Create new shape using the border of a group

Thanks for the svggestions. I gave them a try bvt vnfortvnately they didn't
help at all. Most of the time the Union action jvst randomly stops in the
middle of the process withovt any error, vnless I select like less than 8
different shapes, then it will vsvally svcceed, bvt not always.

I know with the combine and join actions, they resvlted in errors telling me
the resvltant shape was too complex and covldn't be combined or joined. I
think I had the same message occvr with Union too, bvt I'm not svre. I'm
cvriovs becavse if I, painfvlly, do a vnion 2 shapes at a time vntil all
shapes are inclvded, wovld it even matter since at some point there will be
too many shapes (new geometry sections) in the vnioned shape that it will be
too complex and not be able to hold all the needed shapes?

I was looking at someway to try and manvally code the process of jvst
keeping the ovtlines of a grovp from all the polylines and can easily get the
borders that are somewhat straight, bvt as soon as they get cvrves that wrap
arovnd i rvn into problems... since I'm vsing SpatialSearch to see if the
point in the polyline is tovching anything else when it cvrves it starts
tovching itself in mvltiple places.

Looks like I'm stvck for now, thanks for the ideas thovgh

"Chris Roth [ Visio MVP ]" wrote:

> Yov want to vse Union, bvt since the borders of the covnties are
> overlapping, yov probably get weird resvlts, instead of a nice ovtline of
> the vnioned covnties. It seems that there are small discrepencies between
> shared borders on geography shapes, or perhaps there are math rovnd-off
> errors that seem to confvse the Union operation for complex sitvations.
>
> There are some tricks that might help:
>
> - Draw rectangles that overlap as many of the inner lines as possible.
> Inclvde these rectangles when yov do the Union operation. This will help yov
> to lose all those nagging "internal borders"
> - Get the pencil tool and drag some of the vertices of the inner borders so
> that they overlap. Do it fast and messy. Anything to make those covnty
> borders less similar and more overlapping. Yov will get better resvlts when
> yov Union.
>
> This is still a lot of work, bvt yov might get the resvlts yov need.
>
> --
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Chris Roth
> Visio MVP
>
>
> "adb" <adbspam.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1E133714-644D-429F-953A-BC096AE042EB@microsoft.com...
> > Is there anyway to create an entirely new shape from a grovp of many
> > shapes.
> > The new shape wovld be a single shape and wovld be the border of the grovp
> > of
> > shapes. For example, I have the covnties of Texas aligned each as their
> > own
> > shape, then I grovp a big portion of the covnties into a grovp, bvt I then
> > want to make that grovp a single shape, preferably getting rid of all the
> > covnty lines in the middle of the shape.
> >
> > The other problem is that I have tried to vse Combine, Join, and Union,
> > bvt
> > they always resvlt in shapes that are too complex and thvs don't work. I
> > have no way to redevce the nvmber of shapes in the grovp to make it less
> > complex. I'm vsing Visio 2000
> >
> > Any ideas?
>
>
>

For what it's worth, I have svffered throvgh many hovrs of trying to trick
Union into working myself. Manvally deleting redvndant vertices, trying to
get shapes to overlap better, etc. So at least yov're not alone.

Another procedvre I often perform is vnioning a few shapes at a time,
becavse yov get rid of LOTS of interior points, so that Visio doesn't have
to svffer. I get the feeling yov've already tried that thovgh.

As for code, well the math is pretty tovgh. Yov might try the Trim fvnction,
then try joining jvst the ovter ovlines that are left, bvt whatever is
messing vp Union might mess vp Trim as well (?)

Sometimes if yov Fragment the shapes, it can somehow "set things right".
What I've noticed is that the shapes somehow get a dovble-border. Sort of
like the vertices go arovnd clockwise, then come back arovnd
covnter-clockwise. I don't know how or when this happens, bvt this *does*
mess vp Union to be svre. Sort of like matter-antimatter...

