Flowcharts are designed to represent any workflow, decision-making process, and system visually. It shows every step of the process clearly and understandably. Common symbols used in building flowcharts are oval, rectangle, arrow, diamond, and parallelogram.
Flowcharts are extensively used in various fields including business, education, project management, and software development. People can understand complex tasks and processes in quite easy way by using flowcharts.
Potential uses of flowchart
Flowcharts have a wide range of uses across all the fields. Let’s talk about some potential uses of flowcharts.
Business mapping
Flowcharts play a significant role in business by mapping workflows and processes. This helps in analyzing and improving business processes. New employees are usually not familiar with the existing norms of the company. In this case, flowcharts play a vital role in explaining all the unfamiliar processes and norms understandably.
Software development
Flowcharts are concise but use different symbols and connectors to effectively represent large amounts of information. It gives a great benefit to data management by simplifying complex tasks. That’s why software developers use flowcharts to provide instructions and visual representations of program structures and algorithms.
Education process
Flowcharts have become the most important part of education. Nowadays, every complex topic is usually described with the help of flowcharts because it helps them to understand each step clearly. Learning through flowcharts is not only easy but it is quite interesting as well. It helps to develop interest in the relevant topic. For example, in biology class, the teacher explains the glycolysis process through a flowchart for the ease of students.
Decision-making
Everyone has to make decisions in certain parts of their life. It may be a personal life or a professional life. That’s why everyone should know all the relevant facts before making any decision. Flowcharts represent different options and show the potential outcomes of each decision. In this way, one can make a better decision by using flowcharts.
Benefits of using Microsoft Word for flowcharts
As we have discussed above flowcharts have many uses in a variety of fields. Flowcharts can be developed through many tools and methods. No doubt, Microsoft Word is one of the best choices for making flowcharts. Some benefits of using Microsoft Word for flowcharts are given below.
User-friendly interface
Many of us are already familiar with Microsoft Word’s interface. It does not need additional training or learning to make flowcharts on Microsoft Word. That’s why it is the biggest reason behind choosing this tool.
Ease of editing
Errors can occur while making flowcharts and for this editing is needed. Editing flowcharts in Microsoft Word is easy because users can add or remove shapes, and symbols, and can update texts without any complex procedure.
Accessibility
Microsoft Word is easily accessible and commonly used in educational or professional settings. It is accessible to mobile devices, the web, desktops, and many other platforms. Therefore, it is a strong option for making flowcharts because sometimes we may be in a situation where we have no access to a laptop then we can easily make a flowchart on mobile as well due to its wide range of accessibility.
How to Make a Flowchart in Microsoft Word?
We have discussed earlier the benefits of making flowcharts in Microsoft Word. Now it’s time to give a complete guide on making a flowchart in Microsoft Word. Let’s have a look at this complete tutorial.
There are two methods to make a flowchart in Microsoft Word.
Building a flowchart using a pre-built SmartArt graphic process.
Building a flowchart by using shapes.
Method 1: Building a flowchart using a pre-built SmartArt graphic process.
Using a pre-built SmartArt to make flowcharts is an efficient way to make logical and professional flowcharts.
Add a SmartArt Graphic
Open a new document on Microsoft Word. Click “Insert” located on the ribbon at the top of the screen. Click on “SmartArt” in the “Illustrations” group to open the SmartArt Graphic gallery. In the SmartArt Graphic gallery, select “process” from the list on the left side of the page.
There are a variety of templates in this category that are specially designed for flowcharts. Many layouts are present like Basic process, Continuous block process, etc. Select a layout according to your needs and then click “Ok” to add the selected SmartArt graphic to your document.
Add text in SmartArt Graphic
Start adding your content relative to your topic in the SmartArt Graphic by clicking on the “Placeholder text”. If the text pane is invisible, click on the small arrow present on the left side of the SmartArt Graphic. You can change the text in the shapes directly by typing or changing font size, and color.
Format your flowchart
Select SmartArt Graphic by clicking on it. Click on the “SmartArt design” present on the ribbon and after that click on “Change colors” to select different colors to enhance the visual appearance of your flowchart according to your work needs.
In the same tab select Visual effects like shadows, reflections, and 3D effects for your flowchart from “SmartArt Styles”. This step enhances the overall look of the flowchart. If you want to change shape style, fill color, and outline shape then click on the “format” present on the ribbon by selecting SmartArt Graphic.
Wrap up and review
The last step of every process is review. So, also here review is the last step to consider. Before finalizing the flowchart, it should be reviewed to ensure that all decisions, steps, and connections are accurately represented or not. Make necessary adjustments and confirm that the flowchart is effectively communicating according to the desired needs of the work.
Click on “file” and press “save as” to save your document. Choose the location, and file format, and enter a file name. You can directly print documents in Microsoft Word as well if you need.
Method 2: Building a flowchart by using shapes
Building a flowchart by using shapes is the best way to make customized flowcharts and this method has more creative options. Let’s describe all the steps in detail.
Prepare document for inserting shapes
Open a new document in Microsoft Word. For a professional and neat look, you can turn on “gridlines”. Click on the “view” tab present in the ribbon and then click on gridlines for their appearance. Remember, it’s optional, not necessary.
Insert shapes on the document
Click the “Insert” present in the ribbon. Click on “shapes” from the “illustrations” group. A variety of shapes will appear. You can choose anyone like process, decision, and data from the “Flowchart section” to make your flowchart according to your work needs.
Choose the desired shape and then click on the document where you want to place it. Drag to draw the shape. Add all the necessary shapes to make your flowchart by using the same step.
Add the arrows to connect each step
Now it’s time to connect each step after placing all the shapes on the document. For this purpose, click “Insert” and then click on “Shapes” from the “illustration” group. Choose an arrow from the “lines section” according to your work needs.
Click on the starting point of the connector and drag to the ending point of the connector with the help of the mouse. Adjust all the shapes and arrows for a neat look.
Add text in the shapes
Add your work-related content in the shapes and arrange them concisely and understandably because overcrowded flowcharts are not worthy at all. If you want to change the shape style, fill color, and outline shape then click on the "format" present on the ribbon.
Wrap up and review
The last step of this method is the same as the last step of the SmartArt Graphics method. Review the whole flowchart to ensure that all the information is correct and relevant to the assigned topic. Save the document by entering the file name, format, and location.
Tips for creating an effective flowchart
There are some tips that you should know before creating a flowchart in Microsoft Word.
Avoid overcrowding your flowchart by keeping it simple and to the point for a professional look.
Choose color and font style according to your work needs.
Use simple arrows to connect all the shapes.
Put accurate and relevant information in the text box.
Review the flowchart before finalizing it to avoid errors.
The final verdict
Flowcharts have become essential for many fields including business and education. There are two methods for creating flowcharts in Microsoft Word. Building a flowchart through SmartArt Graphic is easy and quick due to the pre-designed templates. On the other hand, building a flowchart through shapes is a little bit time-consuming because templates are not pre-designed.
By following all the tips and steps you can make a desired flowchart according to your specified needs. This step-by-step guide helps users in creating flowcharts even for beginners.
