How to automate Visio Import to build Org Chart

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When you use Refresh, it only updates the data shown inside the existing shapes, like name or title. It does not redraw the org chart structure or change reporting relationships. So if someone moves to a different manager in Excel, the org chart layout will not change just by refreshing. To update the reporting structure, you normally need to run the Org Chart import/wizard again, because that is what rebuilds the hierarchy based on the “reports to” data. There isn’t a simple VBA method that directly “clicks” the Import button. That button is not exposed as a normal VBA function. However, people achieve the same result by running the Org Chart Wizard through VBA and passing the required details (Excel file, name field, manager field, etc.) as parameters. This effectively rebuilds the org chart structure using code.

• References
• Refreshing imported data (explains Refresh updates data from source): Refresh imported data
• Explanation that org chart wizard doesn’t update reporting relationships via Refresh and needs rerun for structure changes: Org chart refresh doesn’t change structure

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To automate the import of data into a Visio organization chart using VBA, you can utilize the Visio object model. While there isn't a direct method to invoke the Import button function, you can achieve similar functionality by using the Visio Automation features to manipulate the organization chart programmatically.

Here are the general steps you can follow:

1. Open the Visio Document: Use VBA to open the Visio document that contains your organization chart.
2. Access the Data Source: You can link your Excel data to the Visio shapes. This is typically done by using the DataGraphic object in Visio.
3. Refresh the Data: You can refresh the linked data in Visio using the DataRecordset object. This will update the data displayed in your organization chart.
4. Rebuild the Structure: If you need to change the structure based on the new data, you may need to delete the existing shapes and recreate them based on the updated data from Excel.

Here is a simple example of how you might structure your VBA code:

Sub RefreshOrgChart()
    Dim visApp As Visio.Application
    Dim visDoc As Visio.Document
    Dim visPage As Visio.Page

    Set visApp = New Visio.Application
    Set visDoc = visApp.Documents.Open("YourOrgChart.vsdx")
    Set visPage = visDoc.Pages(1)  ' Assuming the org chart is on the first page

    ' Refresh linked data
    visDoc.DataRecordsets(1).Refresh

    ' Code to rebuild the organization chart structure goes here

    visDoc.Save
    visDoc.Close
    visApp.Quit
End Sub

This code initializes Visio, opens a document, refreshes the linked data, and then you would add your logic to rebuild the organization chart based on the new data.

For more detailed information on automating Visio and working with the object model, you can refer to the documentation on automation in Visio.

References:

• Automate Visio by using the Visio object model
• About Automation (Visio)