Applies to
Microsoft Office Visio® 2003

A Visio flowchart can be much more than a picture—it can be a valuable medium for storing data. Each shape in a drawing can act as a kind of visual database field that stores data you can retrieve in a report. For example, a shape in an flowchart for making apple juice can store data about the cost, duration, and resources involved in the step the shape represents.

This article describes how to:

• Add data to a flowchart
• Add data fields or types you pick yourself
• Make reports from your flowchart data
• Export flowchart data to a database

When you store data with the shapes that represent process steps, you turn a flowchart into a powerful evaluation tool.

Add data to a flowchart

You store data in property fields associated with shapes—the data doesn't appear as part of your drawing, but you can report on it and automate calculations to have the drawing do the math for you.

Flowchart shapes have pre-defined Cost, Duration, and Resources property fields in which you can view or enter data. You can also add custom fields.

To add cost, duration, and resources data to flowchart shapes

1. On the File menu, point to New, point to Flowchart, and then click Basic Flowchart. Create a flowchart that represents your process.
2. Click a shape you want to add data to.
3. On the View menu, click Custom Properties Window.
4. In the Custom Properties window, click a field you want to add data to, and then type. Repeat for each relevant field.
5. With the Custom Properties window open, click the next shape you want to add data to, and repeat step 4.
6. When you're finished adding data, close the Custom Properties window by clicking the Close button.
   
   

Add data fields or types you pick yourself

While most flowchart shapes come with three property fields, you may also want to track other types of data. For example, you may want to track the number of permanent employees and the number of temporary or contingent employees involved with each step in a process.

Or, you may want to add property fields to one of the types of flowcharts that doesn't come with existing fields, such as Cause and Effect, Data Flow, or IDEF0.

The shapes in this flowchart include three custom property fields: Cost, Duration, and Resources.

To create custom property fields for an existing flowchart

1. With the flowchart open, on the File menu, point to Shapes, and then click Show Document Stencil.

   The Document Stencil, a stencil that contains master versions of the shapes in your flowchart, opens. By adding property fields to these masters, you simultaneously add the fields to all the corresponding shapes in your drawing.

2. Right-click a shape on the Document Stencil to which you want to add custom properties, point to Edit Master, and then click Edit Master Shape.

   The master window opens with a large version of the shape in it.

3. Click the shape. On the Shape menu, click Custom Properties. In the Custom Properties dialog box, click Define.
4. Click New. Type or choose information about your new property field for Label, Type, and the other options. If you want to add another new property field, click New again.
5. When you're finished adding property fields, click OK. Your new property fields appear in the Custom Properties dialog box. Click OK again.
6. Click the Close button for the Master window to return to the flowchart. When asked if you want to update the master and all of its instances, click Yes. Repeat steps 2-6 for each master to which you want to add new property fields.
7. When you're finished adding property fields, right-click the title bar of the Document Stencil and click Close. Save your flowchart.

Make reports from your flowchart data

After you add data to flowchart shapes, you can generate reports that:

• Provide a list or inventory of the data so you can easily see patterns, relationships, and other information.
• Present the results of calculations, such as total, average, or median, so you can evaluate processes and make comparisons.

You can save a report as:

• A report shape that appears in your flowchart, if you want the results readily available in your drawing.
• A Microsoft Office Excel® spreadsheet.
• A Web page.
• An XML file.

In this report shape, you can see the total cost and duration for the juice-making process using both permanent and temporary employees. By changing some data and generating another report, you could quickly compare the costs of producing juice with and without temporary employees.

To generate a report from flowchart data

1. Open the flowchart that contains data from which you want to generate a report.
2. On the Tools menu, click Reports.
3. In the Reports dialog box, click New.
4. Choose options on the Report Definition Wizard pages to define the type of report you want. For help on a page, click the question mark.
5. In the Reports dialog box, under Report Definition, select the definition you just created, and then click Run.
6. If you save the report as an Excel shape or Visio table shape, the report appears in your drawing as an Excel spreadsheet embedded in a shape or as a Visio table shape. Under Save report with:
• Choose Copy of report definition to store a copy of the report definition locally with the shape. This allows you to change the local report definition (by right-clicking the report shape and choosing Update Report) without affecting the original definition.
• Choose Link to report definition to link the shape to the original report definition. If you change the definition, you can update the report by right-clicking the report shape and choosing Run Report.
7. Under Select report format, select the format in which you want your report saved.
8. If you save the report as an HTML, XML, or Excel file, under Save report as, choose a name and location for the report file, and then click OK.

Export flowchart data to a database

You can use the Database Export Wizard in Visio to move the data you have stored in your flowchart into a database for reuse in other ways. You simply tell the wizard what data to export and what type of database to create, and then you're ready to start exporting.

To export flowchart data to a database

1. On the Tools menu, point to Add-ons, point to Visio Extras, and then click Database Export Wizard.
2. On the first wizard page, click Next.
3. Follow the instructions on the remaining wizard pages. Click the question mark for help on a particular page.

Tips for exporting flowchart data

• When the Database Export Wizard asks you to select the data you want to export, you see a long list of properties. To quickly locate the data fields you want to export, scroll to the properties that begin with Prop, such as Prop.Cost.
• If you change the data in your flowchart after you have exported it to a database, its easy to re-export the data and update the database. Simply right-click the drawing page and click Data Export Table. When you're prompted to replace the database table, click Yes.