Creating a Basic Flowchart

The template name is Basic, but the diagrams you can create with it don’t have to be. In general, the Basic Flowchart template is useful for showing items or steps in a process. When should you create a flowchart?

  • To capture a bird’s-eye view of an entire process

  • To identify the critical points, bottlenecks, or problem areas in a process

  • To see how each step in a process is related to another

  • To document the ideal flow of a process from start to finish

  • To design a new work process

Basic flowchart shapes are designed to work with the automatic layout tools in Visio 2007. The quickest way to create a flowchart in Visio 2007 is to drag shapes onto the page, type your text, and then with a single command have Visio 2007 connect them. Otherwise, you can quickly connect shapes as you add them, and then use the multitude of layout themes to refine the results, as Figure 9-4 shows. Using Visio 2007’s new auto-connect feature, you can have Visio 2007 connect the shapes as you add them, or have Visio 2007 add the shapes for you. Visio 2007 can even number shapes as you add them to the page.

Figure 9-4. Even simple flowcharts look polished when you add a background and title and apply a color scheme.


In general, you can add and connect flowchart shapes in any of the following ways:

Connector Tool

  • Use the Connector tool to drag shapes onto the page and connect them shape-to-shape as you add them, a technique described in greater detail in the next section.

  • Drag shapes onto the page, arrange them as you like, and then use the Connector tool to connect them shape-to-shape or point-to-point.

  • Add all the shapes you need to the page without connecting them. Select the shapes in order from start to finish, and then choose Shape, Connect Shapes to let Visio 2007 connect them shape-to-shape for you. This technique works best for linear flowcharts that don’t include decision loops.

Note

When you add shapes to a flowchart, create shape-to-shape connections for the greatest flexibility in rearranging shapes. Visio 2007 always creates shape-to-shape connections when you use the Connect Shapes command or if you press the Ctrl key while using the Connector tool. For details, see the section titled “Adding Connectors to Your Diagrams” in Chapter 3, “Connecting Shapes.”


Starting a New Flowchart

You can quickly create a basic flowchart with steps that are connected to each other. When you start a new diagram with the Basic Flowchart template, Visio 2007 creates a page in portrait orientation (taller than wide) and opens the Basic Flowchart Shapes, Backgrounds, and Borders And Titles stencils.

Is there a “correct” flowchart shape to use for a diagram? That depends on your audience. If you aren’t sure which shape to use for a step, pause the pointer over a master shape in the stencil to display a ScreenTip that explains the shape’s typical use. However, you can use any shape for any purpose, as long as it’s clear to your audience how you’re using it.

Inside Out: Use the generic Flowchart Shapes shape

If you aren’t sure what shape you’ll need, use the generic Flowchart Shapes shape on the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil. This shape can represent the Process, Decision, Document, or Data shape. To configure the shape after you’ve added it to the page, right-click the shape, and then choose Process, Decision, Document, or Data. In fact, you can quickly construct an entire flowchart using only this shape, and then figure out which step needs to be represented by which type of shape.


To number shapes automatically as you add them, see the section titled “Numbering Flowchart Shapes Automatically” later in this chapter.


Follow these steps to create a new flowchart:

1.
Choose File, New, Flowchart, Basic Flowchart.

Note

To create a TQM, or work flow diagram, open the Audit Diagram or TQM Diagram (under the Business solution) or Work Flow Diagram (under the Flowchart solution) instead of the Basic Flowchart template. The steps that follow apply to those templates also.

2.
Click the Connector tool on the Standard toolbar. The pointer changes to a connector with arrows.

3.
Drag the first flowchart shape from the stencil onto the drawing page.

4.
With the first shape still selected, drag the second shape in your flowchart onto the drawing page to connect the two shapes in order.

You can also use the pointer tool to drag the second shape onto the diagram, move it over the original shape, and then drop the shape when the auto-connect triangle on the side that you wish to connect appears. See “Connecting Quickly with Auto-Connect” later in this chapter.

5.
Repeat the process to add and connect shapes. When you’re done connecting shapes, press the Esc key or click the Pointer tool on the Standard toolbar to release the Connector tool.

Pointer Tool

6.
Select a shape, and then type the appropriate text for it. When you’re done typing, press the Esc key, or click outside the shape. Repeat for each shape.

Aligning Flowchart Shapes

When you start a diagram with the Basic Flowchart Shapes template, Visio 2007 turns on the dynamic grid, a type of visual feedback that shows you where to place shapes. As you drag a shape on the page, dotted lines show you how to align the shape horizontally and vertically with respect to other shapes on the page, as Figure 9-5 shows. The dynamic grid is part of the snap-and-glue behavior in Visio 2007 diagrams that helps you position shapes. You can turn it on and off with the Snap & Glue command on the Tools menu. You can also align shapes already placed in your flowchart by selecting the shapes you wish to align, selecting Shape, Align Shapes, and choosing the desired alignment. Select multiple shapes by pressing the Shift key as you left-click on subsequent shapes, or hold down the left mouse button and lasso the shapes by dragging the selector box around them.

Figure 9-5. The dynamic grid shows you the perfect alignment as you drag shapes on the drawing page.