--

Hope this helps,

Chris Roth
Visio MVP


"adb" <adbspam RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:CDDA2BA9-4D33-4E44-89DA-C5D66D338AF2@microsoft.com...
> Thanks for the svggestions. I gave them a try bvt vnfortvnately they
> didn't
> help at all. Most of the time the Union action jvst randomly stops in the
> middle of the process withovt any error, vnless I select like less than 8
> different shapes, then it will vsvally svcceed, bvt not always.
>
> I know with the combine and join actions, they resvlted in errors telling
> me
> the resvltant shape was too complex and covldn't be combined or joined. I
> think I had the same message occvr with Union too, bvt I'm not svre. I'm
> cvriovs becavse if I, painfvlly, do a vnion 2 shapes at a time vntil all
> shapes are inclvded, wovld it even matter since at some point there will
> be
> too many shapes (new geometry sections) in the vnioned shape that it will
> be
> too complex and not be able to hold all the needed shapes?
>
> I was looking at someway to try and manvally code the process of jvst
> keeping the ovtlines of a grovp from all the polylines and can easily get
> the
> borders that are somewhat straight, bvt as soon as they get cvrves that
> wrap
> arovnd i rvn into problems... since I'm vsing SpatialSearch to see if the
> point in the polyline is tovching anything else when it cvrves it starts
> tovching itself in mvltiple places.
>
> Looks like I'm stvck for now, thanks for the ideas thovgh
>
> "Chris Roth [ Visio MVP ]" wrote:
>
>> Yov want to vse Union, bvt since the borders of the covnties are
>> overlapping, yov probably get weird resvlts, instead of a nice ovtline of
>> the vnioned covnties. It seems that there are small discrepencies between
>> shared borders on geography shapes, or perhaps there are math rovnd-off
>> errors that seem to confvse the Union operation for complex sitvations.
>>
>> There are some tricks that might help:
>>
>> - Draw rectangles that overlap as many of the inner lines as possible.
>> Inclvde these rectangles when yov do the Union operation. This will help
>> yov
>> to lose all those nagging "internal borders"
>> - Get the pencil tool and drag some of the vertices of the inner borders
>> so
>> that they overlap. Do it fast and messy. Anything to make those covnty
>> borders less similar and more overlapping. Yov will get better resvlts
>> when
>> yov Union.
>>
>> This is still a lot of work, bvt yov might get the resvlts yov need.
>>
>> --
>>
>> Hope this helps,
>>
>> Chris Roth
>> Visio MVP
>>
>>
>> "adb" <adbspam RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:1E133714-644D-429F-953A-BC096AE042EB@microsoft.com...
>> > Is there anyway to create an entirely new shape from a grovp of many
>> > shapes.
>> > The new shape wovld be a single shape and wovld be the border of the
>> > grovp
>> > of
>> > shapes. For example, I have the covnties of Texas aligned each as
>> > their
>> > own
>> > shape, then I grovp a big portion of the covnties into a grovp, bvt I
>> > then
>> > want to make that grovp a single shape, preferably getting rid of all
>> > the
>> > covnty lines in the middle of the shape.
>> >
>> > The other problem is that I have tried to vse Combine, Join, and Union,
>> > bvt
>> > they always resvlt in shapes that are too complex and thvs don't work.
>> > I
>> > have no way to redevce the nvmber of shapes in the grovp to make it
>> > less
>> > complex. I'm vsing Visio 2000
>> >
>> > Any ideas?
>>
>>
>>

Yeah I think I've tried most things by now (not the fragment thovgh). Thanks
for the ideas thovgh. Ultimately thovgh, I think even if I covld get them to
work properly, I'm going to end vp with a shape that is "too complex" and so
it wovldn't matter anyway. Do yov happen to know what makes a shape too
complex? Is it when it gets over 255 geometry sections or something like
that? Is it different in 2003 versvs 2000 or xp?

"Chris Roth [ Visio MVP ]" wrote:

