Conditional Formatting with Shape Data

Turn your diagrams into live dashboards by linking data to shapes and applying data rules that can change the formatting of shapes to highlight key information easily.

Step 1: Associate Data with Shapes

You can link data from a spreadsheet, Google Sheet, or CSV file to any shape in your diagram. This data can be anything you want, such as a status code, cost, quantity, expiration date, renewal date, etc.

Learn more about linking data to shapes.

Step 2: Use Data to Change Shape Properties

SmartDraw's data rules allow you to automatically modify your diagram based on data.

You can make the colors and other attributes of a shape depend on the values of its data.

You may want to turn a shape's fill or border color red dynamically to indicate:

• An issue falling behind schedule and "at risk"
• High utilization of a component in your AWS setup
• An item overdue for a scheduled maintenance

Let's say you have a diagram of a manufacturing plant, and you want to visually represent the status of each machine.

1. You could link a "status" column from a spreadsheet to each machine shape in your diagram.
2. Then, you could use the shape's fill color to indicate the status:
   • Green = Operational
   • Yellow = Maintenance required
   • Red = Out of service

Learn more about creating data rules.