Selection.Trim Method

  • Article
Visio Automation Reference

Trims selected shapes into smaller shapes.

Version Information
 Version Added:  Visio 4.1

Syntax

expression.Trim

expression   A variable that represents a Selection object.

Return Value
Nothing

Remarks

Using the Trim method is equivalent to clicking Trim on the Operations submenu of the Shape menu in Microsoft Office Visio.

The new shapes inherit the formatting of the first selected shape, have no text, and are the topmost shapes in their container—the nth shape, nth - 1 shape, nth - 2 shape, and so forth in the Shapes collection of their containing shape, where n = count. The original shapes are deleted and no shapes are selected when the operation is complete.

The Trim method is similar to the Fragment method but differs in the following ways:

  • Shapes produced by the Trim method coincide with the distinct paths of the selected shapes, taking overlap into account.
  • Shapes produced by the Fragment method coincide with the distinct regions of the selected shapes, also taking overlap into account.

Example

This Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro shows how to use the Trim method to trim selected shapes into smaller shapes along their intersections.

Visual Basic for Applications 
  Public Sub Trim_Example()

Dim vsoShape1 As Visio.Shape
Dim vsoShape2 As Visio.Shape
Dim shapeCount As Integer

'Draw two shapes that intersect
Set vsoShape1 = ActivePage.DrawRectangle(1, 4, 4, 1)
Set vsoShape2 = ActivePage.DrawOval(2, 6, 3, 2)

'Deselect the oval and then select both of the new shapes on the page
ActiveWindow.DeselectAll
ActiveWindow.SelectAll

'Create a selection object and assign the selected shapes to it
Dim vsoSelection As Visio.Selection
Set vsoSelection = ActiveWindow.Selection

'Trim the selected shapes
vsoSelection.Trim

'Move one of the newly created shapes
ActiveWindow.DeselectAll
shapeCount = ActivePage.Shapes.Count

Set vsoShape1 = ActivePage.Shapes(shapeCount - 2)
ActiveWindow.Select vsoShape1, visSelect
ActiveWindow.Selection.Move 2, 2
    



End Sub

See Also