{"id":52,"date":"2009-11-02T23:38:05","date_gmt":"2009-11-03T06:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.visiozone.com\/?p=52"},"modified":"2010-12-22T19:40:21","modified_gmt":"2010-12-23T02:40:21","slug":"copying-a-graphic-as-a-metafile-can-improve-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visiozone.com\/?p=52","title":{"rendered":"Copying a Visio graphic as a metafile can improve performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Post<\/a><\/p><\/div>

Visio has the capability of creating almost photo-realistic graphics with as much detail as you want.\u00a0 However, the more detail (i.e. lines, gradient color fills, shading, etc.) in a shape, the more sluggish it will be when you move it around a page or drop it from a stencil.\u00a0 One key reason for this is also one of Visio’s most powerful features… the ShapeSheet.\u00a0 Every geometric element, such as a line or polygon, has a calculation engine behind it known as the ShapeSheet.\u00a0 Each time you move a shape, the cells in all of those ShapeSheets are recalculating to account for the new position of the object.\u00a0 More geometry (detail) in a shape means more recalculations.\u00a0 At some level of detail the calculations become noticeable in the form of “latency” or sluggishness.<\/p>\n

This can become a real problem when working with network equipment shapes.\u00a0 For example, Visimation clients\u00a0including Cisco, Juniper, Leviton, Alcatel-Lucent and others like the look of the very detailed shapes we produce for them.\u00a0 However, if we delivered the shapes as Visio geometry their users would not be pleased.\u00a0 That’s why we convert the shapes to “metafile” images.\u00a0 A metafile is a single Visio shape with a single ShapeSheet.\u00a0 It’s still a “vector” image which means that it will remain crisp and clear no matter how large or small you resize it.\u00a0 You cannot edit this image like you can edit Visio geometry but in many cases, as with network equipment, you don’t want users to edit them anyway.\u00a0 With metafiles, you can make the shape as detailed as you want such as in the example below that shows a photograph and the corresponding Visio shape:<\/p>\n

\"Juniper

Juniper Networks IC6000 Photo<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\"Juniper

Juniper Networks model IC6000 in Visio<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

So how do you create a metafile shape?\u00a0 Although it takes some experience with Visio drawing tools to create an image like the above, making the metafile is\u00a0quite simple… draw your shape, select Edit > Copy and then use Edit > Paste Special >Enhanced Metafile.\u00a0 This will place a metafile copy of the shape on your drawing page.\u00a0 You can then move it to a stencil if you want to reuse it with other drawings.\u00a0 Note that the metafile copy will not be the same size as your original.\u00a0 This is a quirk (bug?) in Visio that has existed since Visio 2003\u00a0but you can compensate for it by locking the aspect ratio (the vertical to horizontal ratio) of the metafile copy and then resizing its width to match the original.\u00a0 Here are the steps:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Select the copied metafile<\/li>\n
  2. Select Format>Protection and check Aspect Ratio<\/li>\n
  3. Open Size & Position Window (View > Size and Position Window)<\/li>\n
  4. Select original graphic<\/li>\n
  5. Copy the width value of the original from the Size and Position Window<\/li>\n
  6. Select the metafile copy<\/li>\n
  7. Paste into the width field in the Size and Postion Window of the metafile<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In summary, if you need to draw very detailed shapes, this is the best way to optimize their performance so that they don’t act sluggishly when you drop or move them.<\/p>\n

    \"Post<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \"Post<\/p>\n

    Visio has the capability of creating almost photo-realistic graphics with as much detail as you want. However, the more detail (i.e. lines, gradient color fills, shading, etc.) in a shape, the more sluggish it will be when you move it around a page or drop it from a stencil. One key reason for this is also one of Visio’s most powerful features… the ShapeSheet. Every geometric element, such as a line or polygon, has a calculation engine behind it known as the ShapeSheet. Each time you move a shape, the cells in all …Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[61],"tags":[9,8,7,3],"yoast_head":"\nCopying a Visio graphic as a metafile can improve performance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This article describes how to create metafile images for highly detailed Visio shapes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/visiozone.com\/?p=52\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Copying a Visio graphic as a metafile can improve performance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This article describes how to create metafile images 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