How to Create Awesome Flowcharts Using Microsoft Word

If man were a logical beast, mathematics would be the easiest subject and love would not exist.

Fortunately, when it comes to logic, the right tools can help simplify any process. Flowcharts are among the visual thinking tools that are completely ignored for non-technical tasks. Perhaps because flowcharting began purely as an engineering skill and didn't make it past the draft boards of industrial planners. With its leap into computer algorithms, it became more general.

Like spreadsheets and meeting agenda templates The 15 Best Meeting Agenda Templates for Microsoft Word The 15 Best Meeting Agenda Templates for Microsoft Word These meeting agenda templates for Microsoft Word can give you a great start to any type of meeting. Read More

Once again, creating flowcharts doesn't have to be a technical exercise. Use them imaginatively, and you can simplify your work or life with flowcharts. If they're so useful, why not try some flowcharts with one of the more readily available tools? - Microsoft Word .

Let's look at the different ways we can create flowcharts. Top 7 Free Online Flowchart Makers Top 7 Free Online Flowchart Makers Do you need the ability to create flowcharts anywhere, anytime without spend a lot of money, if at all? These are the best online flowchart tools that are free or reasonably priced. Read More

What are flowcharts?

Frank Gilbreth, an engineer, is believed to have created the first “Process Flow Diagrams” in 1921. A flow diagram is an easy-to-understand diagram of any process that uses simple graphics to represent a beginning, an end, and the various stages that follow a logical order. Each process step is represented by a unique symbol with a brief process step label. The flowchart symbols are linked to each other with arrows that show the direction of the process flow. As you can see in the diagram below, each symbol is standardized for the specific process.

As standard symbols To illustrate the steps, it's easy to see how it all fits together. Flowcharts can be customized for any process-oriented task. That is why a wide variety of flowcharts are visible, but the basics remain the same.

Uses of flowcharts

The beauty of flowcharts lies in their simplicity. You can use basic symbols to map any job and you can use flow charts for different situations. Out there on the Web, there are good and useful ways to use copyrighted images. All thanks to the ease of creating flowcharts by hand or easy-to-use diagramming tools.

Once the flowchart has been illustrated, it is easy to get an overview and understand the entire process. Just the process of drawing the flowchart can help clear your own logic and give you insights to improve it. To summarize…

• Examine any process.
• Communicate steps to other people involved in a process..
• Organize a process by eliminating redundant steps..
• Identify and fix potential problems.
• Improve a process.

A basic flowchart

Flowcharts come in all different shapes and sizes. Here's an example of a basic flowchart you can use to find the largest of three numbers:

Let's do this in Microsoft Word

All the necessary tools to make flowcharts in Microsoft Word 2013 or 2016 are found with the Drawing tools . But first do these three preliminary steps:

Maximize the area of ​​your page. Collapse the ribbon bydo licking the little up arrow (or dlick Ctrl + F1 ) on the far right, so only the tab names are displayed.

Show the grid. Click the View tab and click the Grid Lines cash register. The grid helps you accurately align and size the flowchart symbols by snapping them to the grids. You can also customize the grid lines (Page Layout - Arrange - Align - Grid Settings ).

Use the drawing canvas. Inserting any shape or "drawing" into a Word document automatically creates a drawing canvas. You will need to resize the canvas to frame your entire flowchart. As this Microsoft support page says, it's especially useful when using different shapes (such as in a flowchart). Additionally, you can customize the drawing canvas to create attractive backgrounds for your flowchart.

Now, let's begin the meticulous work of inserting our shapes and connecting them all together. It always helps if you assign it on paper first, and then use Microsoft Word to give it the final look. A rough sketch helps you understand the page layout in Word to get started. The process is simple, but planning using this "planning tool" is a time saver. All required symbols can be found in the Insert tab - Shapes . Click the dropdown menu for Shapes.

