The "External Data" pane does not display changes when the external data source has been changed in Visio 2007

Consider the following scenario. You link shapes in a Microsoft Office Visio 2007 drawing file to an external data source. The External Data pane displays all the columns and rows that are active in the external data source. You save the drawing file and close Visio 2007. Then, you perform one of the following actions:

• You reopen the drawing and use the Data Selector Wizard to change the external data source. For example, you apply filters to the rows. Alternatively, you add or delete columns in the external data source.
• You use another program to make direct changes and modifications to the external data source. For example, you use Microsoft Office Access 2007 to add or delete columns or rows in the external data source.

Then, you save the changes that you made to the data source. In this scenario, when you reopen the Visio 2007 drawing file, the External Data pane does not display the changes that were made to the external data source.

This issue occurs because Visio 2007 does not automatically update the connection to an external data source when one of the following conditions is true:

• You use the Data Selector Wizard to reference or modify the external data source.
• You use another program to directly change or modify the external data source.

You must manually update the connection to the external data source to see the changes that were made. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Data menu, click Refresh data.
2. Select the data source that you want to update, and then click Refresh.
3. You may receive a Visio security message that asks you to verify that you want to update the data source. Click OK if you trust the data source.
   
   Note If you click Cancel, the data source will not be updated. However, you can update the data source in the future after you verify that you can trust the data source.
4. Click Close.