Remove Unused Master Shapes from a Visio File w/o Opening

[joe31623]

Version I'm using: 2010; Version I'd like the solution in: 2013 or later

I finally resolved a longstanding issue I've seen others struggle with and I'd like to create a solution that works with later versions of Visio, but the solution I have will only work in the intermediate-term, not the long-term.  First, I'll clearly describe the problem and then I'll describe a solution I'd like to use that runs VBA content from a Visio 2013 file.

-Problem: Opening a Visio file in a version later than 2010 caused it to crash.

-What Caused the Problem: files were modified and modified again (possibly dozens of times) that resulted in thousands of kilobytes worth of unused master shapes being attached to a .vsd file.
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-A Solution to the problem: Open in Visio 2010, Remove Unused Master Shapes by clicking: File->(on Ribbon on the Left, select Info)Reduce File Size->Check "Remove Unused Master Shapes"->Click "OK"
-A Potential Problem Using This Solution: Visio 2010 required
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Now that is understood, here is my question: How can I use Visio 2013 (or later) to remove unused master shapes from a file that crashes when opened using the normal GUI? 

Note: I am very familiar with VBA but most of what I've done has used Excel, Word, and Access.  Since files I want to operate on crash when opened the normal way, I believe the following code must be modified, by either opening a .vsd file without loading any/unused master shapes, opening it in the background(?), or operating on a file without opening it(?). 

I see you can open a file read-only and "docked", but I'm not sure what "docked" means, per https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc160753.aspx

I found the following code, which I believe requires you to have the file open:

Code

' Loop through each master then check across pages to see if it is used
 index = vsoDocument.Masters.count
 While index > 0
     bMasterUsed = False
     Set oMaster = vsoDocument.Masters.Item(index)

     For Each oPage In vsoDocument.Pages
         For Each oShape In oPage.Shapes
             If oMaster.Name = oShape.Name Then
                 bMasterUsed = True
             End If
         Next
     Next

 ' if Not used delete it from the document stencil
     If bMasterUsed = False Then
         oMaster.Delete
     End If
     index = index - 1
 Wend 

Can someone please help me with a nudge in the right direction by pointing me to a set of objects & methods or modify the above code to operate on another file (for simplicity, the file name can be stored in a string and the file can be in the same directory as where the code runs -- I can take it from there to operate on hundreds of files in hundreds of directories).  That is, if it's possible...

Thanks in Advance,

Joe

[wapperdude]

Don't think you can cleanup the file without opening it.  I'm sure a script file could be written to search directories for Visio files, then open with V2010, clean the file, save and close.

Is it only large files that are the problem?  I would think not every file needs to be purged.

Alternatively, open V2010, run a similar vba file that could search for Visio files, then open, clean, and save.  See this, https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ff765240.aspx

As for "cleanup" code, see this from David Parker, https://blog.bvisual.net/2015/01/07/cleaning-visio-documents/

Wapperdude

[mlussier]

Anyone did this in C# ?
I have this line in my code but it doesn't clean anything, but if I do it manually it cleans the unused document stencil. I really need to do it because we modify the master almost everyday.

Code

VisioHelper.GetActiveWindow().Document.RemoveHiddenInformation((int)Visio.VisRemoveHiddenInfoItems.visRHIMasters + (int)Visio.VisRemoveHiddenInfoItems.visRHIStyles);

Any help would be appreciate. Thanks

[vseven]

Anyone did this in C# ?
I have this line in my code but it doesn't clean anything, but if I do it manually it cleans the unused document stencil. I really need to do it because we modify the master almost everyday.

Code

VisioHelper.GetActiveWindow().Document.RemoveHiddenInformation((int)Visio.VisRemoveHiddenInfoItems.visRHIMasters + (int)Visio.VisRemoveHiddenInfoItems.visRHIStyles);

Any help would be appreciate. Thanks

Not sure if this is super helpful at this point 6 months later but I did combine a couple scripts including the one above into a single script to open a .vsd file, remove personal info, remove unused stencils, then save as a vsdx.  Saved me a ton of time scripting it and reduced the file size on average 60% across thousands of files.   Its posted on my blog:  http://allandynes.com/2018/05/batch-converting-visio-vsd-files-to-vsdx/   Might not help the OP since you have to open the files but it might help you.