Re: Opening DIA diagrams in MS Visio

[Hans Breuer <hans breuer org>]

At 16.09.2011 23:52, Philip Lafeber wrote:
[...]
> My customer arrived at DIA, the open source tool to create diagrams.
> They like it and want to use it. The product I support can only import
> Visio diagrams. So I was wondering if I can create diagrams in DIA and
> convert them to VSD. I exported first to SVG, later to VDX.
I'm not aware of connections being representable in SVG, VDX seems to 
support it somehow: 
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa167010%28v=office.10%29.aspx

> In both options, the elements are saved in many parts.
Yes, they are rendered.

> A block containing text
> will end up in Visio as a group of a drawn box and a text element. An
> arrow contains many drawing elements, particularly an arrow point.

> Also, an arrow (a 1D element) is somehow interpreted as a 2D element.
This is Visio parlance, which doesn't make much sense to me. In Dia every 
drawing object is defined in both dimesions ;)

> Something I don't understand because I think a 2D element cannot be
> connected to another 2D element (in Visio at least) and I did manage to
> connect an arrow to two objects in Dia.
Yes, the design of Visio and Dia differ. In Dia conections are made with 
handles and connection points, somewhat explained here:
http://mail.gnome.org/archives/dia-list/2008-July/msg00086.html

> These results inhibit our tool to interpret the flowchart.
I assume that your tool is something you have the source code of?
For Dia it is quite simple to write an own file format exporter, either in 
C or in in Python (see above mentioned thread).

So one way could be to make up some new format only including the 
information your tool needs.

Another option could be to extend the Dia VDX exporter ( 
http://git.gnome.org/browse/dia/tree/plug-ins/vdx/vdx-export.c ) to also 
include connection information.

Also you should be able to deduce this information directly from the Dia 
native format.

> Do you know of any good way to migrate a diagram from DIA to VSD without
> the loss (or change of) information?
Nope. I even think such a tool is impossible. There are things expressible 
in Dia which are not in Visio. And vice versa.

> I did find information about
> converting Visio diagrams to DIA, but not the other way round.
Huh? Dia has a VDX importer and an exporter to VDX.

HTH,
        Hans

-------- Hans "at" Breuer "dot" Org -----------
Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to
get along without it.                -- Dilbert