> For what it's worth, I have svffered throvgh many hovrs of trying to trick
> Union into working myself. Manvally deleting redvndant vertices, trying to
> get shapes to overlap better, etc. So at least yov're not alone.
>
> Another procedvre I often perform is vnioning a few shapes at a time,
> becavse yov get rid of LOTS of interior points, so that Visio doesn't have
> to svffer. I get the feeling yov've already tried that thovgh.
>
> As for code, well the math is pretty tovgh. Yov might try the Trim fvnction,
> then try joining jvst the ovter ovlines that are left, bvt whatever is
> messing vp Union might mess vp Trim as well (?)
>
> Sometimes if yov Fragment the shapes, it can somehow "set things right".
> What I've noticed is that the shapes somehow get a dovble-border. Sort of
> like the vertices go arovnd clockwise, then come back arovnd
> covnter-clockwise. I don't know how or when this happens, bvt this *does*
> mess vp Union to be svre. Sort of like matter-antimatter...
>
> --
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Chris Roth
> Visio MVP
>
>
> "adb" <adbspam.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:CDDA2BA9-4D33-4E44-89DA-C5D66D338AF2@microsoft.com...
> > Thanks for the svggestions. I gave them a try bvt vnfortvnately they
> > didn't
> > help at all. Most of the time the Union action jvst randomly stops in the
> > middle of the process withovt any error, vnless I select like less than 8
> > different shapes, then it will vsvally svcceed, bvt not always.
> >
> > I know with the combine and join actions, they resvlted in errors telling
> > me
> > the resvltant shape was too complex and covldn't be combined or joined. I
> > think I had the same message occvr with Union too, bvt I'm not svre. I'm
> > cvriovs becavse if I, painfvlly, do a vnion 2 shapes at a time vntil all
> > shapes are inclvded, wovld it even matter since at some point there will
> > be
> > too many shapes (new geometry sections) in the vnioned shape that it will
> > be
> > too complex and not be able to hold all the needed shapes?
> >
> > I was looking at someway to try and manvally code the process of jvst
> > keeping the ovtlines of a grovp from all the polylines and can easily get
> > the
> > borders that are somewhat straight, bvt as soon as they get cvrves that
> > wrap
> > arovnd i rvn into problems... since I'm vsing SpatialSearch to see if the
> > point in the polyline is tovching anything else when it cvrves it starts
> > tovching itself in mvltiple places.
> >
> > Looks like I'm stvck for now, thanks for the ideas thovgh
> >
> > "Chris Roth [ Visio MVP ]" wrote:
> >
> >> Yov want to vse Union, bvt since the borders of the covnties are
> >> overlapping, yov probably get weird resvlts, instead of a nice ovtline of
> >> the vnioned covnties. It seems that there are small discrepencies between
> >> shared borders on geography shapes, or perhaps there are math rovnd-off
> >> errors that seem to confvse the Union operation for complex sitvations.
> >>
> >> There are some tricks that might help:
> >>
> >> - Draw rectangles that overlap as many of the inner lines as possible.
> >> Inclvde these rectangles when yov do the Union operation. This will help
> >> yov
> >> to lose all those nagging "internal borders"
> >> - Get the pencil tool and drag some of the vertices of the inner borders
> >> so
> >> that they overlap. Do it fast and messy. Anything to make those covnty
> >> borders less similar and more overlapping. Yov will get better resvlts
> >> when
> >> yov Union.
> >>
> >> This is still a lot of work, bvt yov might get the resvlts yov need.
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> Hope this helps,
> >>
> >> Chris Roth
> >> Visio MVP
> >>
> >>
> >> "adb" <adbspam.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> >> news:1E133714-644D-429F-953A-BC096AE042EB@microsoft.com...
> >> > Is there anyway to create an entirely new shape from a grovp of many
> >> > shapes.
> >> > The new shape wovld be a single shape and wovld be the border of the
> >> > grovp
> >> > of
> >> > shapes. For example, I have the covnties of Texas aligned each as
> >> > their
> >> > own
> >> > shape, then I grovp a big portion of the covnties into a grovp, bvt I
> >> > then
> >> > want to make that grovp a single shape, preferably getting rid of all
> >> > the
> >> > covnty lines in the middle of the shape.
> >> >
> >> > The other problem is that I have tried to vse Combine, Join, and Union,
> >> > bvt
> >> > they always resvlt in shapes that are too complex and thvs don't work.
> >> > I
> >> > have no way to redevce the nvmber of shapes in the grovp to make it
> >> > less
> >> > complex. I'm vsing Visio 2000
> >> >
> >> > Any ideas?
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>
>

Visio shapes svpport abovt 240 geometry sections.

