Visio expert looking for work

[GMorris]

Hi everybody,

I've been working with Visio since version 4, and have V5 and 2003
currently. I have to take care of my fiancee, who is disabled with MS,
so it's almost impossible for me to take on a regular job. Not having
any transportation doesn't help either, so even if I COULD find a
decent job around here I'd be hard pressed to get there every day and
my fiancee could have a bad accident (like falling and being knocked
unconscious all day). I also have a bad back and that would make it
even harder to find decent work that I can handle on an all-day basis.

Having said that, if there is anyone who needs some serious Visio work
done or even some training or help with something difficult, I could
use some work and will work hard. All of my Visio work is of high
quality. I've done many things over the years, some examples are
creating a digital electronics program using VBA that actually does
simulations. One can place gates from the stencil with I/O that works
with the standard dynamic connector with inputs, programmable pulse
inputs, and outputs that do real-time simulations. I also added a
function to create what I call assemblies, so that if your circuits get
too big you can combine them into a smaller "chip" with the same I/O
and functions just like the original cicuit, making the drawings easier
to understand and smaller, and these assemblies can mimic standard
chips or your own creations. Once created, you then have the option to
add them to the standard stencil or your own, and as many stencils as
you like. I have yet to make it possible to "nest" these assemblies,
but it is possible and I could do it if necessary.

I've also started work on a network diagramming system that uses any
database connection. Now, that may not seem special to anyone who knows
Visio well, but the diagram(s) are linked to the DB so that any time a
shape is added and connected it updates the database and can produce
any number or type of reports as necessary. Also, one can add records
to the DB and have the appropriate symbol added to the diagram making
it possible to add to the DB and update or even create a new diagram
from an imported spreadsheet! I document my code well, and create help
files for my projects. This network program seems to be in demand and I
plan to refine it for "out of the box" use, as well as to make it
customizable for those who want extra or different features. I also
have plans to market this once it's working well.

So, if you have any Visio solutions you need and don't have the time or
expertise to do it alone, or if you just need some intense tutoring,
let me know and I'll quote you a price based on the complexity of your
needs.

Thank you if you read this far, I really could use some extra work,
even if it's just making a few "smart shapes".

GMorris

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

Have you considered packaging your circuit solution and selling it?

You could try contacting Visimation or one of the other large Visio related
companies, they may be agreeable to a long term remote relationship.

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

 

[GMorris]

Thanks for the input, John. I did check around about the circuit
simulation solution but was unable to find much interest. I also used
Visio5 to do the majority of the VBA work, only to find that newer
versions have made minor changes to certain features and I had to do a
lot of rewriting on the code to get it working with the newer versions.
Why they do that I don't know. New features are great, but I say don't
mess with the old ones unless there's a bug or something. Aside from
that, there are many circuit packages that do the same thing plus add
functionality for analog circuits using industry standard protocols
which would bog Visio down. I had basically created it for my own use
originally, then had the idea that it might be useful for teaching or
small-time hobbyists who just need a way to test a circuit before they
build it, etc. All in all, it was a great way to learn more about Visio
and I had to do some pretty unique things to make it work the way I
wanted. I still use it occasionally as it prints much nicer than most
of the commercial packages.

I posted here about work though, mainly because there are so many
people who like Visio, but don't have the programming experience and
proficiency with the shapesheet to do everything they envision. That's
where I could help out, and have been offered Visio work just for those
reasons before. Visio is one of those packages that takes 15 minutes to
learn how to make a drawing, but many years to get good enough to
tackle a decent working solution!

G.

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

There probably are a number of more sophisticated solutions, but the price
tags usually make the cost of Visio incidental. Your target should be the
hobbyist would be willing to spend a small amount for the solution.

The Visio market is small. Most users never get beyond the packaged stencils
and those who frequent the developer newsgroups are probably in the same
boat as you. So did you actually try some of the Visio partners?

reasons before. Visio is one of those packages that takes 15 minutes to
learn how to make a drawing, but many years to get good enough to
tackle a decent working solution!

It's been fourteen years and I am still learning.

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

 

[GMorris]

There probably are a number of more sophisticated solutions, but the price
tags usually make the cost of Visio incidental. Your target should be the
hobbyist would be willing to spend a small amount for the solution.

That was my thought as well, but as it turned out "the Visio market IS
small", and there were so few of those hobbyists that I didn't expect
to turn much of a profit and probably would spend a lot of time adding
or changing features. So, I left it "as is" and stopped work on the
help file for the time being.

The Visio market is small. Most users never get beyond the packaged stencils
and those who frequent the developer newsgroups are probably in the same
boat as you. So did you actually try some of the Visio partners?

I don't recall if I ever got that far or not. Mostly I just asked
around on websites where there might be some interest if I remember
correctly. Not a whole lot of people these days are studying digital
electronics like they were about 20 - 30 years ago when it was
necessary to have that kind of knowledge to succeed in the computer
fields. So for now, it's just something that I use occasionally. I even
offered to let a few people try it for free to see how much interest I
could generate, but had no takers even on that offer.

It's been fourteen years and I am still learning.

Yeah, tell me about it! Still, Visio remains quite interesting to me,
the only thing I hope for is that they add 3D capabilities someday. It
seems that that one feature would make it infinitely more popular. I've
seen some pretty impressive models done with AutoCad that would be near
impossible to mimic in Visio. I've even tried to imitate 3D capability
with Visio using a lot of VB/VBA, but it became too much work for very
little return.

 

[Haakon S.]

How can I contact you? The email adress in your profile doesn't work. I have
a proposal I would like to present to you.

-
Haakon S.

 

[GMorris]

Is this the one you tried? (e-mail address removed)

For some reason Google sometimes shows my old email, from when I had
RoadRunner and I don't know if there's any way to get rid of it, but I
did change it. Let me know through the group if that doesn't work.

 

[Haakon S.]

Yes. I have resent it today.
--
Haakon S.

Is this the one you tried? (e-mail address removed)

For some reason Google sometimes shows my old email, from when I had
RoadRunner and I don't know if there's any way to get rid of it, but I
did change it. Let me know through the group if that doesn't work.

 

[MaxZ]

Hello Gary,
I briefly describe my problem my problem in the post above (Visio+MS SQL).
What are you thinking about this. Is it possible to create such solution.
Thank you in advance.
Max

 

[Al Edlund]

and who was this mailed too?
what network concept piece?

al