This tutorial will guide you through the steps on how to make a flowchart in the MS Word:
Microsoft Word is a widely used word processor and is a commonly used format for emailing text documents since it is compatible with almost every computer. Over time, Word has evolved and now it allows you to do many things including improved document navigation, the embedding of screenshots, making a flowchart, and whatnot.
In this article, we will describe every step to make a flowchart in Word and everything else related to it on MS Word Version 2007. We will also see some formatting tips and interesting facts.
Table of Contents:
How To Make A Flowchart In Word
Let us get started and explore the step-by-step guide on how to create a flowchart in word
Open A Blank Document
The first step in making a flowchart in Word is to open a blank document which is an easy task in Word. Usually, when you launch the processor, it opens a blank document. If it doesn’t, click on the Microsoft icon and select new. There will be a blank word document on your screen.
Insert A Canvas And Gridlines
Flowcharts are often seen contained in a canvas. Although, if you like you can skip the canvas, it has its advantages.
Advantages of Canvas includes:
- Makes the positioning of the shapes easier.
- Certain connectors work only on a canvas.
- You can format the canvas itself and it adds an attractive backdrop.
To insert a canvas and make a perfect flowchart inMicrosoft Word:
- Click the Insert tab
- Select the Shapes drop-down button
- From the menu select New Drawing Canvas
To insert Gridlines, follow these steps:
- Click on the View tab
- Select Gridlines check box.
Add Shapes
Now, the question is how to draw diagrams in Word?
For that, you will have to add the shapes to your flowchart. To add desired shapes, follow these steps:
- Go to Insert
- Click on Shapes
- Select a shape from the dropdown gallery.
- Click on the shape.
- Click and drag it to the desired size.
- Keep adding the shapes and lines until you get your desired flowchart.
Add Text
Now that you have created the outline structure of your flowchart, it’s time to add texts into those boxes.
- Double click on the box to add text to it.
- Or bring the cursor inside the box
- Right-click
- Select Add text
- You can customize the text with the toolbox that pops up when you enter the text.
How To Insert Flowchart In Word
SmartArt makes it easy for you to create a visual representation of your ideas in Word. It comes with various layouts for not just your flowcharts but also for Venn diagrams, organization charts, and so on. If you are wondering how to insert a flowchart in Word using SmartArt, here is your answer.
How to Create A Flowchart In Word With Pictures
- Go to insert
- Click on SmartArt
- Select Process
- Click on Picture Accent Process
- Click on Ok
- To add pictures, select the box
- Click on the picture icon
- Select the picture
- Click insert.
To add text,
- Click on the Text Pane
- Type your text
- Or you can copy and paste your text here,
- Or, you can double-click on the SmartArt graphic and add the text.
Adding, Deleting, Or Moving Boxes
Power of editing the current design is what makes Word an ideal platform for creating a perfect flowchart. Here, you can add, delete or move a box without any hassle.
Adding a Box
You can always add a few boxes if you want.
- Click on the Design tab in SmartArt
- Select Add Shape
- Pick if you want to add a shape Before or After
Or, you can simply copy and paste the box and then adjust it.
Deleting a Box
Deleting a box is rather easy. All you have to do is select the box you want to delete and hit Delete.
Moving a Box in your Flow Chart
To move a box, select it and drag it to the new location. You can also use CTRL+Arrow keys to move the boxes just a little.
Changing Colors In Flow Chart
Different colors will make your flow chart more appealing and interesting. It is an easy task. Along with changing colors, you can also add certain effects such as soft-edges, gloves, 3D effects, etc.
Working on the Background and Theme
Background
- Right-click on the box you want to change the background color of.
- Select Format Shape
- Select the Fill option.
- Select one from the given options of No fill, Solid fill, Gradient fill, Picture or texture fill, and Pattern fill
- Depending on what you have picked, you will get the options
, 
, or, 
- Click on the drop-down arrow and select a color of your choice.
- Adjust the other factors like transparency, etc.
- And when you are satisfied, click close.
Tip# If you pick Texture, you can also insert a texture from your computer, clipboard, or ClipArt.
Theme
- Click on the graphic whose color you want to change
- Select the Design tab
- Click Change Color
- Select the desired combination and click on it.
Tip# You can hover the cursor over the color combination patterns to see how your flowchart will look.
Style Or Color Of Box’s Borders
Well, if you think colored boxes are a little too much, you can also just color the borders of the boxes.
- Right-click in the box whose border you want to color
- Select Format Shape
- Click on Line Color
- Choose an option from No Line, Solid Line, or Gradient Line.
- You can also select a Line Style, the shadow of the box, 3D- Format, and Rotation, etc.
- When you are done, click on Close.
