# 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.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/diagrams-draw-a-flowchart
Section: Office > Diagrams
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

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

- PlexiiDiagrams is on every plan.
- Open a diagram, or start a new one. See [PlexiiDiagrams overview](https://plexiidesk.com/help/diagrams-overview).
- To start from a ready-made flowchart instead, see [Start a diagram from a template or AI](https://plexiidesk.com/help/diagrams-templates-and-ai).

## 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.

> **Note:**
> PlexiiDiagrams saves each change as you make it and has no undo. Before a large change, choose **File** > **Make a copy**, so you have the earlier version to go back to. **File** > **Version history** also keeps earlier versions. See [Version history](https://plexiidesk.com/help/office-version-history).

## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/diagrams-templates-and-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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/office-embed-widgets-and-files).

## 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.

## Related tasks

- [PlexiiDiagrams overview](https://plexiidesk.com/help/diagrams-overview)
- [Start a diagram from a template or AI](https://plexiidesk.com/help/diagrams-templates-and-ai)
- [Import Visio and export diagrams](https://plexiidesk.com/help/diagrams-visio-import-and-export)
- [Flowchart widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-flowchart)