Managing Diagrams from Visio (or Any Other Diagraming Tool)

Author: Amanda Jennewein

Updated: November 2024

Audience: System Engineers, Engineering Leadership, Administrators

Products Applicable: Jama Connect®

Use Case

Managing Diagrams from Visio (or Any Other Diagraming Tool)

Best Practice

Product development typically involves drawing many diagrams to capture ideas, architecture, and implementation. While Jama Software's built-in diagram editor is suitable for simple diagrams, many engineers use more sophisticated drawing tools for their diagramming needs.

Implementation

You can start by drawing your diagram in your favorite tool.  Microsoft Visio is the most common, but these instructions will work for any tool you prefer. Once you have a complete drawing, follow these steps to make it available in Jama Software®:

1. Save the Visio file in your document management system (DMS) or revision control system (RCS) (If you don't have such a system, see below for instructions on saving the file in Jama Software instead).
2. Highlight the entire drawing in Visio using the select tool.
3. Copy the drawing to the clipboard.
4. Create a new item or edit an existing item in Jama Software®.
5. Paste the drawing into the Description field (if the resulting image is not high enough, see below for instructions on creating higher-resolution images).
6. Below the image, insert a URL, using the Link button on the toolbar, to the source file in the DMS or RCS. If possible, insert a URL to the file's specific version corresponding to the image in Jama Software®.
7. Save the Jama Software® item.

To edit an existing drawing:

1. View the item with the drawing in Jama Software® in the single-item view.
2. Click on the URL below the image to download the source file.
3. Open the source file in Visio.
4. Edit the Visio drawing.
5. Repeat steps 1-7 above and save the changes.

Storing Source Drawings in Jama Software

If you don't have a document management system or revision control system, or you would prefer to keep the source files in Jama Software, you can attach the source file in Jama Software instead:

1. Copy and paste the image into an item in Jama Software®.
2. Save the Jama Software® item.
3. Use the attachment widget in Jama Software's single-item view to add the Visio source file as a new attachment.
4. Edit the item again.
5. Below the image, insert a URL to the attachment in Jama Software using the Link button on the toolbar and the attachments tab.
6. Save the item.

Editing an existing drawing is the same as the instructions 1-5 above. However, you'll upload the new source file by editing the existing attachment in Jama Software®:

1. Locate the existing attachment
2. Click Edit
3. Upload the new version of the source file
4. Edit the Jama Software item
5. Update the URL to the attachment in the Description field to point to the new source file.

See Working with attachments for more details.

Creating Higher-Resolution Images from Visio

You may find that the image you pasted into Jama Software® is not high-resolution enough. You can increase the resolution by saving a PNG file from Visio instead of using copy-and-paste: Click Save, as in Visio.

1. Select the PNG as the format.
2. Click Save.
3. In the Resolution section of the Output Options dialog box, select Printer instead of Screen.
4. Click OK.
5. Add the resulting file to Jama Software by dragging the file from your file system to a Rich Text box in Jama Software or by clicking the Add Image button on the Rich Text Editor toolbar.
6. The resulting image will likely be more comprehensive than your screen.  Double-click on the image and set the width to 1000.
7. Click OK

References

• Working with attachments

• Working with Attachments using Jama Connect® REST API

• Supported image extensions and attachment types

• Success Programs
• Success Catalog
• Datasheets
• Request a Solution Offering or Training from the Success Catalog

Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments below.