Bobby Mac wrote:

I have to create Visio diagrams for sales engagements for a webhosting provider. I use the same template based on our standard architecture but vary the number/model/detail of the servers. I am sick of the cut-n-paste approach and am wondering who has automated some of these processes. What I would like to do is provide a standard data file (excel, csv, ect..) and have that populate the detailed areas of the diagram. My boss won't pay for any software but I can use open source under XP or cygwin.

I attempted to do data-driven diagrams with Visio, but quickly gave up. I don't think Visio is the right tool for the job. Have you thought about writing the diagram in HTML+CSS and laying it out that way? Diagramming is one of the biggest problems I've had in the 10+ years I've been doing networking. Poggs

This thread may be helpful: http://markmail.org/thread/4o4bn3whbqdmhaol Frank -----Original Message----- From: Bobby Mac [mailto:bobbyjim@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 2:17 PM To: nanog@nanog.org Subject: Visio diag automations Hi All: I have to create Visio diagrams for sales engagements for a webhosting provider. I use the same template based on our standard architecture but vary the number/model/detail of the servers. I am sick of the cut-n-paste approach and am wondering who has automated some of these processes. What I would like to do is provide a standard data file (excel, csv, ect..) and have that populate the detailed areas of the diagram. My boss won't pay for any software but I can use open source under XP or cygwin. Thanks, Robert