. So let's begin by just adding the Title and Function parts to both sides of the lane. How can i achieve this? It seems like every time i try to modify the swimlane, the cross functional flowchart addon gets disabled. I've even tried just adding a shape on top of the master and it still gets disabled.


JohnGoldsmith

If a master contains multiple (ungrouped) shapes then it will automatically group them on drop.  This means that the Shape Data and User cells that were previously in the the top level shape are now in a sub-shape of the 'new' group shape.

So you have to open the master and then open the group shape that you find there - once you've added your new sub-shape you can then close the group window (not the master) and carry on editing the sub-shapes as required.  Note that, just as the drawing window has a Drawing Explorer, you'll also find a Master Explorer (via the Developer tab) that does the same thing.
John Goldsmith - Visio MVP
http://visualsignals.typepad.co.uk/