1. The symbols are neatly organized under the Flowchart group.
2. Select the shape. For example, the "start" symbol.
3. Click on the canvas area, hold down the left mouse button while dragging the mouse to add the shape. You can also double-click any shape to automatically add it to the Canvas. Move and resize.
4. Add text by clicking the shape and typing in the label.
5. Connect two symbol shapes with the help of arrows or connectors. Unlike simple arrows, connectors stay connected to shapes. The two basic types of connectors available in the Shapes dropdown menu are Elbow and Curved.Benefits by Objectives: Connectors work as expected only between shapes placed on the drawing canvas . For example, you can manually move the connectors to any connection point (represented by small blue dots on the shapes) . The connection points anchor the connectors in place, and you can move the shapes without disassembling the connectors. This gives you a lot of flexibility in modifying your flowchart as you move things around.
6. Add a Yes or No connectors that branch off of Decision shapes by inserting text boxes next to the connector arrows. You can also use the rotate control to rotate the text box.

Tips for aligning shapes

There are several ways to do it..

1. The recommended way is to do it right the first time. Use the grid lines and draw with uniform widths when you place them on the canvas.
2. Click on individual shapes and drag them to the new locations. If you have many forms, this can take a long time. The grid lines help you snap them into place.
3. Select all the shapes you want to align. About the Format tab, click the Align Dropdown menu. Select Align selected objects and use the align tool to align the shapes automatically.

Tips for aligning a flowchart

After the flowchart has been drawn, you can carefully align the diagram according to the page.

1. Group all shapes and connectors. Select all the shapes and connectors. About the Format tab, click the Group dropdown and select Group .
2. From the Align check if the Align to margin item is selected. Then click Align Center and/or Align Middle .
3. Optionally resize the canvas by dragging the corner or edges.

Designing a “Wonderful” Flowchart

The colorful flowchart you see above is just a more formatted flowchart. Formatting a flowchart should be the final stage after inserting, connecting, and labeling all the boxes. It's best to do it in bulk rather than putting the decorations into individual boxes as you go. So, select multiple shapes and format them together.

I'll leave that to your creative eye, and just point out the basic tools you can access from the Format tab on the Ribbon or the more detailed options available in the side panel. Open the side panel by right-clicking on a shape and selecting Format Shape .

You have many options available to design the shapes and connectors:

Shape Styles: A quick way to add color or gradients to shapes.

Shape fills: Use your choice of solid colors or gradients. Don't use too many color schemes.

Shape contours: Set the visual properties of the boundary lines. Also, use it to make the connector arrows thicker or thinner.

Effects: Give shapes depth with 3-Dimensions, Shadows, etc.

As you can see, there are many options for adding a variety of finishing touches to the barebones flowchart. It's a painstaking task, but don't worry if you want a professional look.

You can also start with a flowchart template. The best flowchart templates for Microsoft Office. The best flowchart templates for Microsoft Office flowcharts visualize processes. We've compiled the best flowchart templates for Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Read More

One of the many ways to create flowcharts - How to do it?

From the humble pen and paper to specialized applications like SmartDraw and Microsoft's own Visio, there are many ways to create flowcharts. You also have the option to use the LucidChart flowchart / flowchart app from within Microsoft Word 2013. It's available from the Microsoft Office Store and is free to install and use.

We spend an incredible amount of time using the Microsoft Office suite. Therefore, it makes sense to be aware of all his powers. If flowcharts aren't your thing, try presenting information in tables. 8 Formatting Tips for Perfect Tables in Microsoft Word 8 Formatting Tips for Perfect Tables in Microsoft Word Tables in Microsoft Word are essential formatting tools. Find out how to use them to their fullest potential with these simple tips. Read more.

From basic image editing in Word to brainstorming with mind maps, Microsoft Office is the jousting of many trades. With a little deliberate practice, you can be a master at it.

In case Microsoft Word doesn't cut it for you, we've also compiled a list of Windows tools for creating flowcharts. 7 Best Free Flowchart Tools for Windows 7. From Bad Habits. But what is the best way to make a flowchart? We've found 7 great flowchart tools. Read more . Or you can just use Excel to create your flowcharts How to Create a Flowchart in Excel How to Create a Flowchart in Excel If you subscribe to Office 365, you can create flowcharts in Microsoft Excel. Here's how to set up a flowchart environment and create flowcharts right out of the box. Read more.