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In Visio there was an IDEF shape that incorporated an activity ID so the author could reference a precise step AND those reading the process model could easily find that area on the model.  For example the process shape (rectangular) would allow you to specify the title of the activity (e.g. Submit Application) and a smaller text block that contained the activity ID (SA 1.0).  IDEF was a very popular DOD standard for process models that made it easy to fit a model on 1 page.  The activity IDs made it easy to create and reference drill-downs maps additional pages where process steps could be further decomposed.  For more information on IDEF see:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDEF



The Ask:  I need an IDEF shape that supports multiple text fields within a shape (a) activity title b) activity ID)... or advice on how i could work around this.  Thx!

Hi Joe

Thanks for reaching out and we appreciate the suggestion. We provide support exclusively for Crow's Foot Notation and do not yet support IDEF format. This is a great idea and we'd love your help in looking further into the concept! Could you add your idea to our Product Feedback Space? 

My work-around:


Place a process block in the drawing


- change text to IDEF0


Add a small rectangle where the label is (bottom right inside the process block)


 - Change background and line to transparent


 - change text to 0


 - Resize to fit 1-2 digits


Add Off-Page link shape


 - Place it where node number is (bottom right  under the process block)


 - Change background and line to transparent


 - change text to A0


 - Resize to fit 4 digits wide


Select all three and group them then drag the group to the "my saved shapes" area on the left. You can now add it whenever you need IDEF block and you can use the off-page element to link the node to that node's page.


I also created the page block frame and title. I add that to each page as a separate layer from the data for background

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