Group details, efficiency and speed

[qholmes]

I use Visio for system layout design so a large number of my shapes are custom. I import from AutoCAD and adjust layers etc and them group it and add it to a Stencil. It works quite well.
But some shapes are quite slow when you are nudging them around.
I do my best to optimize the shapes and reduce the amount of individual lines contained in them. There is no way to get a count of how many entities are included in a group or even selected is there?
Anything else that makes it slow? Some just seem to be slow for no reason. Although I am going to ungroup a bunch right now to look at them in more detail.
Is it better to have a long line made of different segments than a bunch of individual segments?

No way to increase the nudge amount I don't think?

I learned the drag trick where you wait for a second for it to create the drag preview. That helps with the more complex shapes I have.

I have not managed to get the shapes to snap to a line I have on a main track shape.. ideas there? Basically I have a track system with equipment along it on both sides where items travel along and visit different stations.

Are there easy ways to create a system that checks if two types or more are overlapped? Some electrical boxes can not be across from each other so I would like to flag that if possible. The same for Clearance areas around equipment can not overlap the main shape of another instrument.

If anyone has any ideas on these things I would be very appreciative.

Thanks

Q

[qholmes]

I just realized that I can list the number of objects in the Layer Properties.. So the mystery is that my object with 165 objects moves more efficiently than my object that has 75?
Curves or something? It has fillets from AutoCAD. I will try deleting.

Q

[Surrogate]

What version of visio are you using?

[qholmes]

2010.. I am not sure if my company will be upgrading it soon or not. Huge company.. slow upgrading policy.

I played with the groups yesterday. I ungrouped the first one that was slow to try things.. but I realized after a while that I could not just see if selected sets of shapes move fast with the arrow keys.. If you select a group of shapes and group them they move faster than just moving ungrouped.. which makes the whole process a longer trial and error. I was wondering if transparent over transparent was causing some kind of calculation overhead. I will try that with grouping them because it did not make a difference ungrouped.. then I learned about the grouping making it faster.

did that make any sense..

Q

[wapperdude]

For lines with multiple, individual segments, try the shape operation join.  That will convert multiple shapes into a single, complex shape.  But that will definitely drop the shape count.  Grouping may help Visio slightly, but in reality, it adds a shape, the group shape.  Joining should be more effective/efficient.

As far as overlapping, that takes code.  It is not something which can be done in the shapesheet.  Spatialelations, or something like that.

As far as far as boxes not across from each other, that also takes code.  The code can be reasonably simple or quite complex depending upon simplicity.
Simple:  place these in a common layer, select one, compare position, do something to flag shapes that violate.
Complex:  automatically disallow drag n drop placement which violates the rule.

Wapperdude

[qholmes]

Thanks. I have added the Join and other shape commands to my ribbon.. did not know they existed. I will give it a try.

Why when I add 1 with no units to the location of a shape does it convert it from Inches to 25.4 mm.. everything is in Metric and mm.. But when I Add 1 it assumes inches and converts it for me.

I create a new page layout in Metric and use Metric stencils and yet it still assumes inches as the default unit if I do not specify one?

Q

[qholmes]

Wow the join works awesome!!!! Easy to do and so fast now.. thanks!!!!!

Now.. Is there a way to select a few things and move them up by 500.. and still keep their relative positions in tact? If I do it they all center themselves.. unless I create  temp group and move that.

Thanks

Q

[wapperdude]

I create a new page layout in Metric and use Metric stencils and yet it still assumes inches as the default unit if I do not specify one?

Visio default internal units are inches.

Is there a way to select a few things.. and still keep their relative positions ...they all center themselves

Confused.    What are you doing?   Normal shape selection and moving does preserve relative position and does not center align.

Wapperdude

[qholmes]

Strange you can not set the default unit..

For the move.... if I select 5 things and use the Size/position panel to add 500 to the Y it then sets all the selected shapes to the new computed number..

When I am editing my shapes I like to move the stuff I don't want to change up out of the way while I edit the rest of it... but I have to do one at a time.

Unless there is another way to do a relative move?

Hmm I could probably turn off their layers maybe. Instead of moving them.

Thanks

Q

[Yacine]

1) if a number is interpreted as lenght, Visio assumes it's in inches. 1 == 1 in. But you can all the same type 1 mm and you'll get 1 mm.
2) if you select several shapes and set their Y coordinates to a number they'll all get this number as their new coordinate.
You need to group them first, them move the group.
You may also want to try my CAD-move tool in the attachment.

Rgds,
Y.

[qholmes]

Great thanks I will try your tool.. exactly what I was thinking.
I have scripted in the past and a few little things in visio but not much.

Q