Background Pages and Automatic Orientation?

[news]

Hi All,

Not sure if this is possible, but here goes.

I am using Visio 2007 Beta, but I presume that most features are still the
same. What I am trying to do is create a custom template for drawings for a
patent application. I've been able to successfully setup appropriate page
and margin sizes, the issue I am having is with automatically inserting
background elements.

I first tried using Header/Footer but quickly gave up as I realized that I
couldn't see them in normal view and also couldn't add any graphical objects
(cross hairs for scan points).

I then tried using background pages which appeared ideal, except for one
major complaint - they don't change orientation automatically. Thus, when I
add a new page in landscape format, the background page I created for the
portrait formatted page no longer works. Now I know that I can simply create
another background page appropriately formatted for landscape pages, but
then I have to manually select which one I want whenever I add a page. Is
there any way to automate this? Either have a background page that is
automatically selected or maybe even a little macro?

Thanks in advance.

 

[wr]

Hi,

A background points to all pages alike.
So once it is set to portrait you get a conflict if you wants to change this
to landscape for one page but keep the others in portrait.
The formula in width cell of the background namely points to the width and
height cells of the page to detrmine its own width and height.
But even if in the shapesheet of the master you delete the formula and only
enter values you will get conflicts. The background either points soley to
portrait or landscape or displays them.
Wther you set this manually in the shapesheet or by automation doesn't make
a difference.
At least I couldn't get it to work

There is one way which enabled me to get to the scenario you want,
That is to create two stencils.
One for backgrounds with landscape and the other one for portrait.
In a even simplier fashion you do the following:

1. create copy from backgrounds stencil (just copy it from the 1003 folder
and put it in the myshapes folder) call it for instance 'portrait" and
change all the background masters as follows:
set pagewidth and pageheight for both page and background in the shapesheet
of the master to:
pagewidth: 210 mm
pageheight 297 mm
2. open a blank drawing in visio
3. open the backgrounds stencil from file/shapes/visioextras/backgrounds.vss
4. open the portrait stencil from file/shapes/open stencil/portrat.vss
5. set the first page to landscape and add a background (say background
steel) from the backgrounds stencil
6. insert a page and set it as portrait with background none
6. add the background steel from the portrait stencil
result: now you have two exact same backgrounds but one is portrait and the
other one is landscape and when you inserted a new page you can point to
each one of the them

René