Windows & Dialog Stencil

[saxso]

After spending an afternoon trying to change some RGB color setting values in
the "Blank form" stencil, I believe something else has to be done to render
those changed values.

For instance, within the Show ShapeSheet window, located in the Fill Format
section the following string states:

=IF(User.Active=TRUE,RGB(227,255,255),RGB(227,255,255))

I want to change the RGB values to make the active window display in a
different color. Whenever I make the changes to the RGB values in within
above string nothing happens. Yes, I commit the changes by selecting the
"green" check mark and still my changes are not displayed in the "Blank form"
stencil.

If I ungroup the object because it consisit of multiple objects I can change
the values at that level which okay; however, regrouping does not always give
me the results I want.

Question:

(1) How do I get the function "User.Active" to make these changes? Do I have
generate some sort of recompile? If so, how do I do this?

(2) What is the value of Show Shape Sheet window other than functioning as a
"lock/unlock" of objects?

Any help would be greatly appreciate.

Thanks,

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

Do NOT ungroup! This command should have about seven levels of "Do you
really want to do this" before it actually ungroups.

When shapes are grouped, a new shape is created to manage the component
shapes. Ungrouping deletes this shape. The problem is that this shape can be
loaded with extra information and contain links to the component shapes.
Ungrouping will lose all this extra information.

Now to the Blank Form shape. User.Active is a boolean cell that is
controlled by the right click menu item called "Active Window". The cell is
used to change the colour of the window from a normal colour to a grayed
colour.

So, the Blank Form shape is a grouped shape and you will find the Action
cells in the Group shape. If you do "Open Blank Form" from the end of the
Edit menu, then you can select the top bar and change the colour. There is
also a seperate shapes for each side and the bottom.

The fill cell in the component shapes contains a formula that says if the
User Cell "Active" is true then set the fill to be the first RGB colour,
else set it to the second RGB colour. The second colour is the inactive
window colour. The User Cell "Active" in each component shape has a
reference back to the User Cell Active in the Group shape.

John... Visio MVP

 

[saxso]

Hi John,

Thanks for your informative post, but I'm missing some minor nuance in your
edit producure.

If I understand you correctly, whenever I have a stencil shape selected I
can edit it by selecting: Edit > Open"Shape Name"; in my case "Open Blank
form".

Then I can proceed to the "Show ShapeSheet" window and edit each component,
rather in the case of "Blank form" there are multiple component pieces to the
this dialog stencil: a header along with a left, right, and bottom piece.

I hope my thinking is correct in this method of editing a stencil form? The
next step will be to cascade these changes throughout the drawing.

 

[John Marshall, MVP]

I should have been clearer, the Open at the bottom of the Edit menu is to
allow editting of a group shape that is on the page. To edit a shape on a
stencil (a Master), you need to open the stencil and then right click the
master shape. One of the options is to edit the master.

If you are making this change to several shapes, you may want to use David's
idea of editting the Master rather than the shape.

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

 

[saxso]

I have been trying to update the "master" for the "Blank form" shape. This
shape consist of several components that are grouped together at the master
level.

My steps thus far have been to:

(1) Open "Document Stencil"
(2) Select "Blank form"
(3) Right-mouse on "Blank form" to select Edit Master > Edit Master Shape
(4) Only the entire "Blank form" is selectable

Question:

(a) How can I select the other components?
(b) Can I copy and replace this master with one that I've created?

Thanks

 

[Newbee]

I am having trouble editing the XP's "Blank Form" as well. I can't seem to ungroup the main shape, nor change anything because it is "protected." However, I can't seem to change the protection because when I do, i still get the same error message and when i go back to the protection, my settings had been overwritten by its original settings.

Also, where are the vista shapes for controls and windows? I have to create an entire library for work and this would make my life so much easier...

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