Shape.AutoConnect Method (Visio)
Automatically draws a connection in the specified direction between the shape and another shape on the drawing page.
Version Information
Version Added: Visio 2007
Syntax
expression .AutoConnect(ToShape, PlacementDir, Connector)
expression An expression that returns a Shape object.
Parameters
Name |
Required/Optional |
Data Type |
Description |
---|---|---|---|
ToShape |
Required |
[IVSHAPE] |
The shape to draw the connection to. |
PlacementDir |
Required |
VisAutoConnectDir |
The direction in which to draw the connection. See Remarks for possible values. |
Connector |
Optional |
[UNKNOWN] |
The connector to use. |
Return Value
Nothing
Remarks
The AutoConnect method lets you automatically draw connections between shapes on the drawing page while specifying the direction of the connection and, optionally, the connector.
For the ToShape parameter, pass the Shape object to which you want to draw the connection.
For the PlacementDir parameter, pass a value from the VisAutoConnectDir enumeration to specify the connection direction—that is, where to locate the connected shape with respect to the primary shape. Possible values for PlacementDir are as follows.
Constant |
Value |
Description |
---|---|---|
visAutoConnectDirDown |
2 |
Connect down. |
visAutoConnectDirLeft |
3 |
Connect to the left. |
visAutoConnectDirNone |
0 |
Connect without relocating the shapes. |
visAutoConnectDirRight |
4 |
Connect to the right |
visAutoConnectDirUp |
1 |
Connect up. |
If your Visual Studio solution includes the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Visio reference, this method maps to the following types:
- Microsoft.Office.Interop.Visio.IVShape.AutoConnect(Microsoft.Office.Interop.Visio.Shape, Microsoft.Office.Interop.Visio.VisAutoConnectDir, object)
Example
The following Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro shows how to use the AutoConnect method to draw a connection between two flowchart shapes, a decision shape and a process shape, by using a third shape, a dynamic connector, all of which were added to an empty drawing page from the Basic Flowchart Shapes (US Units) stencil.
Because the example calls the method on the decision shape, Visio draws the connector from the decision shape to the process shape. Because we pass the method the enumerated value visAutoConnectDirRight for the PlacementDir parameter, Visio places the process shape automatically to the right of the decision shape on the drawing page, regardless of its previous location.
Public Sub AutoConnect_Example()
Dim vsoShape1 As Visio.Shape
Dim vsoShape2 As Visio.Shape
Dim vsoConnectorShape As Visio.Shape
Set vsoShape1 = Visio.ActivePage.Shapes("Decision")
Set vsoShape2 = Visio.ActivePage.Shapes("Process")
Set vsoConnectorShape = Visio.ActivePage.Shapes("Dynamic connector")
vsoShape1.AutoConnect vsoShape2, visAutoConnectDirRight, vsoConnectorShape
End Sub