Automatically Number & Connect Shapes – With Code!

Do you need to number shapes automatically? Do you need to connect shapes in the order that they are numbered?

If you are developing an automated, graphical solution on top of Visio, you might face these requirements. This article and accompanying download will help you to meet them.

Or if you just want tools for step-numbering and ordered connecting, you might be able to modify and extend the VBA code contained in today’s download to help you get the job done.

Fellow Microsoft MVP Dave Edson sent me another example of how you can programmatically deal with Visio shapes and the connections between them. Dave’s demos are regularly polished and “ready to ship”, but in today’s case, I couldn’t help tweaking and adding features.  So today’s article is a joint effort, but it is Dave’s fault:)

Connect Numbered Visio Shapes in Order

The point of the demo is to connect shapes in the order that they are numbered. The Visio document in the download at the end of the article contains a special Step Bubble master shape that has a Shape Data field called Step Number. Step Number is the index that you need to change in order to set the order of the shapes.

Once you’ve got shapes on the page, the code will analyze the shapes’ step numbers, then connect the shapes in the proper order.

Dave did the shape and connection code, and I added a button to automatically place and number shapes, another one to connect them, and some visual aids to the shapes to help you see (and check) that the code did the job correctly.

These ease-of-use features allow you to set up the demo-environment more quickly, but are no excuse for not digging into the ShapeSheet behind the Step Bubble, or looking into the VBA code stored in the document.

Adding Numbered Shapes

First we need shapes with indices, otherwise there will be nothing to connect!

If you manually drag a Step Bubble master from the Document Stencil into the drawing page, you will be presented with a pop-up dialog that allows you to set the Step Number for the shape:

click to view larger image

The connect code will then try to follow your shapes in order of their step numbers. But if you don’t feel like individually numbering all of your shapes, just click the button at the bottom-left of the page.

When you click the 1. Add Step Bubbles button, the VBA code stored in the document will automatically drop a step shape onto a random spot on the page, and set the shape with the next available step number, automatically!

Note: The drawing contains VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) code that your Visio security settings may prevent from running. If you are not familiar with VBA macros, please read:  VBA Macro Security. It will help you to understand in-document macros, related security issues, and how to allow them to run when they come from trusted sources.

Connecting the Shapes

Now that your page is full of numbered, just click the second button: 2. Connect Step Bubbles.

Your shapes will be connected in the order of their Step Number properties. I’ve added numbers to the connectors, so you can see which were drawn first, which were drawn last. Also, the connectors have different line ends to show direction: white circle at the beginning, double-black arrowhead at the end.

click to view larger image

Digging In to the Code

The quickest way into a Visio document’s VBA project is via: Alt + F11. Once you’re there, I thought I’d point out some of the more interesting procedures to help guide your exploration:

• ThisDocument.Button_AddSteps_Click
  This is the code behind button #1 – it calls the other subroutines that drop step shapes, set step numbers, and add random text. It looks at existing step bubbles and notes existing step numbers so as not to create a duplicate. It also selects a random location to drop the new step, such that it is on the page, but not on top of the buttons.
• ThisDocument.Button_ConnectSteps_Click
  This is the code behind button #2. It deletes all of the existing connectors on the page, then it connects the step bubbles in order.
• ThisDocument.m_deleteAllConnecors
  This is the low-level sub that actually deletes all of the connectors. It selects all “Step Connector” masters, then deletes them. Worth a look if you need to select or delete shapes of a particular type.
• ThisDocument.m_getRandomText
  Picks a random foreign word for bubble. If you are relatively new to VBA programming, this might be interesting for you to look at.
• ThisDocument.m_getUniqueStepNumber
  This picks a new, ordered, unique step number for the “next” step shape that lands on the page. It “fills in gaps” in that if a step number is missing, ie: 1, 2, 3, 5, it will pick the lowest missing step number first. “4” in this example.
• ConnectCode.ConnectTheDots
  This where the order-searching is done, and the shapes are connected. Note that if a step is missing, no connector is drawn.