Learn how to create a flowchart in Excel if you’re tired of explaining your ideas in many words.

A flowchart helps you visualize an idea, process, or algorithm using various standard shapes, connecting lines, arrows, etc., in logical steps. Since Microsoft Excel comes with a vast library of objects you need in a flowchart, you can easily create one in Excel, saving time and money from learning and buying new flowchart-making software, like Microsoft Visio.

Follow along with the various methods outlined and illustrated below to create your own flowchart in Excel in no time.

Using an Excel Template

If you’re new to flowchart-making and Excel, this is the most suitable approach for you. Simply, you’ll need to select an Excel template from the Microsoft Create library, download the template on your PC, and open it with the Excel desktop app.

Most of these templates will come with dummy texts which you can replace with the content of your own flowchart. Now, let me show you below how to create a flowchart in Microsoft Excel by importing a free template in Excel desktop and web apps.

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In Excel for Microsoft 365 Desktop App

Open Excel on your PC and click on the File tab to go to the Excel Backstage view.

Click on the More templates link on the right edge of the screen.

Now, you should see the search field to look up new templates online.

Click on the Search for online templates field, type Flowchart, and hit Enter.

Excel will list all available flowchart templates compatible with the Excel desktop app on the search results page.

Select a template that matches your requirements.

The details dialog box for that specific template will pop up.

Go through the description of the document to know the capabilities.

If it’s satisfactory, hit the Create button.

A new workbook for the selected template will open.

All such templates come with elaborate instructions so you can create your flowchart from scratch. For example, the Basic Flowchart from Data workbook has the following sheets:

• Data Visualizer Add-in: This is the actual sheet where you’ll create the flowchart.
• Getting Started: It explains how to use the add-in.
• Understanding Diagram Data: Here, you’ll learn about the technical features of the flowchart.

Let’s consider you’ve chosen the Basic Flowchart from Data template. Go to the Data Visualizer Add-in sheet and use the dialog box to create your flowchart.

For example, you can click on the Create button for the Quick Start flowchart.

It’ll create a sample dataset for the flowchart, convert the data into a table, and the graphical flowchart will open on an Add-in object in the same worksheet.

You can now update the flowchart table with your own process or algorithm’s dataset to personalize the flowchart.

In Excel for the Web App

Log in to Microsoft 365 and click on the Apps button in the left-side navigation panel.

Select Excel on the right-side menu to access the Create new screen of Excel for the web.

Click on See more templates in Create now.

You’ll be redirected to the Microsoft 365 library containing a few templates. Scroll down to the bottom and click on the Explore all templates link.

You’ll enter the Microsoft 365 Create portal. In the Search Excel templates field, type in Flowchart and click the Search button.

Select an item from the search results page and click on the Customize in Excel button.

If you wish to use it in the Excel desktop app, click Download.

Using an Excel SmartArt Graphic

The SmartArt Graphic is the native tool to represent ideas or logic visually in Excel. If you don’t have a table for the process you want to visualize in a flowchart, you can use SmartArt. It creates the entire visualization in one go and places dummy texts in shapes. All you need to do is replace those with your own idea, process steps, etc., to create the final flowchart.

To use a SmartArt graphic appropriately, you must know which type fits which process or scenario of flowchart. Find below a simple table that explains the popularly used SmartArts:

Find below the simple instructions to create a flowchart in Excel using SmartArt for the New Product Development Lifecycle process.

The above dataset shows the steps involved in this workflow.

Go to the destination worksheet and click on the Insert tab.

You should see the SmartArt command inside the Illustrations block. Click on that.

The Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box will show up.

Select the Process category on the left and click on the Vertical Bending Process on the right side menu of several SmartArts.

Once you select a SmartArt, you should also see a small description. Go through the description to learn more about what you must choose if your flowchart differs from the current example.

Click OK to insert the SmartArt in the worksheet.

Click anywhere on the object except for the shapes and connectors to activate object selection.

Now, drag and drop the SmartArt graphic where you want it on the worksheet. Ensure you leave free space on the left side of the object for at least three columns. The Text Pane will always show up on the left.

Select the SmartArt again, right-click, and select Show Text Pane from the context menu.

The Text Pane will pop up on the left.

Copy and paste the content of your logic in the text pane in the order they appear in the dataset.

The Text Pane will show a hierarchy of text placeholders. Accordingly, the items will be displayed on the SmartArt.

Using Excel Shapes

Often, you might not find a suitable flowchart in the Excel templates library or the SmartArt Graphics gallery. You can create the process visualization from scratch using the Excel Shapes objects in this scenario.

Create a flowchart breakdown document either in Word or Excel. For the current exercise, I’m using the above dataset in an Excel worksheet.

Now, navigate to the worksheet where you want the flowchart.

Click on the Align drop-down menu in the Arrange block of the Page Layout tab.

Select the Snap to Grid and Snap to Shape options. From now on, all the shapes you add will automatically fit one or more cell borders as well as with other shapes.

Now, click on the Shapes drop-down menu in the Illustrations block of the Insert tab.

The Shapes menu will open showing various types, like Lines, Rectangles, Flowchart, etc. You’ll mainly need to use the objects in the Flowchart and Lines sub-groups.