Tip# Don’t hesitate in trying as many options as you want until you get the perfect look for your flowchart. In Powerpoint, you can even Animate your flowchart, but that’s a lesson for another time.
Formatting
Tips:
- The right thing to do is to start formatting after you are done with your flowchart. Otherwise, it could prove to be an incredibly tedious and irritating task.
- Shapes and connectors use different formatting tools, hence formatting them separately is only logical.
- If you want to reuse a format, right-click on a formatted shape, and select “Set Autoshape Defaults”. Any shape that you will add after will have the same format. However, some older versions of Word don’t have this feature.
Shapes Formatting
- Click on the format tab. In Word 2007 and 2010, there is a format tab that is replaced by side panels in Word 2013. To access the Shape Fill and Shape Outline menus in Word 2013, you will have to right-click on the shape you want to format.
- Pick the shape style. Word 2007 has a vast collection of shapes but not all of them are compatible with other MS Office applications while other versions only have a handful but they are all compatible with all Office applications.
- Fill the shapes with custom color, gradients, or texture
- You can also change the shape outline like thickness, line color, etc,
Connector Formatting
In Word 2007, the formatting isn’t available for connectors. Hence, in this version, you will have to use the weight (thickness) and color settings available for the shapes. However, in Word 2010-2019, formatting the connectors becomes easy as they come with an active format tab with a list of built-in styles. And they are way more attractive as compared to Word 2007.
Text Formatting And Alignment
Customizing text formatting in Word is difficult. You can make some changes in bulk while some you will have to do individually.
- If you right-click on the text pane, you will see the options for font style, size, fill color, etc.
- On the ribbon in format tab, you will find a few other options like text outline, text effects, text fill, text wrapping, etc.
Formatting And Aligning Canvas Size
After you are done with your flowchart, your canvas might still be a little too big for it.
- Right-click in the canvas
- Select Fit from the menu
To Align the flowchart and the canvas, follow these steps:
- Click and drag the edges of the canvas to resize it.
- Select all shapes and connectors by holding down the Shift key and clicking on all shapes and connectors.
- Click on the Format tab
- Click the Group dropdown
- Select Group
- Click on Align and check if Aligned to Canvas is checked.
- Select Align again and click on Align Center
- Now click on Group again and select Ungroup
Tip# If you don’t group the shapes and connectors, they will stack on top of each other when you Align them to the center.
Interesting Facts
These are as follows:
- Using connectors might prove to be a bit of a challenge if you are not using Canvas.
- You can copy the flowchart from Word 2007-2019 and paste special into Excel and then should be able to edit them, but not vice versa. Earlier versions used to allow this.
- Grouping all the shapes disables the Fit feature. When you ungroup them, the feature is enabled again.
- If you use Page Layout > Themes for formatting the documents, it will change the style of the flowchart as well, even if you have customized and formatted all the shapes carefully.
- The View > Gridlines option will display the grids in the canvas and all over the entire document, along with any other documents open. Select the canvas while selecting the grid to be displayed only in the canvas.
- If you apply the background, you will not be able to see the grids.
- In Word 2007 and greater versions, you will find vertical text alignment, but it skewes the centered text toward the top of the shape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q #1) Does MS Word have a template for the flowchart?
Answer: Yes, Word comes with many predefined SmartArt templates for flowcharts, with pictures and texts that are visually appealing and can be edited as per your liking.
Q #2) Is it easier to create a flowchart in Word or in Excel?
Answer: Well, both come with different perks, but there is a slight difference in convenience. Formatting a flowchart in Excel or in Powerpoint is easier than compared to Word.
Q #3) Does Excel have a flowchart template?
Answer: Yes, there is a flowchart template in Excel. You can access it as follows:
- Insert
- Click on Illustrations
- Go to SmartArt
- Select Process
- Select flowchart template
- Click OK.
Q #4) Can I create a flowchart in PowerPoint?
Answer: Yes, you can create a flowchart in Powerpoint or create it in Word and move it to Powerpoint as well. You can easily animate the flowchart in Powerpoint then.
Q #5) My Canvas is too big for my flowchart. What should be done to fit the size of the flowchart?
Answer: Right-click anywhere inside the canvas and select Fit. Your canvas will fit the size of your flowchart. If you want to expand it, right-click again inside the canvas and select Expand instead. You will have more space in the canvas for adding more shapes if needed.
Conclusion
Creating a flowchart in Microsoft word isn’t rocket science. Open a blank document, insert a canvas and gridlines, insert shapes and connectors, insert text, fill in some beautiful colors and effects, and finally format it to perfection.
Also read =>> Best Free Word Processing Software
If you are doing it for the first time, it might take you some time. But once you get the hang of it, you can make a flowchart in MS Word in no time. You can also transfer it to Excel or PowerPoint and animate it in PowerPoint as well for a better presentation.