How to create Visio diagrams from Dynamics NAV Data

Automate the process of entering data into Visio diagrams and keeping your diagrams up to date with the CData ODBC Driver for Dynamics NAV. The driver surfaces Dynamics NAV data as an ODBC data source that can be accessed by applications with built-in ODBC support like Microsoft Office. This article shows how to create a simple diagram to start brainstorming about Visio projects linked to Dynamics NAV data.

Connect to Dynamics NAV as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Before you can connect, OData Services will need to be enabled on the server. Once OData Services are enabled, you will be able to query any Services that are published on the server.

The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid Dynamics NAV user credentials. In addition, you will need to specify a URL to a valid Dynamics NAV server organization root and a ServerInstance. If there is not a Service Default Company for the server, you will need to set the Company as well.

Connect Dynamics NAV Data to Diagrams

Follow the steps below to use the Data Selector Wizard to import data into your diagram.

1. Open Visio and click File -> New. Open the Brainstorming template.
2. On the Data tab, click Link Data to Shapes.
3. Select the ODBC option and select ODBC DSN.
4. Select the DSN for Dynamics NAV, select the table you want to import, and finish the wizard. This article uses Customer as an example.

Link Dynamics NAV Entities to Shapes

Follow the steps below to create a simple diagram that shows how to create shapes from your data, one of the ways to link Dynamics NAV entities to shapes:

1. Click Brainstorming Shapes and drag a main topic onto the drawing page. Enter Customer as the text of the main topic.
2. Click Topic.
3. Select a row in the External Data window and drag it onto the drawing page.
4. Right-click the Topic shape and click Data -> Edit Data Graphic.
5. Click New Item.
6. In the Data Field menu, select a column. In the Displayed As menu, select how to display them.
7. Drag a few other Dynamics NAV entities onto the drawing page and add association lines back to the main topic, Customer. New topics have the same configuration: Numeric columns displayed in data bars stand out in contrast to other Customer entities.

You can refresh your diagram from the Data tab, synchronizing your shapes with the external Dynamics NAV data.