How to create a flowchart in Microsoft Visio

A worked example, stage by stage

1. A start and the first step

   "Raise a request" is the Start shape and "Describe the need and the deadline" is the first Process rectangle. Two shapes and one arrow is already a valid flowchart — in Visio this is one drag, a second drag, and one click on the small arrow between them.

2. The first decision, and the first loop

   "Enough information to start?" is a diamond with two labelled exits. No leads to "Add the missing detail?", which either sends the request back to "Log the request in the queue" or stops it at "Request withdrawn". That backwards arrow is the point: real processes return work rather than failing at it.

3. Three exits from one question

   "Meets the acceptance criteria?" leaves in three directions — Yes, First failure back to "Complete the work", and Failed twice onwards. A Visio Decision shape accepts as many connectors as you draw, so capping the rework loop at two attempts is a decision about the process rather than about the notation.

4. Every route reaches an ending

   The escalation path asks whether to change the approach or close the request unresolved, so the chart finishes in three places: "Request closed", "Request withdrawn" and "Closed without meeting the criteria". Nothing stops in mid-air, which is the last check to run before calling a flowchart done.

How it works

1. Open the Basic Flowchart template

   Start Visio, select the Flowchart category, and double-click Basic Flowchart. That is Microsoft's own three-step path, and it opens the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil with the page. In Visio for the web, find the Basic Flowchart row in the Gallery, choose an option from that row, then select its Create button.

2. Drag on the shapes the process needs

   Drag a Start/End shape from the stencil for the opening event, then a Process rectangle for each thing somebody does and a Decision diamond for each question. Microsoft documents eight shapes here and says most flowcharts use only three or four, so do not spend long combing the stencil for a Manual Input or a Preparation shape — neither is in the documented eight, and a labelled rectangle carries the same meaning once your readers have agreed that it does.

3. Connect the shapes as you place them

   Hold the mouse pointer over the first shape and select the small arrow that appears pointing towards the shape you want to connect to. Hovering that arrow shows a mini toolbar holding the first four Quick Shapes, so you can create and connect in one move; on the desktop you can also drag a new shape from the Shapes pane onto the arrow. In Visio for the web there is a drag fallback instead: select and hold the small arrow, drag it to the second shape, and drop the connector in the middle. The toggle for the behaviour is View > Visual Aids > AutoConnect.

4. Wire up shapes that are already on the page

   For shapes you placed earlier, switch to the Connector tool in the Tools group on the Home tab, or press Ctrl+3, and drag from one shape to the other. Ctrl+1 or Esc brings back the Pointer Tool. How you drop the end decides the glue: point-to-point glue sticks to a specific point on a shape, while shape-to-shape glue connects using whatever point is most convenient, and either kind keeps the shapes connected when one moves or rotates. A single connector can use a different type at each end.

5. Label the shapes and the arrows

   Select a shape, type, then click away or press Esc. For a connector, double-click it, type, and click away; the yellow control handle repositions the text afterwards. Keep branch labels short, because the connector text box is deliberately minimal — Microsoft states you cannot fill, resize or format it, and only one can be added to a connector. Arrowheads are on the Shape tab under Shape Styles > Line > Arrows on the desktop, and behind the down arrow next to Shape Outline on the web.

6. Tidy the layout, then export or share

   Design > Layout > Re-Layout Page offers Flowchart, Hierarchy, Compact Tree, Radial and Circular, previewing each as you hover; the same menu in Visio for the web has four options and no Hierarchy. Home > Arrange > Position > Auto Align & Space evens the spacing in one click. To hand the chart over, File > Export > Change File Type reaches PNG, JPG, EMF and SVG, and File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document produces a PDF.

Frequently asked questions

What do the Visio flowchart shapes mean?

Less than most people assume. Microsoft's own guidance is that "any shape can carry whatever meaning is agreed on by the people who will create and read the flowcharts", and that most flowcharts "tend to use only three or four of the shapes". The eight it documents in Basic Flowchart Shapes are Start/End for the first and last step, Process for a typical step and the most frequently used shape in almost every process, Decision for a point where an outcome dictates the next step, Subprocess for a set of steps defined elsewhere, Document for a step that results in a document, Data for information entering or leaving the process, and on-page and off-page references. Pick a few, write down what they mean, and be consistent.

Can I make a flowchart in Visio for the web, and which licence do I need?

Yes. Open the Gallery, find the Basic Flowchart row, choose an option and select Create; connecting works the same way, with the extra option of dragging the small arrow to the second shape. Viewing and commenting on a diagram needs no licence at all, but editing, printing and exporting do. Plan 1 is US$5 per user per month and Plan 2 US$15, both list prices paid yearly at the time of writing, and Plan 2 is the only subscription tier that includes the desktop app. Two web-specific limits matter here: containers require Plan 1 or Plan 2 and are absent from the bundled Visio in Microsoft 365, and the browser has no offline capability. Files must live in OneDrive for work or school, or in SharePoint — personal OneDrive is not supported.

Why do my connectors come loose when I move a shape?

Because of which glue the connector ends landed on. Visio has two kinds: point-to-point glue, which sticks to a specific point on a shape, and shape-to-shape glue, which connects the shapes using whatever point is most convenient. Glue is what keeps them connected even when a shape moves or rotates, so a connector that snapped away was probably glued to a point that the move took with it. Drop the connector end on the body of the shape rather than on a single connection point when you want the arrow to follow the shape around, and remember that one connector can use a different type at each end. Re-Layout Page will then re-route cleanly instead of leaving stubs behind.

Is there a way to keep a flowchart current without redrawing it?

That is the trade being made when you choose a tool. Visio is strong where drawing is the job — the Plan 2 content ecosystem runs to around 250,000 shapes, engineering and network diagrams are genuinely well served, the ShapeSheet is programmable, BPMN 2.0 diagrams can be validated with Check Diagram, and the desktop app works offline. What it does not have is a revision history of the diagram itself: file versioning comes from OneDrive or SharePoint, lasts 30 days, and an administrator can switch it off. QueryChart takes the other side — the rows are the chart, so reordering and rewriting steps regenerates the layout, and revisions are checkpointed with an author and a timestamp behind an approval workflow. Start from /templates/basic-process-flowchart if you want to try it on this process. Generating a Visio chart from an Excel table is a separate route again, at /guides/how-to-create-a-flowchart-from-excel-in-visio.