How to make a flowchart
A flowchart turns a process into a picture: each step is a shape, and arrows show what happens next. Anyone can read one at a glance, which makes flowcharts useful for onboarding, support scripts, decision making and code planning.
Plan before you draw
Decide where the process starts, where it ends and who it is for. Write the steps as short verb phrases, such as "Check stock" or "Send receipt", and note every point where the path can split.
Learn the five shapes that matter
- Terminator (rounded pill): the start and the end.
- Process (rectangle): an action or step.
- Decision (diamond): a yes or no question with a branch for each answer.
- Input / output (parallelogram): data coming in or going out.
- Arrow: the order the steps run in.
Draw it in NodeFlow
- Open the editor, choose Flowchart and pick the "Process with a decision" template, or start from a blank page.
- Choose a shape in the tool palette and click the canvas to place it. Double-click a shape to type in it.
- Hover a shape and drag from one of its dots to another shape to connect them. Connectors stay attached when you move shapes.
- Use the align and tidy tools to line things up, then switch on the grid for neat spacing.
Keep it readable
Run the flow in one direction, usually top to bottom or left to right. Label every branch out of a decision, keep one exit from each process step, and split anything that grows past a page into sub-processes.
Share and export
Save the chart to your free account and send a read-only link, or export it as PNG, JPEG, SVG or PDF for documents and slides. You can also copy it as an image straight to the clipboard.