Best Tools to Create a Simple Flow Chart

Explore the few best diagramming tools to determine which suits your flowchart designing needs.

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a simple flow chart

Flow diagrams are being extensively opted for a visual representation of processes & ideas in all spheres. Whether it’s about a high-graded project or a business process that requires elaborated illustration to perceive the concept more precisely. A simple flow diagram is considered the composition of basic shapes, but it still necessitates a proper design structure. Therefore, an optimum designing tool is all you need to create a simple flow chart, even. Against this background, we have simplified the flowchart tool selection by curating the best choices in conveniently designing flowchart diagrams.

In this article
  1. How to Create a Simple Flow Chart?
  2. Create a Simple Flowchart Using EdrawMax
  3. Create a Simple Flowchart Using MS Visio
  4. Create a Simple Flowchart Using MS PowerPoint
  5. Create a Simple Flowchart Using MS Word
  6. Conclusion

How to Create a Simple Flow Chart?

A raft of designing tools is available with varying features & designing options making it arduous to cherry-pick; you must figure out beforehand which tool can best-fit in your scenario. So, to make the selection hassle-free, here we’ve suggested a few highly reliable and free tools you may elect to create simple flowcharts.

Create a Simple Flowchart Using EdrawMax

In apropos of designing complex & simple flow diagrams, EdrawMax, an all-in-one designing tool, is a beguiling choice. You can avail yourself of endless design choices with the feature-enriched tool integrated with tons of functionalities & pre-built templates. If you’re a novice, you just have to follow a few basic steps to create a compelling flowchart swiftly. Such as:

Step1

Go to EdrawMax Online on your system and sign in to your account using your credentials.

launch edrawmax software
Step2

Click on the New + icon located on the left panel and choose the option Basic Flowchart from the displayed menu list.

edrawmax basic flowchart creation
Step3

Initiate the flowchart design by adding a Start symbol; you can customize the inserted symbol by using the Format bar that appears above it.

add flowchart start symbol
Step4

Then Insert all other required shapes to indicate the processes of your flowchart.

add decision symbol in flowchart
Step5

Insert the relevant text in flowchart symbols by clicking in the center of each symbol.

add text in flowchart symbols
Step6

Add Connectors to establish the connection between the shapes; click on the symbol's edges to extend it to the next symbol via a connector.

add connectors in edrawmax flowchart
Step7

Customize the theme color of your flowchart by clicking on the Customization icon in the right panel. You can also change the layout, background color, shape location, sizes, etc., by accessing the top menu bar.

flowchart customization in edrawmax
Step8

Now export the flowchart by clicking the Export icon at the top menu bar. You can export your designed flowchart in various formats, i.e., MS Word, Excel, HTML, Pdf, SVG, Graphics, etc.

export flowchart in edrawmax
Tips and Tricks to Create a Simple Flowchart:
  • It's better to initiate with a pre-built flowchart template if you aren't an expert.
  • For complex projects, customizing the relevant template proves to be highly time-saving.

edrawmax logoEdrawMax Desktop
Simple alternative to Visio
210+ types of diagrams
10K+ free templates & 26k+ symbols
10+ AI diagram generators
10+ export formats
edrawmax logoEdraw.AI
Online visual collaboration app
40+ AI tools for diagramming & mind mapping
Enterprise-level data security
Team management and collaboration

Create a Simple Flowchart Using MS Visio

Creating & editing the flow diagrams is a duck soup with MS Visio that facilitates individuals, teams, and businesses by presenting the utmost feasibility in designing & sharing any flow diagram; you can experience the best flowchart designing with its endless exceptional functionalities.

Step1

Launch the MS Visio tool on your computer, and select the Basic Flowchart option below the Featured tab.

launch the ms visio
Step2

Choose the appropriate flowchart top-down approach or proceed with a blank page.

select flowchart style
Step3

Insert all the required flowchart shapes from the left panel in the open blank page.

insert all flowchart shapes
Step4

Double-click on each inserted flowchart shape to add text.

add text to flowchart shapes
Step5

To establish a connection between shapes, add connectors. For this, click on the shapes individually and select the Connectors icon from the toolbar.

connect shapes in visio flowchart
Step6

Add text to flowchart connectors by inserting a text box next to the relevant connector.

add text boxes in visio flowchart
Step7

Now, customize your designed simple flowchart by changing its theme and background color; navigate to the top Design tab to do so.

flowchart theme customization
Step8

Then, the flowchart can be saved in any format. To change the file format, you need to export the file to the desired format. For this, click on the File tab in the top menu and select the Export option.

export visio flowchart
Tips and Tricks to Create a Simple Flowchart:
  • It’s better to refrain from Arrow shapes’ library as it’d be arduous for novices to manage arrow shapes as connectors.
  • You can go to the Design tab to conveniently add Connectors & Text boxes.

