Network topology in Word: port labels, cable meaning, grayscale-safe prints
`network-diagram-docx` targets DC, campus, or security-zone drawings inside change records and runbooks. Color-only VLAN cues disappear in monochrome; dense ports blur when Word compresses images. Add line patterns or text suffixes for zones, print a smoke page, and keep rack tables as real Word tables instead of raster tables inside the canvas. Put configuration IDs into searchable body text, not only inside shapes.
Topology handoff: grayscale and print floors first, then validate searchable port labels
- Before upload verify port label sizes, cable legends, and color semantics; encode non-color cues for every critical distinction so monochrome printing stays operable.
- Print-preview and physical-test a page on the target printer; if icons mush together, raise contrast or zoom regions in Visio, then re-export.
- Cover pages list naming standards and versions; manifests tie change tickets to registered hashes—cutovers must cite those attachments, not ad-hoc screenshots.
VSDX to DOCX (network) FAQ
Security zones were color-only—loss in Word print an incident?
Yes operationally—add patterns/text, and state sign-off assumes grayscale readability; post-facto color cannot replace pre-cutover verification.
Front/back rack panels overlap in Word—fix how?
Split into two pages or stack layouts in Visio; wrapping tweaks alone rarely fix structural overlap.
Need sortable port tables—split files?
Keep tables native Word content cross-linked to figures; baking tables into images breaks CMDB reconciliation.
Huge canvases balloon DOCX size—what to do?
Crop ornaments, downsample noncritical bitmaps, or split per system; document any lowered-resolution annex.
Rollback needs last topology—manifest design?
Archive read-only prior DOCX/.vsdx hash pairs per ticket; ban overwrite releases that erase the failure-time view.