Insert the first shape, which should always be an oval object to denote the start of the workflow.

Double-click on the shape and type Start. You can customize the shape and text color to make the object easily readable.

Now, add the next shape, a diamond for the decision step. Enter the necessary text inside this shape.

Link the oval and diamond shapes with a line arrow.

You can now start adding the next shapes according to your flowchart plan.

When you need to enter Yes or No after a decision box, you can put that as the line arrow labels as shown in the example flowchart.

End the process diagram with another oval shape linked to the last process shape with the line arrow.

Using the Microsoft Visio Data Visualizer

The Microsoft Visio Data Visualizer is a free Excel add-in available for data-based flowchart-making on Excel for the Microsoft 365 desktop app. You can call the tool from the Developer tab. If you don’t see the Developer tab on your Excel, go through this quick tutorial:

📒 Read More: 2 Ways to Add the Developer Tab in Microsoft Excel

Once you’ve activated the Developer tab, click on the Add-ins command inside the Add-ins block of the Developer tab.

The Office Add-ins dialog box will open. If you don’t see the Visio Data Visualizer add-in there, click on the Store tab.

In the Search box, type Flowchart and hit Enter.

The Microsoft Visio Data Visualizer add-in will show up. Click the Add button and follow the on-screen instructions to install it.

The Data Visualizer dialog box will open.

Choose a flowchart type, from the three available options. Let’s say you’ve chosen the Organization Chart option.

Inside that menu, you’ll find five more options, like Quick Start, Vertical, Horizontal, etc. Choose one from this list.

For example, you’ve chosen the Vertical flowchart. Click Create to add the flowchart and its underlying data table. It might take about a minute if you’re launching the tool for the first time.

Now, organize your organization’s people information in the table shown in the worksheet. Copy and paste your data into the default table.

Click Refresh on the chart object to update the organization chart.

Using Excel VBA

The Excel VBA Editor tool allows you to automate the whole process of flowcharting using a simple script. Firstly, go through this quick tutorial to learn how to create a macro using a VBA script:

📒 Read More: How To Use The VBA Code You Find Online

If you’re ready to create your first VBA macro, use the following script:

Sub CreateFlowchart()
    Dim ws As Worksheet
    Set ws = ActiveSheet
    
    ' Clear any existing shapes
    ws.Shapes.SelectAll
    Selection.Delete
    
    ' Define shapes
    Dim startShape As Shape
    Dim process1Shape As Shape
    Dim decisionShape As Shape
    Dim process2Shape As Shape
    Dim endShape As Shape
    
    ' Add shapes
    Set startShape = ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeOval, 100, 50, 100, 50)
    startShape.TextFrame.Characters.Text = "Start"
    
    Set process1Shape = ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, 100, 150, 100, 50)
    process1Shape.TextFrame.Characters.Text = "Process 1"
    
    Set decisionShape = ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeDiamond, 100, 250, 100, 50)
    decisionShape.TextFrame.Characters.Text = "Decision"
    
    Set process2Shape = ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, 100, 350, 100, 50)
    process2Shape.TextFrame.Characters.Text = "Process 2"
    
    Set endShape = ws.Shapes.AddShape(msoShapeOval, 100, 450, 100, 50)
    endShape.TextFrame.Characters.Text = "End"
    
    ' Connect shapes with line arrows
    Call ConnectShapesWithArrows(ws, startShape, process1Shape)
    Call ConnectShapesWithArrows(ws, process1Shape, decisionShape)
    Call ConnectShapesWithArrows(ws, decisionShape, process2Shape)
    Call ConnectShapesWithArrows(ws, process2Shape, endShape)
    
End Sub

Sub ConnectShapesWithArrows(ws As Worksheet, shape1 As Shape, shape2 As Shape)
    Dim conn As Shape
    Set conn = ws.Shapes.AddConnector(msoConnectorStraight, 0, 0, 0, 0)
    conn.ConnectorFormat.BeginConnect shape1, 2
    conn.ConnectorFormat.EndConnect shape2, 1
    conn.Line.EndArrowheadStyle = msoArrowheadTriangle
    conn.RerouteConnections
End Sub

After creating the macro, press Alt + F8 to bring up the Macro dialog.

Select the CreateFlowchart macro from the list and hit the Run button.

Excel will automatically create a simple flowchart in the active worksheet containing the following shapes:

• Two oval shapes for Start and End.
• Two rectangular shapes for Process 1 and Process 2.
• One diamond shape for Decision.
• Four line arrows connect the shapes.

Saving Your Flowchart as an Excel Template

Now that you’ve created the perfect flowchart to fulfill personal or professional obligations, you might want to save that as a template for future use.

Click on the File menu to go to the Backstage window of Excel.

Select the Save As option on the left and Browse on the right to bring up the Save As dialog box.

Choose a destination to save the Excel template.

Click on the Save as type drop-down list and choose Excel Template from the drop-down menu.

Hit the Save button.

Conclusions

So far, you’ve learned how to create a flowchart in Excel using five proven methods.

You can choose any method depending on the data you need to accommodate in the flowchart and your Excel expertise.

If the article helped you learn a new Excel skill, comment below. Also, mention in your comment if you know a better method to create a flowchart.