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Draw a flowchart

Build a flowchart in PlexiiDiagrams step by step: add shapes, name them, join them with connectors, label the branches and tidy the layout.

All plansUpdated

A flowchart shows the steps of a process in order, with the decisions that branch it. In PlexiiDiagrams you place shapes for the steps, join them with arrows, and label the yes and no branches. This guide walks through it from an empty diagram.

Before you start

Add shapes

  1. Make sure Flowchart is the chosen group above the toolbar.
  2. Click a colour swatch in the toolbar if you want a colour other than blue. Shapes you add next take that colour.
  3. Click a shape in the toolbar. It appears in the middle of your view with a starting name.
Shape Use it for Starting name
Start / End Where the process begins or ends. Start
Process A step or action. Step
Decision A yes or no question that branches the flow. Decision?
Data Something that goes in or comes out, such as a form. Step
Store Where information is kept. Store
Prep A setting-up step. Step
Manual A step someone does by hand. Step
Text A free-standing label with no outline. Text

You can also add any shape from the Insert menu.

Name a shape

  1. Double-click the shape.
  2. Type its name.
  3. Press Enter, or click elsewhere, to keep it. Press Esc to leave it as it was.

Long names wrap inside the shape. Make the shape bigger if the name does not fit.

Connect shapes

  1. Find the small grey dots on the shape: there is one in the middle of each side.
  2. Drag from a dot to the shape that comes next, and let go on one of its dots.

The connector is drawn with an arrow pointing to the second shape. Any dot can connect to any other, so lead lines in from whichever side keeps the chart readable.

To draw dashed connectors, such as for a loop back or an optional path, click Dashed in the toolbar before you connect. It stays on for new connectors until you click it again.

Label a connector

  1. Double-click the line. The Edge label window opens.
  2. Type the label, such as Yes or No.
  3. Click Set label.

The label sits on the middle of the line. To change it, double-click the line again.

Move, resize and delete

  • Move: drag a shape. Its connectors follow.
  • Resize: click the shape, then drag one of the handles that appear around it.
  • Select several: hold Shift and drag across the canvas to draw a selection box, or hold ⌘ on a Mac or Ctrl on Windows and click each shape.
  • Delete: select shapes or lines and press Delete or Backspace. Deleting a shape also removes its connectors.

Line shapes up

With two or more shapes selected, alignment buttons appear on the right of the toolbar. They line the shapes up by their left edges, centres, right edges, tops, middles or bottoms. With three or more selected, Distribute horizontally and Distribute vertically space them evenly.

To set the whole flowchart out at once, click Arrange. It places the shapes in layers that follow the direction of the connectors, then brings the whole diagram into view.

Find your way around the canvas

  • Pan: drag an empty part of the canvas.
  • Zoom: scroll, or use the + and − buttons in the bottom left corner.
  • See everything: click Fit in the toolbar, the fit button in the bottom left corner, or View > Fit to view.
  • Jump to a part: drag or click in the overview map in the bottom right corner.

Group steps by who does them

Use Lane from the Containers group to show which person or team does each step:

  1. Click Containers, then Lane. A long band appears.
  2. Double-click it to name it, such as Finance.
  3. Drag it into place and resize it to fit the steps.
  4. Drag the steps on top of it. A lane always sits behind the shapes.

Lanes have no connector dots, so connect the steps inside them instead. The Approval flow template is a ready-made example with three lanes. See Start a diagram from a template or AI.

Add a live widget

Insert > Widget from a desk places a widget from one of your desks in the diagram as a live card, such as a table of the steps' owners. See Embed desk widgets and other files in a document.

Common questions

How do I change a shape's colour? The swatches set the colour of shapes you add next. To change one you have placed, pick the colour, add a new shape in its place, connect it and delete the old one.

My connector went to the wrong shape. Click the line, press Delete, and draw it again.

Where did my new shape go? New shapes appear in the middle of your current view. If the canvas is zoomed far out, they can look small. Click Fit to see the whole diagram.

Can I make a connector without an arrowhead? Connectors always point to the shape they end at. Draw them from the earlier step to the later one.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].