Shape connection points

[Rahul Sheth]

Hi,

I am developing new shapes in Shapestudio for a custom solution and have
some qns on connection points.

1. Is it possible to specify min/max connections allowed for a connection
point?

2. Can a connection point accept connections only of a particular type? E.g
In the "Pipelines" stensil there are "Major Pipeline" and "Minor Pipeline"
masters. Can i have a connection point on my shape, say "MyPump", accept
only "Minor Pipeline" connection? Or do i have to put that check in code?

3. If i make a change to the master how do i upgrade the master (and its
instances) in the old drawing? Eg if i add more connection points to "MyPump"
master and open an old drawing with "MyPump", will the new master be
automatically applied to the master in old drawing and its instances?

Thanks
Rahul

 

[Chris Roth [ Visio MVP ]]

1. No built-in limit on incoming connections. You could enforce by listening
to Visio OnConnect/Disconnect events.
2. Typed-connections. Again, nothing built-in. But with events, much is
possible. I have made shapes turn red to indicate improper or incomplete
connections.
3. You have to change the master in the Document Stencil - the bag of
masters that every document makes. External .vss files are not magically
linked to .vsd files, except that they open as part of a Visio Workspace.
Replacing masters is a difficult task, but can be made easier with code. If
you could track the changes you made and apply them to existing drawings'
masters, it's probably better than trying to replace the masters.

--

Hope this helps,

Chris Roth
Visio MVP