An easy task to to create in Visio ... you would think, perhaps one process layer per page with appropriate swim-lanes on each and just hyperlink between them where they intersect ... too easy!
And thats the problem ... it USED to be "too easy" ... now its to damn obscure!
Thanks M$oft for once again taking what was simple and complicating it.
To cut to the chase, it IS really easy to link from a shape on one page to another page or even another page in another product (Word Excel etc) but another shape .... in the same document ... not so simple.
When you select the shape to link FROM you choose EITHER another file/web-url OR another page in the current visio set from the browse-list. So far so simple. Now select the target shape .... but how?
There is no drop-down/browse-list of the available shapes on the identified target sheet so you have to already know the identity of the shape you want to link TO.
No problem ... select the target shape, right-click and select properties to get the name .... NOPE! Shapes are all assigned common class names!
OK .... define a name for the shape and use that ... NOPE!
Still no joy with a typically helpful error message which says the hyperlink is invalid and the target object cannot be found.
Grrrr!
Now the totally in-obvious becomes apparent after extensive searching of the "universal help manual" (aka Google/Bing etc) and finding hundreds of references to linking a shape to everything BUT another shape!
Finally an obscure forum mentions that you can get the shape name for your VBA code by enabling the Visio Developer Tab from the File-Options-General settings and then selecting the shape and clicking the Shape Name tool .... AAAAaaaarrgggH!
To get the shape's name, on the Developer tab, click Shape Name. If you don't see the Developer tab, you can add it:
- Click the File tab.
- Click Options.
- Click the Advanced tab, and under General, select the Run in developer mode check box.
- The Shape Name button is in the Shape Design group.
Following the link does bring the object into view on the target page but doesn't really center focus on it, .... more like hyperlinking to the page really, not the shape.
One last step ... try setting the Zoom factor of the hyperlink to 300% or 400% (experiment for best result) and FINALLY you have a hyperlink between two Visio shapes which jumps-to and focuses-on the target shape.
Hope you found that helpful
OH! One last thing!
You want to go BACK to where you hyperlinked FROM?Just click the BACK button on the toolbar.
NOPE!
FOILED AGAIN!
You have to Customise the Quick Access Toolbar and Add the Back (WebGoBack) from the "Commands Not in the Ribbon" group .... then you can click it to return from whence you came.