Importing and Exporting Visio Diagram

Importing an Existing Visio Diagram

This section will demonstrate how to import an existing process Visio diagram (previously done in Visio) into the WorkFlow Designer.

Fig 1. Import Visio diagram in WorkFlow Designer

1. Open WorkFlow Designer and click Process Explorer.

2. Navigate to the relevant Process.

3. Double-click the process in the Server Explorer window to open the Visio window in the Work Area.

4. Click Import Document.

5. Select the Visio document you would like to upload.

6. Click Open. The Shape Selection window will open (previous figure) which will give you the ability to select which Visio objects will be selected for XMPro activities. You can think of an activity as a screen or a form. All Visio objects will have the option Create a Visio Shape only set by default.

Fig 2. Evaluate shapes to import

1. The next step will be to evaluate each of the shapes listed (previous figure) to determine whether this Visio Shape will result in an activity or task or screen in XMPro.

2. Select all the shapes with x in the name column.

3. Select each shape with the xx value in the name column and select the Create a Visio Shape and link to a new Activity option. The name value that you will link to an XMPro activity might differ – it will depend on your Visio diagram. The important thing to remember is to work through the list, one-by-one, and only mark those that you want to create an activity for in XMPro. Once you have worked through all the shapes, click Import. You have completed the import of your Visio diagram.

Fig 3. Example of Visio shape imported as activity

Fig 4. Example of Visio shape imported as shape only

1. On the quick access toolbar, click Save icon or press CTRL+S to save your process.

Exporting a Visio Diagram

This section will demonstrate how to export a Visio diagram and save it to a folder. It can be used as a backup or for documentation purposes. Remember that if changes are made to the Visio diagram in the WorkFlow Designer this exported file will not automatically be updated.

Fig 5. Exporting a Visio diagram

1. Open WorkFlow Designer and click Process Explorer. Navigate to the relevant Process to the Visio diagram you want to save or export. For example, the Leave Application Process as is shown in the figure above.

2. Double-click the process in the Server Explorer window to open the Visio window in the Work Area.

3. On the ribbon, click the Visio tab then click Save As.

4. Browse to the folder where you would like to save the Visio file as shown in the following figure.

5. Type the file name.

6. Click Save to save your changes. Your Visio file will now be available in the relevant folder.