Home > SI 2018 Documentation > User Guide > Projects > Visio Interface > Visio Shapes > Link to Product (Visio)

Link to Product (Visio)

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Feature

 

The Link to Product feature allows you to link any Visio shape to an SI 2018 Product. You can then create a new Master Shape for use in Projects.You can create your own custom Visio shapes or link third-party Visio shapes to your SI 2018 Catalog, e.g. NetZoom.

 

Details

 

Create or drag in a shape that you want to link to a Product. If you used multiple shapes to create your final shape, select them all choose to Group them:

 

grouping shape.png

 

Right-click on the grouped shape and choose Show ShapeSheet:

 

show shapesheet.png

 

In the ShapeSheet change the value of "SelectMode" from 1 to 0:

 

select mode.png

 

Close the ShapeSheet window.

 

Back on the Visio page, right-click the shape and choose D-Tools->Link to Product->New:

 

link_to_product.png

 

The Add Products form will open. Select a Product and then click the [Add and Close] button:

 

link_shape_to_product.png

 

This shape is now linked to that Product within this Project and the Product has been added to the Project Editor.

 

If instead you chose to link to an existing product, a form opens allowing to select a Product that is already a part of the Project:

 

link_to_existing_product.png

 

In order to be able to re-use this shape on future Projects, you must create a new Master Shape. You can add the shape to an existing D-Tools Visio Stencil or you can create a new Stencil.

Creating a New Stencil

 

In the Visio Shapes window, select More Shapes->New Stencil (either US or Metric):

 

new stencil.png

 

The Stencil will be created and will be open for edit. Drag your shape into the Stencil:

 

drag to new stencil.png

 

A new Master Shape will be created:

 

new master.png

 

Rename the shape and then click the [Save] button:

 

save stencil.png

 

In order for this Stencil to display with your SI 2018 Visio Stencils you must navigate and save to the following folder on your machine:

 

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\D-Tools\SIX\Data\Drawings\Visio

 

Note: AppData is a hidden folder so you will need to change your Windows settings to show hidden files and folders.

 

stencil location.png

Adding to existing Stencil

 

In the D-Tools Shapes window, right-click the Stencil you want to use and select Open Stencil:

 

open stencil.png

 

The Stencil will open in the Shapes window. Right-click on the title bar of the Stencil and select Edit Stencil:

 

edit stencil.png

 

Drag your shape into the Stencil:


drag to new existing stencil.png

 

Click the [Save] button. There is no need to select a path since this Stencil already exists:

 

save existing stencil.png

 

It is a good idea to now Lock the Stencil so if we (D-Tools) release updated Stencils, yours won't get overwritten.

Using the Shape(s)

 

Now you can use your custom Shape(s) just as you would any stock D-Tools Shape. If you drag the Shape directly to a Visio page, the Add Product form will open and be filtered to the Product you have assigned the shape, acting as a one-to-one relationship vs. a one-to-many. However, you can select any Product from your SI 2018 Catalog simply by clicking the [Reset] button in the Filter and Query section of the ribbon:

 

reset_button.png

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