life preserver (polo) shape with text and photo

[merlin]

I want to create a shape which is a polo/ring doughnut/life
preserver/toroidal type shape. It should have text between the inner and
outer ring following the same arc and I want to drop aphoto into the whole
in the middle (preferably without having to trim it into a circular form
first).

What I'm trying to achieve is a circular org chart with circular employee
position shapes. Each employee position has a circular photo with a circular
border around it in which has the name in the upper 180 degree arc and the
position in the lower.

I have 2 problems with this:

The first is, technically I'm not sure visio is capable of this.

The second is that I am a novice and I have no idea how to make a shape and
keep it as a template (if that's the correct term).

So there's a nice challenge for you.

 

[J Kallay]

Visio can only draw text in a straight line.

 

[Steve Thackery]

The polo shape is easy: just put one circle on top of another and use the
Combine operation.

Don't know how to make the text on a curve, though, but perhaps you could do
this is a bitmap editor and import it into Visio.

Steve

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

As mentioned before, non straight text is not a feature in Visio, but there
are ways.

The usual way is to create the text in another package and import the result
as an image.

For a pure Visio solution (and a bit of work)
Take Chris Roth's Polar Array VBA code you can find it at
http://visio.mvps.org/VBA.htm and embellish it. Rather than repeated placing
a shape in a circular arc, place individual letters around a circular arc.

1) Accept a text string.
2) Break it into individual letters and drop the letters as shapes, based on
the Polar Array position.
3) Set the text angle based on the Polar Aarray code used for the angle of
the shape.

So Chris, are you listening? This will create a fixed pitch display, your
challenge is to make the text proportional. ;-)

John... Visio MVP

Need stencils or ideas? http://visio.mvps.org/3rdparty.htm
Need VBA examples? http://visio.mvps.org/VBA.htm
Visio Wishlist http://visio.mvps.org/wish_list.htm

 

[merlin]

It sounds promising but to a novice it also sounds like black magic!

I hope that's enough of a challenge to someone to have a go... it would
certainly be a useful facility to have.

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

I was hoping Chris would take the bait.

John... Visio MVP

Need stencils or ideas? http://visio.mvps.org/3rdparty.htm
Need VBA examples? http://visio.mvps.org/VBA.htm
Visio Wishlist http://visio.mvps.org/wish_list.htm