How to make a flow chart in Word
Learning how to make a flow chart in Word is easier said than done.
That’s doubly true if you’re not sure how to insert Excel into Word, or even what a Microsoft Word flow chart looks like in the first place.
However, there are multiple ways to create a flow chart in Word, and we’ll cover the best ones here:
- How to create a basic flow chart in Word
- How to make a flow chart using shapes or SmartArt
- How PandaDoc software can help make this task easier
Let’s get started.
How to create a flow chart in Word
One of the easiest ways to create flow charts in Word is to use text boxes.
You can enter your desired text into the boxes, then customize them to be the color and shape you’d like by changing the fill color from transparent to your choice of colors.
Or, if you want to create collaborative flow charts, you could create fillable lines in Word which others can add text to at a later date.
Another easy and quick strategy for making flow charts in Word is to use templates.
These let you simply input information into premade graphics, allowing you to easily produce charts without starting from scratch each time.
There are multiple ways to create a flow chart in Word, however.
Let’s look at the method that uses shapes and/or SmartArt.
How to make a flow chart using shapes or SmartArt
It’s time for a Microsoft Office Word flow chart step-by-step guide for those who would prefer to work with shapes or SmartArt:
Shapes
This approach to the question of how to create flow charts in Word is slightly more time-consuming, though it’s well worth it if you have a very specific vision for how your flow chart should look.
It begins, of course, with Word’s default shapes.
If you’d like your flow chart to be wider rather than longer, you can borrow the first step of the SmartArt process and change the page to Landscape before you start. Otherwise, go straight to Step 1 below:
Step 1. Choosing shapes
After clicking on Insert, you should be able to find a tab titled Shapes.
Click on this to see a selection of the kinds of shapes Word offers.
Alongside classics like circles and squares, you’ll find some unusual options like wavy banners or trapezoids.
Choose the shape(s) you’d like to use (one by one), then put them down anywhere in your document by clicking and dragging to get the size you’re after.
Step 2. Arrows
Connect your shapes to one another using arrows, which are also under Insert >Shapes.
You can choose to do this with straight lines, or arrows that curl and bend around the page — it all depends on what you’re looking for.
Step 3. Adjusting shapes
Highlight your shape, then click on Shape Format at the top of the page.
Here, you’ll be able to make the shape look exactly the way you’d like it to.
Repeat this step for your arrows.
Step 4. Text
Next, you’ll want to click on your first shape and start typing.
Repeat this process for your other shapes until they all contain the text you’d like them to.
Congratulations, you’ve now made a flow chart in Word!
SmartArt
Choose this method to draw up a flow chart, and SmartArt does most of the work for you.
While creating text boxes or adding shapes to a Doc only takes as much time as it does to create a block quote in Word, using SmartArt is even quicker.
Step 1. Landscape
First, let’s change the page orientation to give us more room to create a flow chart in Word.
Find Layout at the top of the screen, then click on Orientation, then Landscape.
Step 2. Choose SmartArt
Now you’re ready to make a flow chart in Word. Click on Insert >SmartArt >Process, and choose the best flow chart Word template for your needs.
Step 3. Your process
Highlight your SmartArt. At the top of the page, you’ll then find a button labeled Text Pane.
Click this, then type or insert your process list.
Step 4. Get creative!
This is the fun part that makes it worth learning how to make flow charts in Word.
Now, you get to change the colors and fonts of your flow chart to perfectly reflect how you’d like it to look. Remember that legibility is key.
PandaDoc can help you with more than just Microsoft Word flow chart templates
If you’re after the best Word templates, PandaDoc has you covered.
But help with making a flow chart in Word is just the tip of the iceberg.
Our document management software is flexible and user-friendly, and is ideally suited to helping you keep all your documents in excellent shape.
That’s whether you created them in Word or not.
Try PandaDoc’s software solution to experience its transformative power for yourself.