Home > SIX 2013 Documentation > User Guide > Projects > Visio Interface > Visio Shapes for SIX > Link to Product (Visio)

Link to Product (Visio)

Feature

 

The Link to Product feature allows you to link any Visio shape to a SIX Product. You can then create a new Master Shape for use in Projects.

What are the benefits of this feature?

 

You can create your own custom Visio shapes or link third-party Visio shapes to your SIX Catalog, e.g. NetZoom.

When to use this feature?

 

When you want to link a shape to Products in your SIX Catalog.

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.jpg

 

On a Visio page, select the shape you want to link and right-click and choose D-Tools->Link to Product:

 

link to product.jpg

 

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

 

add product form.jpg

 

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

 

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.jpg

 

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

 

drag shape to new stencil.jpg

 

A new Master Shape will be created:

 

new master shape created.jpg

 

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

 

save stencil.jpg

 

In order for this Stencil to display with your SIX 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.

 

path to save stencil.jpg

Adding to existing Stencil

 

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

 

open stencil.jpg

 

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

 

edit stencil.jpg

 

Drag your shape into the Stencil:


drag shape to existing stencil.jpg

 

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

 

save existing stencil.jpg\

 

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 SIX Catalog simply by clicking the [Reset] button in the Filter and Query section of the ribbon:

 

reset filter button.jpg

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