Visio2000: Automatic Layout Behavior of Active Directory Shapes

When you use the Active Directory solution to lay out your Active Directory scenario, you may experience unexpected behavior when you connect shapes.

For instance, if you drop a Domain shape onto your drawing, and then attach a user by means of the Connector tool, the user will be moved under the Domain shape.

This behavior is by design and can occur because of the hierarchical layout of the Active Directory solution.

When you drag a parent object with children to the directory diagram, objects in the directory diagram are automatically laid out. Similar rules apply when you connect shapes manually with the Connector tool.

How to Change the Layout of a Directory Diagram

1. In the directory diagram, right-click the parent object that has children whose layout you want to change.
2. Click Lay out Children, and then select the layout style that you want.
3. Click OK.

How to Disable Automatic Layout

By default, Visio automatically lays out the structure of parent objects with children when the objects are dragged to the directory diagram. To disable this setting, follow these steps:

1. In the directory diagram, click Options on the Directory Services menu.
2. In the Directory Services Options dialog box, click to clear the Enable Auto Layout check box.
3. Click OK.

For more information about automatic layout, click Search on the Help menu, type layout children in the What would you like to know? box, and then click Search to view the topics.