Link Data from SharePoint 2010 to Shapes in VISIO 2010

In this article I am demonstrating linking data to Shapes in VISIO 2010. This is a very nice feature introduced in VISIO 2010. Using this we can hide or show the external data window to view all the data important into the diagram. This feature is present under the tab of Data and in the group of Show/Hide

1. For this you have to open your Visio 2010 and I selected a basic flow chart for the demo. And click on Create
2. Drag any Shapes to the screen; I have selected a process

       

3.  Click on the Data tab of your VISIO and select LINK to Shapes

       

4. You will get the following popup; there are several options for connecting VISIO Data Sources

           

1.      Microsoft Excel

2.      Microsoft Access

3.      Microsoft SharePoint Foundation List

4.      SQL Server Database

5.      OLEDB or ODBC data sources

5. Here I am going to connect with a SharePoint task list to VISIO Shapes so I selected third option Microsoft SharePoint Foundation List. Once you have selected it, it will prompt you for the SharePoint Site URL; give it your URL then click next.
6. Next you will get all your lists from the site as shown below. Select the list you want to connect to VISIO; I have selected a basic task list and click Finish.

 

7. The list will be connected to your VISIO as shown below

       

8. You can drag any data to the shape it is to be connected with.

         

9. You can right click on the data field and refresh data to get the latest data from the list.