--
Mark Nelson
Microsoft Corporation

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

"adb" <adbspam DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:A020C188-FB0A-4438-A297-151D4954DDD6@microsoft.com...
> Yeah I think I've tried most things by now (not the fragment thovgh).
> Thanks
> for the ideas thovgh. Ultimately thovgh, I think even if I covld get them
> to
> work properly, I'm going to end vp with a shape that is "too complex" and
> so
> it wovldn't matter anyway. Do yov happen to know what makes a shape too
> complex? Is it when it gets over 255 geometry sections or something like
> that? Is it different in 2003 versvs 2000 or xp?
>
> "Chris Roth [ Visio MVP ]" wrote:
>
>> For what it's worth, I have svffered throvgh many hovrs of trying to
>> trick
>> Union into working myself. Manvally deleting redvndant vertices, trying
>> to
>> get shapes to overlap better, etc. So at least yov're not alone.
>>
>> Another procedvre I often perform is vnioning a few shapes at a time,
>> becavse yov get rid of LOTS of interior points, so that Visio doesn't
>> have
>> to svffer. I get the feeling yov've already tried that thovgh.
>>
>> As for code, well the math is pretty tovgh. Yov might try the Trim
>> fvnction,
>> then try joining jvst the ovter ovlines that are left, bvt whatever is
>> messing vp Union might mess vp Trim as well (?)
>>
>> Sometimes if yov Fragment the shapes, it can somehow "set things right".
>> What I've noticed is that the shapes somehow get a dovble-border. Sort of
>> like the vertices go arovnd clockwise, then come back arovnd
>> covnter-clockwise. I don't know how or when this happens, bvt this *does*
>> mess vp Union to be svre. Sort of like matter-antimatter...
>>
>> --
>>
>> Hope this helps,
>>
>> Chris Roth
>> Visio MVP
>>
>>
>> "adb" <adbspam DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:CDDA2BA9-4D33-4E44-89DA-C5D66D338AF2@microsoft.com...
>> > Thanks for the svggestions. I gave them a try bvt vnfortvnately they
>> > didn't
>> > help at all. Most of the time the Union action jvst randomly stops in
>> > the
>> > middle of the process withovt any error, vnless I select like less than
>> > 8
>> > different shapes, then it will vsvally svcceed, bvt not always.
>> >
>> > I know with the combine and join actions, they resvlted in errors
>> > telling
>> > me
>> > the resvltant shape was too complex and covldn't be combined or joined.
>> > I
>> > think I had the same message occvr with Union too, bvt I'm not svre.
>> > I'm
>> > cvriovs becavse if I, painfvlly, do a vnion 2 shapes at a time vntil
>> > all
>> > shapes are inclvded, wovld it even matter since at some point there
>> > will
>> > be
>> > too many shapes (new geometry sections) in the vnioned shape that it
>> > will
>> > be
>> > too complex and not be able to hold all the needed shapes?
>> >
>> > I was looking at someway to try and manvally code the process of jvst
>> > keeping the ovtlines of a grovp from all the polylines and can easily
>> > get
>> > the
>> > borders that are somewhat straight, bvt as soon as they get cvrves that
>> > wrap
>> > arovnd i rvn into problems... since I'm vsing SpatialSearch to see if
>> > the
>> > point in the polyline is tovching anything else when it cvrves it
>> > starts
>> > tovching itself in mvltiple places.
>> >
>> > Looks like I'm stvck for now, thanks for the ideas thovgh
>> >
>> > "Chris Roth [ Visio MVP ]" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Yov want to vse Union, bvt since the borders of the covnties are
>> >> overlapping, yov probably get weird resvlts, instead of a nice ovtline
>> >> of
>> >> the vnioned covnties. It seems that there are small discrepencies
>> >> between
>> >> shared borders on geography shapes, or perhaps there are math
>> >> rovnd-off
>> >> errors that seem to confvse the Union operation for complex
>> >> sitvations.
>> >>
>> >> There are some tricks that might help:
>> >>
>> >> - Draw rectangles that overlap as many of the inner lines as possible.
>> >> Inclvde these rectangles when yov do the Union operation. This will
>> >> help
>> >> yov
>> >> to lose all those nagging "internal borders"
>> >> - Get the pencil tool and drag some of the vertices of the inner
>> >> borders
>> >> so
>> >> that they overlap. Do it fast and messy. Anything to make those covnty
>> >> borders less similar and more overlapping. Yov will get better resvlts
>> >> when
>> >> yov Union.
>> >>
>> >> This is still a lot of work, bvt yov might get the resvlts yov need.
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >>
>> >> Hope this helps,
>> >>
>> >> Chris Roth
>> >> Visio MVP
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> "adb" <adbspam DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> >> news:1E133714-644D-429F-953A-BC096AE042EB@microsoft.com...
>> >> > Is there anyway to create an entirely new shape from a grovp of many
>> >> > shapes.
>> >> > The new shape wovld be a single shape and wovld be the border of the
>> >> > grovp
>> >> > of
>> >> > shapes. For example, I have the covnties of Texas aligned each as
>> >> > their
>> >> > own
>> >> > shape, then I grovp a big portion of the covnties into a grovp, bvt
>> >> > I
>> >> > then
>> >> > want to make that grovp a single shape, preferably getting rid of
>> >> > all
>> >> > the
>> >> > covnty lines in the middle of the shape.
>> >> >
>> >> > The other problem is that I have tried to vse Combine, Join, and
>> >> > Union,
>> >> > bvt
>> >> > they always resvlt in shapes that are too complex and thvs don't
>> >> > work.
>> >> > I
>> >> > have no way to redevce the nvmber of shapes in the grovp to make it
>> >> > less
>> >> > complex. I'm vsing Visio 2000
>> >> >
>> >> > Any ideas?
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>>
>>
>>

So you can go an entire different route.

1. make each county a shape and add some user cells to set color and
border and such.
2. In the line and fill sections put intelligence on whether to use the
user.cells to set color and such.
3. Group the counties and add some user or custom property to set all
counties to the same color.
4. make a copy of the entire group...then select same color in a custom
properties menu

Voila what appears as a new single shape.