Editing many shapes at once

[John]

1. I have a lot of shapes. I want to strech them all - but if I select all
and stretch one - only that one stretches. How do I stretch all the shapes
at once?

2. I have a P&ID chart with pipes and instruments. When I move some
components, all the points where the instruments attach to the pipe moves as
well. Is there a way to only move the component and not all the instrument's
connection points?

 

[Mark Nelson [MS]]

Hi John,

1) In Visio 2002 and previous releases, you need to Group the selection
(Shape > Operations > Group), resize the group and then Ungroup the
selection (Shape > Operations > Ungroup). Visio 2003 changes the way
selections work so that you can resize all the shapes at once without going
to the trouble of making groups.

2) I believe the only way to work around this behavior is to disconnect the
instruments before moving the components. Instruments are tied to pipelines
using connection points on the pipeline. When the overall length of a line
changes, its connection points move proportionately with the change in
length. This can cause some undesirable shifting of connection points.
Therefore, you can disconnect instruments to work around the problem or fix
up the instruments afterward. Admittedly, there is no good solution here.

 

[John]

Thanks for the tips!

Hi John,

1) In Visio 2002 and previous releases, you need to Group the selection
(Shape > Operations > Group), resize the group and then Ungroup the
selection (Shape > Operations > Ungroup). Visio 2003 changes the way
selections work so that you can resize all the shapes at once without going
to the trouble of making groups.

2) I believe the only way to work around this behavior is to disconnect the
instruments before moving the components. Instruments are tied to pipelines
using connection points on the pipeline. When the overall length of a line
changes, its connection points move proportionately with the change in
length. This can cause some undesirable shifting of connection points.
Therefore, you can disconnect instruments to work around the problem or fix
up the instruments afterward. Admittedly, there is no good solution here.

--
Mark Nelson
Microsoft Corporation

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


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