Create a Simple Flowchart Using MS PowerPoint

Installing the new tools often seems like a fuss, so the pre-installed software can sort out this hassle. A remarkable pre-installed tool like PowerPoint is fully capable of meeting all your flowchart designing requirements by exhibiting an enormous collection of pre-built flowchart templates. You just have to follow the below-stated instructions to get an amazing flowchart designed in no time.

Step1

Open up the PowerPoint application on your system and proceed with a Blank Presentation.

launch powerpoint
Step2

Navigate to the Insert tab and click the SmartArt option to insert a particular process diagram template in the opened Blank Presentation.

insert smartart in powerpoint
Step3

Add the relevant text in the shapes of chosen flowchart template.

text insertion in powerpoint process template
Step4

You can add new shapes to your flowchart template by navigating to the Shapes option in the Insert tab.

shapes insertion in powerpoint
Step5

Right-click on each shape and select the Connector icon to connect the flowchart shapes.

add connectors to flowchart shapes
Step6

Select the Design tab to change the theme and color of the flowchart.

customize the powerpoint flowchart
Step7

To save your flowchart in the required format, click on the File tab and select the Export option.

save and export the flowchart
Tips and Tricks to Create a Simple Flowchart:
  • You can use shapes conveniently to make flowcharts in PowerPoint, but the SmartArt option is more efficient.
  • Always opt for the Process Category in SmartArt options to create a flowchart.

Create a Simple Flowchart Using MS Word

MS Word is probably the most popular and widely-used tool as of now that can be used to carry out multiple tasks quite smoothly. Though it’s a word processor, it still allows you to elevate your productivity by creating different diagrams and flowcharts utilizing its massive built-in library of shapes. Here we have compiled the steps you have to follow to create a simple flow diagram using MS Word.

Step1

Launch the MS Word tool and open a new Blank document.

launch the ms word app
Step2

Access the Insert tab and click the Shapes option to insert the required shape to start the flowchart design process. You can change the layout of inserted shape by clicking the Layout icon next to the respective shape.

insert shape in the ms word
Step3

Insert all the relevant shapes required to create a simple flowchart by following the instruction stated in the above step.

add all flowchart shapes
Step4

Add textual information to your flowchart shapes by double-clicking on each shape.

insert text in shapes
Step5

Connect all the shapes by using connecting lines. To do so, you must access the Shapes option below the Insert tab.

add lines to connect the shapes
Step6

Click the Format tab to change the flowchart shapes' color. You can customize the background color and resize or relocate the flowchart shapes later.

customize the shapes
Step7

To export the created flowchart select the File tab and click the Export option. Here you can choose the specific export format of the flowchart before saving it.

export the ms word flowchart
Tips and Tricks to Create a Simple Flowchart:
  • Complex flowcharts can be simplified by employing the SmartArt option.
  • To minimize time consumption, you can copy and paste the same shapes using shortcut keys.

Conclusion

The perks of employing reliable designing & diagramming tools are endless, but deciding upon the best tool might be a plight as several factors must be considered in anticipation. Numerous diagramming tools can be contemplated, given the need to create simple flowcharts.

Most tools work outstanding in paid versions, but it isn’t a feasible way to pay for the tool beforehand for simple flowcharts. Therefore, concerning this, we have suggested a few most popular diagramming tools that also stand high in free versions, such as EdrawMax, MS Visio, MS PowerPoint, and MS Word.

edrawmax logoEdrawMax Desktop
Simple alternative to Visio
210+ types of diagrams
10K+ free templates & 26k+ symbols
10+ AI diagram generators
10+ export formats
edrawmax logoEdraw.AI
Online visual collaboration app
40+ AI tools for diagramming & mind mapping
Enterprise-level data security
Team management and collaboration

Edraw Team
Edraw Team Dec 16, 24
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