Microsoft Visio 2013 Business Process Diagramming and Validation

by David J. Parker

In Detail

Microsoft Visio is a diagramming program which ultimately allows business professionals to explore and communicate complex information more effectively. Through easy-to-understand visual representations, Visio enables you to present complicated data in a clear and communicative way. Therefore, productivity is increased by utilizing the wide variety of diagrams that can convey information at a glance as data can be understood and acted upon quickly. This book enables business developers to unleash the full potential of Visio 2013 Professional Edition.

Microsoft Visio 2013 Business Process Diagramming and Validation is a focused tutorial with a range of practical examples and downloadable code that shows you how to create business process diagramming templates with Visio, enabling you to effectively visualize business information. It draws on real business examples and needs and covers all the new features of Visio 2013 Professional Edition.

This focused tutorial will enable you to get to grips with diagram validation in Visio 2013 Professional Edition to the fullest extent, enabling you to perform powerful automatic diagram verification based on custom logic and assuring correct and compliant diagrams. You will learn how to create and publish rules and how to use the ShapeSheet to write formulae. There is also a special focus on extending and enhancing the capabilities of Visio 2013 diagram validation and on features that are not found in the out-of-the-box product, like installing and using the new Rules Tools add-on complete with source code, reviewing the new diagramming rules in flowcharts and BPMN templates, and creating your own enhanced Data Flow Model Diagram template complete with validation rules.

Microsoft Visio 2013 Business Process Diagramming and Validation begins by covering the basic functions of Visio 2013 before moving on to discuss how to formulate your own validation rules and how to use the Visio Object Model. ShapeSheet functions are explored in detail as well as how to create validation rule sets and visualizing issues, with practical demonstrations along the way. It also covers integration with SharePoint 2013 and Office365 and how to build a Rules Tools add-on using C#, how to create test and filter expressions, and how to publish validation rules for others to use. Finally, the book concludes with the creation and implementation of a new RuleSet for Data Flow Model Diagrams with a worked example. By following the practical and immediately deployable examples found in this book, you will successfully learn how to use the features of Microsoft Visio 2013 and how to extend the functionality provided in the box.

Approach

Microsoft Visio 2013 Business Process Diagramming and Validation provides a comprehensive and practical tutorial including example code and demonstrations for creating validation rules, writing ShapeSheet formulae, and much more.

Who this book is for

If you are a Microsoft Visio 2013 Professional Edition power user or developer who wants to get to grips with both the essential features of Visio 2013 and the validation rules in this edition, then this book is for you. A working knowledge of Microsoft Visio and optionally .NET for the add-on code is required, though previous knowledge of business process diagramming is not necessary. More experienced Visio users will gain valuable knowledge regarding building add-ons and creating and publishing rules. If you want to achieve results from Visio 2013 beyond the ordinary out-of-the-box features, then this book is ideal for you. Microsoft Visio 2013 Business Process Diagramming and Validation provides a comprehensive and practical tutorial including example code and demonstrations for creating validation rules, writing ShapeSheet formulae, and much more.

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

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Reviews

[Roger Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the Visio application developer this is an excellent book. Rather than the normal reference book approach, David also describes creating an example application in some detail. If your interests lie in the Business Process Diagramming and Validation or flow charting application areas this is a “must have” book.

If your interests lie elsewhere this is still a great buy because it provides a brilliant example of the potential offered by Visio for custom application development. The book also provides a much needed update for the other Visio developer’s books which date back to Visio 2003 or earlier. Perhaps David’s work will inspire others to use or write about the Visio API which is a little known power house of possibilities for application developers.

The Visio topics covered include the object model, ShapeSheet, Validation API and templates. The programming tools employed include C#, VBA, WPF and XML. Graham Wideman’s “Visio 2003 Developer’s Survival Pack” book takes a different approach and makes an ideal companion.

David’s style of writing is easy to read which is especially commendable given the complexity of the material covered.

A word of warning: a basic monochrome Kindle is not the ideal device for reading books like this which contain a lot of diagrams, tables and example code. Although the book is as well formatted as can be expected, the amount of zooming and panning required does make reading slower and less enjoyable, especially without colour.

This book is published by Packt technical book publishers http://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-vis...