Microsoft Visio 2010 : Creating and Using Shape Data Fields (part 3) - Saving Sets of Shape Data Fields

4. Saving Sets of Shape Data Fields

Now that you’ve toiled to create a set of Shape Data fields, you might want to save it so that you can apply it to other shapes.

You saw that you can edit Shape Data definitions for multiple shapes by selecting a bunch at once and going to the Define Shape Data window. A better way is to save a set of fields as a Shape Data Set.

Creating and Applying Shape Data Sets

1.	Continue with Ch7 Shape Data.vsd.
2.	Select one bulb shape.
3.	Right-click the Shape Data window and choose Shape Data Sets. The Shape Data Sets window appears. It is a taskbar that remains open. You can float it anywhere or dock it to any side of the drawing window.
4.	Note the Sample set that is already defined in the window.
5.	Highlight Sample in the list and then click Define. The Define Shape Data window appears, exactly the same as it appears for shapes. You can inspect and edit field attributes for the set. Click Cancel for now, though.
6.	In the Shape Data Sets window, click Add. The Add Shape Data Set window pops up.
7.	Enter a name, such as Light Bulb Properties, as shown in Figure 3. Figure 3. Creating a new Shape Data Set from the existing fields in a shape.
8.	Check the Create a New Set from the Shape Selected in Visio radio button. Note that you could also create a new blank set or a new set based on an existing set.
9.	Click OK. The new Shape Data set appears in the Shape Data Sets window.
10.	Inspect the new set and check default values. I created this set from existing fields in a shape. The fields are correct, but the default values might not be right for generic application. a. Highlight Light Bulb Properties in the list. b. Click Define. The Define Shape Data window appears. c. Highlight each field in the Properties list and check the Value. d. Change any specific default values to something more generic. For Power, set Value to 0. For Bulb Type and Surveyed, leave Value blank, and for Model, enter <model>. e. Click OK to save your changes.
11.	Take your Shape Data Set for a spin. a. Draw some rectangles on the page using the Rectangle tool. b. Select all the rectangles that you just added. c. In the Shape Data Sets window, check Light Bulb Properties and then click Apply. (Note: The check boxes allow you to apply multiple sets at once.) d. Check each shape to see that it has the Shape Data fields: Power, Model, Bulb Type, and Surveyed.

When you create a custom Shape Data Set, it isn’t stored globally, so you don’t have access to it when you work on another drawing. This sounds frustrating, but it’s easy to transfer sets. Just copy a shape that has a Shape Data Set applied and paste it to your drawing. The Shape Data Set comes along for the ride.

So one quick way to bring sets into other drawings is to

You can even add this rectangle to your Favorites stencil for easy access in the future.