Showing Concepts with 3-D Block Diagrams

Because 3-D block diagrams are eye-catching, they’re commonly used to emphasize key concepts in a presentation or report. Figure 11-8 provides an example. You can use 3-D block diagrams to organize ideas in a variety of manners, from a simple chronology or hierarchy to a complex object model. When you open the Block Diagrams With Perspective template, the drawing page includes a vanishing point in the lower right corner. The vanishing point is a locked shape that sets the 3-D orientation of the perspective block shapes. You can move the vanishing point to change the direction of shape shadows and perspective lines on the page. Although working with 3-D representation might be a bit rough at first, in very little time you can create a basic 3-D perspective diagram that looks as though you spent hours creating it.

Creating 3-D Block Diagrams

To create a 3-D block diagram, first decide what shape or shapes to use to represent the main idea you want to communicate. Then, add text to the shapes. Finally, play with the diagram’s perspective, and add color to the shapes for emphasis.

Follow these steps to create a 3-D block diagram:

1.	Choose File, New, General, Block Diagram With Perspective.
2.	Drag a 3-D perspective shape from the Blocks With Perspective stencil onto the drawing page. Visio 2007 adjusts the depth of the shape and its shadow to match the vanishing point.
3.	Select the shape, and then type the text you want.
4.	To change the diagram’s perspective, make sure no shapes are selected, and then drag the V.P. shape to a new position on or off the drawing page. All perspective shapes are redirected toward the vanishing point.

Changing the Diagram’s Perspective

Perspective shapes respond to the position of the V.P. shape on the page, yet you can adjust individual shapes to make them more or less prominent. When you move the V.P. shape, Visio 2007 reorients all the shapes. If a shape doesn’t respond, it might not be designed to work with the vanishing point, or it might have become disconnected. To determine whether a shape is connected to the vanishing point, select the shape. If the shape’s control handle is glued to the V.P. shape and displayed in red, it’s connected to the vanishing point, as Figure 11-9 shows. Table 11-5 summarizes techniques for working with perspective shapes and the vanishing point.

Table 11-5. Adjusting 3-D Perspective

Task	Technique
Change the perspective for a specific shape	Select the shape, and then drag the red control handle on the V.P. shape to a new position. The control handle turns yellow, showing that the shape is no longer connected to the vanishing point.
Associate a shape with the vanishing point	Select the shape and drag its control handle to the connection point of the V.P. shape. The shape’s control handle turns red to show that it’s connected.
Change the depth of a 3-D shape	Right-click the shape, choose Set Depth, and then select a percentage, as Figure 11-10 shows. The greater the percentage, the deeper the shadow.

Inside Out: Add some perspective If you want to get fancy with perspective, add a second Vanishing Point shape from the Blocks With Perspective stencil to the drawing page, and then manually associate shapes with the new point. When you add one or more vanishing points, existing shapes continue to be associated with the original vanishing point. Any additional shapes you drag onto the page will also be associated with the original vanishing point. You must connect shapes to the new vanishing point as described in Table 11-5.

Hiding the Vanishing Point

You can hide the V.P. shape on the drawing page while you work and when you print. The shape is assigned to a layer so that you can easily control its visibility, color, and other attributes. To hide the V.P. shape, choose View, Layer Properties. (See Figure 11-11.) In the Vanishing Point row, clear the check mark in the Visible column to hide the shape. Clear the check mark in the Print column to prevent the shape from printing.

Adjusting the Shadow Color

Using a shape’s shortcut menu, you can make changes to the shape’s shadow color. Visio 2007 provides three options, as Figure 11-12 shows:

• Automatic Shadow This is the default. Visio 2007 sets the shadow color automatically based on the shape’s fill color. You cannot change the color.

• Manual Shadow You can change the shape’s shadow color. Use the Fill or Shadow commands on the Format menu.

• Color Scheme Shadow Visio 2007 changes the shadow color of all shapes based on a color scheme that you apply. (Simply click the Theme button and choose a theme from the Theme Task Pane.)

Creating Pivot Diagrams

In Visio 2007, a Pivot Diagram is similar to an Excel Pivot Table report. It arranges data in a visual way so that you can more easily see and explain the meaning of the facts. When you create a Pivot Diagram, Visio 2007 adds three things to your diagram: a legend with information about your data source, a title box, and a primary shape that aggregates all the data in the data source. To create a Pivot Diagram, follow these steps:

1.	On the File menu, point to New, point to Business, and then click Pivot Diagram.
2.	Follow the steps in the Data Selector Wizard. After you finish, the three shapes (legend, title, and primary shape) appear on the page.
3.	Click the top node on the drawing page, as shown in Figure 11-13. Figure 11-13. Click the top node of a PivotDiagram to start fleshing out the drawing.
4.	In the Pivot Diagram window, under Add Category, click the Category by which you want to group your data. To further expand the new subnodes to expose other levels, click the node that you want to expand and repeat step 4.

You can also refresh the data in a Pivot Diagram. You can refresh data in one Pivot Diagram or all the Pivot Diagrams on a page at one time. Follow these steps to refresh the data in a Pivot Diagram:

1.	To refresh all of the Pivot Diagrams in a drawing, in the PivotDiagram window, under Actions, click Other Actions, and then click Refresh All.
2.	To refresh only one Pivot Diagram, select it in a drawing. In the Pivot Diagram window, under Actions, click Refresh Data.

If you would like to conceal a certain part of your Pivot Diagram because it is no longer needed, you need to filter your Pivot Diagram. To filter a Pivot Diagram, follow these steps:

1.	In the Pivot Diagram window, under Add Category, right-click the data you want to filter, and then click Configure Column.
2.	In the Configure Column dialog box, under Show Data Where, select the operations in the leftmost column, and type the values into the rightmost column to specify the data that you want to work with.

To remove the filter, reset the operations in the leftmost column of the Show Data Where list.

Customize Data in Pivot Diagrams

To show or hide specific data in a Pivot Diagram, follow these steps:

1.	Select any node of the Pivot Diagram
2.	In the Pivot Diagram window, under Add Total, select or clear the check boxes for the data that you want to show or hide.

To change how the numeric data in your Pivot Diagram is summarized, follow these steps:

1.	In the PivotDiagram window, under Add Total, right-click the item that you want to change, and choose the summary function that you want to apply.

To change the names of items in the Add Category and the Add Totals lists, follow these steps:

1.	In the PivotDiagram window, under Add Category or Add Total, right-click the item that you want to change, and then click Configure Column.
2.	In the Name box of the Configure Column dialog box, type a new name. To revert to the original name, click Use Source Name.

To limit the number of nodes displayed in all levels, follow these steps:

1.	Click the top node of the Pivot Diagram that you want to change.
2.	On the Pivot Diagram menu, click Options.
3.	In the Pivot Diagram Options dialog box, under Data Options, select the Limit Items In Each Breakdown check box.
4.	In the Maximum Number Of Items box, type the maximum number of nodes that you want to show.

To limit the number of nodes displayed in a single level, follow these steps:

1.	In your diagram, select the Breakdown shape (as shown in Figure 11-14) of the level that you want to limit. Figure 11-14. The “Item” shape is an example of a Breakdown shape. Note Breakdown shapes are shapes positioned on the connector between a node and the children of the node.
2.	On the Pivot Diagram menu, click Sort.
3.	In the Breakdown Options dialog box under Show, select the Limit Items In This Breakdown check box.
4.	In the Maximum Number Of Items box, type the maximum number of nodes that you want to show.