Applies to
Microsoft Visio® 2002

Use flowcharts to see an entire process at a glance. Clarify what works and what doesn't work in your team's task and information flow. Brainstorm improvements, analyze and problem-solve, then document your fixes by annotating the process with details about each of its steps.

This article describes how to:

• Fit the flowchart to your process
• Make your flowcharts easy to revise
• Control connector lines
• Change the layout of a flowchart
• Annotate your process steps

And provides:

• Tips for working with large flowcharts

Fit the flowchart to your process

You can eliminate rework and retrofitting by making sure you start with the appropriate flowchart for the graphical problem that you're trying to solve. The following table shows what types of data fit best into which types of flowcharts. Use it to identify the flowchart that fits the process you want to show, and then find out how to make your flowchart easy to revise.

Flowchart type	Sample (click to enlarge)	Purpose
Audit diagram		Document and analyze processes that involve financial transactions and inventory management.
Basic flowchart		Describe or analyze processes, document procedures, indicate work or information flow, track cost and efficiency.
Cause-and-effect diagram (also called Ishikawa or Fishbone diagram)		Document the factors that contribute to a given outcome. Use for problem solving.
Cross-functional flowchart		Show the relationship between a business process and the organizational or functional units responsible for the process.
Data flow diagram		Document the logical flow of data through a set of processes or procedures, including external sources and destinations of the data activities that transform the data and stores or collections where the data is held.
IDEF0 diagram		Model business and organizational processes using standardized IDEF0 text, box, and arrow conventions.
Mind mapping diagram		Brainstorm and problem-solve using Tony Buzan's mind maps (graphical representations of thought processes).
SDL diagram		Document communication and telecommunication system networks using Specification and Description Language shapes designed to International Telecommunications standards.
TQM diagram		Create Total Quality Management flowcharts for business process re-engineering, Total Quality Management, continuous improvement, and quality solutions.
Workflow diagram		Describe, analyze, and document information flow, automation of business processes, accounting, management, and human resources tasks.

Make your flowchart easy to revise

Visio includes a special tool that you can use so that connecting lines are added automatically when you drop shapes, and the shapes stay connected when you move them. It's called the Connector tool , and if you use it instead of simply drawing lines between the boxes with the Line tool, you'll save time creating and revising a flowchart.

If you want to learn more about connections between shapes and how to control where lines go into or out of shapes, see Control connector lines.

To create a basic flowchart that's easy to revise

1. On the File menu, point to New, point to Flowchart, and then click Basic Flowchart.
2. Drag a Process shape from the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil to the drawing page.
3. On the Standard toolbar, click the Connector tool .

   If you don't see the Connector tool, on the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Standard.

4. Drag a second Process shape to the drawing page. The shapes connect automatically.
5. Continue adding Process, Decision, Document, and other shapes until all the shapes you want are on the page.

   Each new shape that you add to the drawing page connects to the shape that is selected at the time you add it.

6. On the Standard toolbar, click the Pointer tool .
7. To add text to a process step, click the shape representing the step, and then type.
8. To change the direction of process flow between two steps, click the connecting line between the steps. On the Shape menu, point to Rotate or Flip, and then click Flip Horizontal (if the connecting line is horizontal), or Flip Vertical (if the connecting line is vertical).

Tip  To connect a series of shapes simultaneously, select the shapes that you want to connect in the order you want them to connect. Then, on the Shape menu, click Connect Shapes.

Control connector lines

When you use the Connector tool to create the connecting lines between steps in a flowchart, you glue the steps to one another dynamically. If you need more precise control over where lines go into or out of specific boxes, you can switch to static glue, which lets you determine exactly what point on the box a line connects to, regardless of where you move the box later.

Dynamic connections

When a connection is dynamic, the ends of a connecting line, or connector, are glued to entire shapes. If you move the shapes, the connecting line shifts so that the two closest points are connected.

Static connections

When a connection is static, the ends of a connecting line, or connector, are glued to specific points on shapes. If you move the shapes, the connecting line remains glued at the original point.

How to identify connection type

To see whether a connection is dynamic or static, click the connecting line. If the ends of the line become large red squares, the connection is dynamic. If the ends become small red squares with symbols in them, the connection is static.