[View full size image]

For details about using the dynamic grid and other alignment tools, see the section titled “Positioning Shapes Precisely” in Chapter 16, “Measuring and Dimensioning with Precision.”


Connecting Quickly with Auto-connect

When you pass your pointer over a flowchart shape that has been previously placed onto an Visio 2007 page, four blue triangles pop up on the shape’s four sides. These are the auto-connectors. Clicking one of the blue triangles will add a shape currently selected in the stencil to that side of the shape on the page. That, however, isn’t all the auto-connect feature can do for you.

Let’s say that two shapes reside side by side on your diagram page. They are friendly shapes and seem to get along well. They don’t, unfortunately, “connect.” But like Cupid, you can make them do so. Just click the blue, auto-connect triangle on the side closest to the shape that you wish to connect, and they will do so.

But the fun doesn’t stop there. You can drag a shape from the template onto the diagram, pause it over a blue auto-connect arrow, and then release the mouse button. Like an obedient dog, it will sit beside the selected shape.

Adding and Removing Flowchart Shapes

What if you have already connected the shapes in your flowchart and need to add or remove a step in the process? Disconnecting and reconnecting flowchart shapes can be messy, but the dynamic grid can help you realign the shapes. Use the Pointer tool to select a connector. You can then delete it or redirect it to connect to a new shape. To add a previously-placed shape to the process, drag a connector by its endpoint to the middle of the shape. Visio 2007 highlights the entire shape in red to indicate shape-to-shape glue. If a point on the shape turns red (indicating point-to-point glue), drag closer to the shape’s center.

Note

To quickly zoom in, hold Ctrl+Shift and click with the mouse.


Troubleshooting: Connectors go haywire when using the Shapes, Configure Layout command with a flowchart

When you consider how many details Visio 2007 tracks to support the automated layout feature, perhaps you won’t be surprised that things sometimes go awry. Just remember that you can press Ctrl+Z to reverse the results of the Shapes, Configure Layout command and restore the last layout. The problem is most likely that your diagram includes a combination of shapes with point-to-point and shape-to-shape connections, which affects where Visio 2007 can place connectors when it lays out shapes. You’ll get the best results with the Shapes, Configure Layout command when you use shape-to-shape connections for all flowchart shapes and connect shapes in the order of the steps they represent. For details, see the section titled “Adding Connectors to Your Diagrams” in Chapter 3, “Connecting Shapes.”


Numbering Flowchart Shapes Automatically

You can number shapes in a flowchart to make it easier to track documentation associated with a process or to indicate a sequence of steps. Visio 2007 can number shapes as you drop them on the page or at any time after they’re on the page. You can number all shapes at once, or only selected shapes, with the Number Shapes command on the Tools menu, as Figure 9-6 shows.

Figure 9-6. You can use the Number Shapes command to number flowchart shapes sequentially as you add them or after you add them.


By default, Visio 2007 numbers shapes from left to right and top to bottom in the diagram. However, you can choose a different order, including back to front, which is based on the shape’s stacking order (the order in which you added them to the page), or the order in which you select them. You can also display a numbering tool on the screen, which lets you number shapes manually as you work.

Follow these steps to number flowchart shapes:

1.
If you want to number only specific shapes, select them in order.

2.
Choose Tools, Add-Ons, Visio Extras, Number Shapes to display the General tab of the Number Shapes dialog box.

3.
Choose the shape numbering options you want:

  • Under Operation, choose to number shapes manually with the Manually By Clicking option or Auto Number option. The option you select here determines the options that are available on the Advanced tab. You can also choose to renumber your shapes maintaining the chosen sequence.

  • Under Number Assigned, choose the numbering style you want to use. Use the Preview box to verify that the numbers look the way you want.

  • Under Apply To, choose whether to apply the options to the selected shapes or all shapes in the drawing.

  • If you want the numbering sequence to include shapes you add to the page later, select the Continue Numbering Shapes As Dropped On Page check box.

4.
Click the Advanced tab, and then choose the following options:

  • Under Place Number, indicate where the numbers should be placed with respect to the shape’s existing text.

  • Under Auto Numbering Sequence, select the order in which shapes are to be numbered. This option isn’t available when you number shapes manually. If you have chosen to renumber the shapes in your drawing, select your renumbering options.

  • Under Apply To Options, select the layers to which you wish the options to apply.

5.
When you have selected the options you want, click OK. If you chose the Manually By Clicking option in step 3, you will see the dialog box that is discussed in the next section.

Note

You can switch automatic shape numbering on and off by choosing Shape, Actions, Number Shape On Drop. This command is available only after you’ve used the Number Shapes command and when no shapes are selected.


Numbering Shapes in a Specific Order

To control the order in which shapes are numbered, you can specify manual numbering. Choose Tools, Add-Ons, Visio Extras, Number Shapes, and then select the Manually By Clicking option. Visio 2007 displays the Manual Numbering dialog box, as Figure 9-7 shows, which stays on the screen as you work. To number shapes manually, click each shape on the page in the desired order. To end the manual numbering process, click Close.

Figure 9-7. You can control the order in which shapes are numbered when you number them manually.


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