export properties from one master to all masters

[Patrick]

I am developing a means of visually cataloging(?) the servers in my
department using rack diagrams. To get each stencil to be useful,i have to
wipe any existing custom properties, link the shape to a an access database
record (mapping each custom proerties field to table column i.e. IPaddress,
fuction, location), ensure its size is proportional to the HP rack stencils i
am using, perform the insert>field function to make shapetext=servername (my
primary key) and Reformat the shapetext to my institution's standard.

As you can tell, this level of customisation is time-consuming and boring -
and i'll have to do it c.30 times unless someone can tell me how to export
the properties from one master shape in a stencil to all the other master
shapes in that stencil.

Any pointers greatly appreciated!

 

[Mark Nelson [MS]]

I would use Macro Recorder to record the actions on one master. You can
then adapt that code to modify the other 29 masters.

An alternative would be to use the ShapeStudio tool that is included with
the Visio 2003 SDK. There is a bit of a learning curve (meaning there is
some documentation to read first), but it would likely do what you need.

One final alternative would be the Custom Property Sets feature. This only
deals with custom properties, but it lets you use the custom properties on
one shape to define a set. That set can then be applied to any shape or
master.