How to change one type of connection to another

To change a connector from dynamic to static, drag a connecting line endpoint away from the shape, and then back to the blue x that indicates where you want the line to connect. To change from a static to a dynamic connection, drag a connecting line endpoint toward the middle of the process step shape until a red box surrounds the entire shape.

Change the layout of a flowchart

You may want to revise the layout of a flowchart to improve the way it looks on the drawing page or to accommodate updates, such as the addition of new processes or decisions.

Two ways to revise flowchart layout

Use this method	When
Manual	Your flowchart is small. You only have a few revisions to do.
Automatic	Your flowchart is large and revising manually would take a lot of time. You have added a new series of shapes to a large flowchart.

To manually revise flowchart layout

1. Make sure the connections between the shapes are dynamic.
2. Click the shape that you want to move, and then drag it to its new location.

To automatically revise flowchart layout

1. Make sure the connections between shapes are dynamic.
2. If you want to revise the entire flowchart's layout, make sure that no shapes are selected. If you want to revise the layout of one section of the flowchart, select the shapes in that section.
3. On the Shape menu, click Lay Out Shapes.
4. Click the layout options you want, and then click OK.

   If you need more information about an option, click the question mark (?) in the Lay Out Shapes dialog box.

Tip   If you don't like the automatic layout results, on the Edit menu, click Undo Lay Out Shapes.

Annotate your process steps

By providing a graphical representation of an entire process, a flowchart represents the big picture. Frequently, however, one step in a process is actually made up of a series of substeps. By annotating a step, you can explain the complexity behind it.

Two ways to annotate process steps

Use this method	When	Details
Add one or more navigational links to a flowchart shape.	You want to jump directly from a shape to a diagram, document, or Web page where the user can find detailed information about the process step that the shape represents.	You can add links from shapes to: Another page in the same diagram. Another diagram. Documents created in other programs, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Web pages.
Number flowchart shapes.	You want to quickly locate references to the process steps in a numbered document.	You can add numbers by: Manually or automatically adding them to shapes in flowcharts that you have already created. Setting up the numbering options in advance and automatically numbering shapes as you drop them on the page.

Add navigational links

To add navigational links to a flowchart shape

1. Click the shape to which you want to add a link.
2. On the Insert menu, click Hyperlinks.
3. Do one of the following:
   • To link to a Web site, under Address, type the Web site's URL or click Browse. Click Internet Address, and then browse to the site in your Web browser.
   • To link to a document, under Address, click Browse, and then click Local File. Browse to the file on your computer or on a server, and then click Open.
   • To link to another page in the same diagram, leave Address blank. Under Sub-address, click Browse, choose the page that you want to link to, and then click OK.
4. To add another link to the same shape, click New, and then repeat Steps 1 through 3.
5. When you're finished adding links to the shape, click OK.

To follow the link to its destination

1. Right-click the flowchart shape to which links have been added.
2. Click the name of the link that you want.

Tip   When you display a flowchart in Full Screen, or presentation view (on the View menu, click Full Screen), links on shapes behave just like hyperlinks on Web pages.

Number flowchart shapes

To add numbers in an existing flowchart

1. Display the drawing page that contains the flowchart shapes that you want to add numbers to.
2. If you want to add numbers only to specific shapes, select those shapes.
3. On the Tools menu, click Number Shapes.
4. On the General tab, under Operation, click:
   • Auto Number, to automatically number shapes from left to right and then top to bottom on the drawing page.
   • Manually By Clicking, to control the sequence in which shapes are numbered by manually clicking the shapes in the order you want.
5. Under Number Assigned, type the number that you want to start with and the interval between numbers, and then click OK.

Note   In a multipage diagram, you have to add numbers to shapes on each page separately. To display a drawing page, click a tab at the bottom left of the drawing window.

To add numbers as you create a flowchart

1. On the File menu, point to New, point to Flowchart, and then click the type of flowchart that you want to create.
2. On the Tools menu, click Number Shapes.
3. On the General tab, under Number Assigned, type the number you want to start numbering with and the interval between numbers.
4. Under Operation, click:
   • Auto Number, to automatically number shapes from left to right and then top to bottom on the drawing page.
   • Manually By Clicking, to control the sequence in which shapes are numbered by manually clicking the shapes in the order you want.
5. Select the Continue numbering shapes as dropped on page check box, and then click OK.
6. When you have finished adding numbers, on the Tools menu, click Number Shapes. Clear the Continue numbering shapes as dropped on page check box, and then click OK.

