Groups are Objects but graphicname variable doesn't refer to Groups

OmniGraffle
#1

I’ve run into what might be an edge case. I’m building a simple diagram of a server architecture and used the Object Inspector to assign a name to the group. Ahah, I thought, I can use that variable to label the server. Imagine my surprise when the outcome was a server named “Rectangle”. If I select the group name in the left-hand sidebar, I cannot insert a new variable. What am I missing here?

#2

Do you have the object on a locked layer? If you have locked the object or the layer, you will need to unlock it first to change the name in the Object Inspector.

If the graphic isn’t locked, you should be able to change the name either by clicking inline in the Layers sidebar, or by typing it into the name area of the Object Inspector. If you can’t, could you please post a simple example file here so that we can look into the problem?

Thanks,
Lanette

1 Like
#3

Hi, looks like I’m too new a user to upload a sample. Hopefully this Dropbox sharing link will work: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qohlkgl283lmzn3/sample.graffle?dl=0

I’ve assigned the Group an Object Name, but I don’t see how I can attach a variable to output that name. If I created a pure text label and placed it inside the group, the label would probably be called “rectangle”, too.

#4

It looks like you have added a label to the biggest rectangle, but changed the Object name of the top level group. A group is a collection of graphics, but it isn’t really the same as a “graphic” since it only exists as a collection of other items. To use the <%GraphicName%> variable, you want to change the name of the graphic containing the label to what you want it to read, not the name of the overall group of which the graphic it is a member. I don’t think it is possible to label a group and there is no <%GroupName%> variable, but that’s a cool feature request. I’ve seen some people use the notes area of Object Data to store information about a graphic. There are also some people who use scripts to name their objects.

Please send us email from Contact Omni under Help if you’d like to request a feature or if we can walk you through some options for using variables.

Thanks,
Lanette

1 Like
#5

Thank you, yes. I think I will submit this as a feature request as I think it has a lot of utility. Especially for users trying to build a very standardised library of diagram content items that can be rapidly updated without needing to click into the diagram itself.

1 Like
#6

Hi!
It’s really might be very useful feature! Are any news about this?