Rotating smart text on a shape

[David_H]

I have some shapes which have two different types of text on them, for instant when you drop it onto the drawing one text block is descriptive and another is "smart" text that is based on data.  I can rotate the descriptive text using the rotate text tool but not the smart text which is separate item off to the side.  I did not create these shapes and am not familiar with editing shapes except in a cursory fashion.  Where would I go to be able to make the second text block rotatable?

Thank You

[aledlund]

sounds like your 'smart shape' is really a datagraphic (DG), and I don't believe that it has a text handle (due to the fact that it is designed to group with other DG items)
al

[Jumpy]

Perhaps you could upload the shape in question...

[David_H]

Thanks both of you.  Great idea!  Here is one of the stencils.  Take a look at the phone icon as an example.  I can rotate the text inside of the icon, but I want to be able to rotate the text outside of it.  This stencil works with an add-on program that generates data, I assume if you don't have the program the text will display as "component ID" or something like that.

<attachment removed by Paul Herber, shape is a commercial product>

[aledlund]

in the user section, there is a solution id

"DTools.SystemIntegrator.5.0"

which would lead me to believe that these shapes are part of a commercial package.  There support is over here

http://support.d-tools.com/SI5

al

[David_H]

lol, I know they are part of a commercial package, just as Visio is, one which I paid for, and even have a support contract with.  However asking their support this question would not be appropriate, it's not their responsibility to spend time teaching me how to customize Visio shapes.  Hence the reason I preferred to first ask here where there are a lot of Visio experts.  Depending on the answer I may do it myself, or choose to pay someone to do it.

[aledlund]

David,
There's an exposure to Chris when you post parts of third-party products on his site. I looked at the shape and there are two text handles in the shapesheet (they are in the controls section). The Text box on the right side of the shape can be examined if Visio is in developer mode and you drill down using the drawing explorer. You will find that it has been designed to not be alterable by using standard (menu bar) tools. The more significant shapesheet cells have all been 'guarded'.
hth,
al

[Visio Guy]

No worries about the upload (which was removed--thanks for watching out for me, Mods!), I know what David is talking about, since I made the shapes for DTools.

The DTools shapes have special subshapes that have callouts and text blocks for showing additional text and positioning the blocks via control handles. I can't remember exactly how the SI works, but I think these callout-shapes are applied to many of the DTools shapes, so you'd have to change a lot of them. They aren't easily edited, and they contain many protected ShapeSheet formulas, so editing via Visio UI tools isn't really an option.

Are these shapes that you've customized from built-in DTools shapes (ie: loaded your own images or graphics?) What do you want the text to do? Always stay level? Perhaps we could arrange for me to create custom set of shapes for you?

Another option would be to use the special callouts that come with Visio. Go to: More Shapes > Visio Extras > Callouts stencil. At the bottom of the stencil are three master: Custom Callout 1, 2 and 3. These shapes can pick up and display the shape data (data fields) stored in a shape. Might be an easy work around.

[aledlund]

 

[David_H]

Thanks everyone.  FYI, I'm very aware of just uploading something that was paid for, the only reason I uploaded this (single) stencil is that on its own I think it would be pretty useless, and in fact I think the developer (not D-Tools but a 3rd party) also gave this one out for free as a sample (I also bought the entire collection).

Anyhow, to answer your question Chris, the problem with the shapes is normally on a blueprint drawing you want the text for things to always be oriented so that it can be read without twisting the blueprint around.  But using the phone shape as an example, if you orient the phone icon so that the vertex of the triangle is facing right or left, than the text is oriented vertically.  I will check out your workaround but I prefer for this to all be automatic so I'll probably be interesting in talking to you about modifying the shapes for me.