You can store custom property data with shapes in any Visio diagram. In organization charts, you can use custom property data for reports, reference, or as shape text in charts to store more descriptive detail about an employee. The default custom properties for organization chart shapes are Department, Telephone, Name, Title, and E-mail. By default, the Name and Title properties are shown in the shapes in a chart.
The other default custom properties are stored with the shapes but not shown in the chart. You can display them by clicking the Options command on the Organization Chart menu and then clicking the Fields tab in the Options dialog box. In Visio, you can view the hidden custom property data by using the Custom Properties window, or by rightclicking a shape and clicking Properties on the shape's shortcut menu.
You can also change custom property data in the Custom Properties window by selecting the data you want to change and typing new data. You can format the text in all the shapes at once by clicking the Options command on the Organization Chart menu and then clicking the Text tab in the Options dialog box. You can also format individual shapes by selecting the shape text and formatting it as you would any other text.
In this exercise, you open an organization chart. You view the custom properties of a couple of shapes and change the data for one of them. You display e-mail address data in all the shapes, widen the shapes to accommodate the new information, and then format the text that appears in all the shapes.
OPEN the OrgChart file in the My DocumentsMicrosoft PressVisio 2003 SBSCreatingCharts folder.
On the View menu, click Custom Properties Window.
The Custom Properties window appears with no data displayed because a shape isn't selected.
Click the Olinda Turner shape.
The Custom Properties window displays the telephone, name, title, and e-mail custom property data for Olinda Turner.
Position the pointer over the left side of the Custom Properties window, and then drag to the left to widen the window so you can see all of the data in the window.
When the pointer changes to a two-headed arrow, drag to resize the window.
Click the Ty Loren Carlson shape.
The Custom Properties window displays the telephone, name, title, and e-mail custom property data for Ty Loren Carlson.
In the Custom Properties window, click the Telephone box, type 5025, and press the
key.The Telephone box displays the new number.
Click the Jay Hamlin shape.
The Custom Properties window displays the name and title custom property data for Jay Hamlin.
In the Custom Properties window, click the Telephone box, type 6025, and press the
key.The Telephone box displays the number.
In the Custom Properties window, click the E-Mail box. Then type [email protected], and press the
key.The E-Mail box displays the e-mail address.
On the Organization Chart menu, click Options to open the Options dialog box.
In the Options dialog box, click the Fields tab.
In the Block 1 area, select E-Mail to add a checkmark next to it.
Notice that the preview area on the right side of the dialog box shows you where the e-mail custom property data will appear in the shape.
Click OK.
When a message box appears asking if you want the shape's height adjusted to accommodate the additional information and your drawing automatically arranged, click Yes.
The shapes on the chart are enlarged to display the name, title, and e-mail for each position; however, the information still looks a bit cramped in the shapes.
On the Organization Chart menu, click Options to open the Options dialog box.
On the Options tab, in the Shape display area, highlight the text in the Width box, and then type 1.5.
Click OK.
When a message box appears asking if you want your drawing automatically arranged, click Yes.
Visio widens the shapes in the chart to 1.5 inches and rearranges them on the drawing page.
On the Organization Chart menu, click Options to open the Options dialog box.
Click the Text tab.
Make sure Name is displayed in the Fields box, and in the Style area, select the Bold check box to add that formatting to the names in the organization chart shapes.
In the Fields box, click E-Mail, and in the Style area, select the Italic check box to italicize the e-mail addresses in the organization chart shapes.
Click OK.
Visio formats the names and e-mail addresses in the shapes.
Select the Olinda Turner shape.
Right-click the shape, and then click Show Divider Line on the shortcut menu.
Visio inserts a divider line under the owner's name.
Right-click the shape, and then click Hide Divider Line on the shortcut menu to hide the line.
For an unobstructed view of the organization chart, click the Close button on the Custom Property window to close the window.
On the File menu, click Close, and then No so Visio doesn't save the chart.
Visio and the chart close.