Tip   To change the sequence in which shapes are automatically numbered, click the Advanced tab in the Number Shapes dialog box.

Tips for working with large flowcharts

Because many processes are long and complex, flowcharts often extend beyond the print boundaries of a letter-size page. There are several ways you can handle large flowcharts so they are easy to work with and share.

Method	Description
Drill-down approach	Create a high-level flowchart on one page. From each high-level step in this flowchart, "drill down" to a more detailed flowchart on a new page.
Off-page references	Draw as much of your flowchart as you can on one page. Then use an off-page reference to create a link to the page on which the flowchart continues.
On-page references	Draw as much of your flowchart as you can moving down or across the page. Then use an on-page reference to indicate that the flowchart continues at the top or left of the next page.
Change drawing page size	Change the size of the drawing page to contain the flowchart you are creating. When you print the flowchart, it may tile across several letter-size pages.
Change flowchart size	You can scale a flowchart so that it fits on a letter-size printed page.

To create a drill-down flowchart

1. On the File menu, point to New, then to Flowchart, and then click the type of flowchart you want to create.
2. Create a high-level flowchart by dropping shapes onto the drawing page.
3. On the Insert menu, click New Page. Type a name for the new page if you want, and then click OK.
4. Click the page tab at the bottom of the drawing page window to return to the high-level flowchart page.
5. On the shape that represents a process step that you want to define in detail on the new drawing page, create a navigational link that jumps to the new drawing page.
6. Repeat Steps 3–5 for each high-level process step that you want to drill down on.
7. Drop shapes onto the new drawing pages to create the flowcharts you want to drill down to.

To create a flowchart using off-page references

1. On the File menu, point to New, point to Flowchart, and then click the type of flowchart you want to create.
2. Create a flowchart by dropping shapes onto the drawing page. Keep adding shapes until you come close to the bottom or right edge of the drawing page.
3. Drag the Off-page reference shape onto the page and position it near the edge, as the last shape.
4. Click OK to add the Off-page reference shape to the current page, and to create a new drawing page that has its own Off-page reference shape.
5. With the Off-page reference shape on the new drawing page selected, on the Standard toolbar, click the Connector tool .
6. Continue adding flowchart shapes until your flowchart is complete or you reach the end of the new drawing page.
7. If necessary, repeat Steps 3–6 to add another off-page reference.

To navigate between pages using off-page references

• Double-click an Off-page reference shape to go to the page that the shape references.

To create a flowchart using on-page references

1. On the File menu, point to New, point to Flowchart, and then click the type of flowchart you want to create.
2. Create a flowchart by dropping shapes onto the drawing page. Keep adding shapes until you come close to the lower or right edge of the drawing page.
3. Drag the On-page reference shape onto the page and position it near the edge, as the last shape.
4. With the shape selected, type an identifying label, such as a number or letter.
5. On the Edit menu, click Duplicate, and then drag the duplicate shape to the top or left of the drawing page.
6. With the On-page reference shape on the new drawing page selected, on the Standard toolbar, click the Connector tool .
7. Continue adding flowchart shapes until your flowchart is complete or you reach the end of the page.
8. If necessary, repeat Steps 3–7 to add another on-page reference.

To change drawing page size

1. With the flowchart open, on the File menu, click Page Setup.
2. Click the Page Size tab.
3. Under Page size, click Size to fit drawing contents, and then click OK.

Tip   You can preview page breaks and change them before you print.

To change flowchart size

1. With the flowchart open, on the File menu, click Page Setup.
2. Click the Drawing Scale tab. Under Drawing scale, click Custom scale.
3. Type the appropriate scale units. For example, if the flowchart is larger than the drawing page, change the scale so that 0.75 unit on the page equals 1 unit in the real world.
4. Click OK.

Tip   Text doesn't scale with shapes. If your flowchart shapes contain text that looks too large after you scale, press CTRL+A to select all the shapes, and then choose a smaller font size from the Font Size list on the Formatting toolbar.