Visio 2013: Setting connectors or relationships with Excel data source

So this.    I am a huge fan of the Visio Pro data connection to Excel.   Yet, it's only half baked until you provide some means of articulating a 'relationship' or 'connector' in Excel for import into Visio.   For example, you could have users designate column A and B as 'nodes' with implied edges between them.   Something akin to a rule or symbol; if you add a "--" between strings in a column?  It doesn't matter if it's wonky or weird.  We'll learn it.   Visio is all about creating and showing the diagram or graph topology of a given concern... why not make it hugely less time consuming to generate those edges that make the picture complete?

It would be really really nice if MSFT went the next step and enabled  the creation of relations/connectors in Excel for Visio.   Please add it to the backlog at least and count this as a vote for including it the next release.   Thanks so much!

Visio Rocks!

Excel doesn't support relationships, for that you need a relational database (sql, access, etc.). Since that data is not being transferred to Visio the automation of a connection.

The "reports to" you're referring to sounds like the orgchart  wizard which is a custom application with a unique data schema that is embedded in the records and the wizard.

al edlund

Thanks; this helps, but I'm still not sure how to create connectors between rows. How does (in this case) the "Reports To" field get mapped to a line that goes to that person?

Hi,

Please see this :

https://blogs.office.com/2013/04/25/data-linked-diagrams-linking-data-from-an-external-data-source/

Regards,