Flowcharts play a critical role in business communications. Flowcharts are especially useful as aids in conceptualizing accounting processes. Workiva offers flowchart shapes within Presentations.
Create shapes
To create shapes for a flowchart:
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- Select a slide in the Presentations outline panel to the left.
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- Go to the Edit toolbar and click Shape .
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- Click on the shape you wish to use from the drop-down menu.
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- Click and drag on your slide to create the desired shape. As you place a shape, grid lines will appear for accurate alignment.
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- Double-click on a shape in the drop-down menu to insert using a default size.
To create multiple shapes of the same type:
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- Right-click on the shape in the drop-down. This puts you into sticky insert mode.
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- Click and drag on your slide in each place where you want the shape to appear.
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- Continue to add the same shape until you press the ESC key on your keyboard. This feature is particularly helpful when connecting many shapes with elbows or lines.
Size and position shapes
Resize or rotate objects using the handles that appear when the shape is selected. Select multiple shapes to move or resize simultaneously.
To set an exact position for a shape:
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- Select a shape.
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- Right-click to access the Shape Properties panel.
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- In the Shape Properties panel, set an explicit X/Y position using the Width and Height settings.
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- Check the box to Preserve aspect ratio.
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- Use the input field to adjust the Rotation of the shape.
Add text to shapes and lines
To add text to your flowchart shape, elbow, or line:
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- Double-click in a shape.
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- Add the needed text.
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- Right-click to access Paragraph Properties to format your text.
Additional functionality for text in shapes and lines:
- Add a comment to text from the right-click menu. Learn more about comments.
- Hyperlink text inside of shapes or on lines. Learn more about hyperlinks.
- Create a source link in a shape or on a line. Learn how to Manage Source Links.
- Create a destination link in a shape or on a line. Learn how to Create a Link.
Connectors and anchor points
You can draw a line with or without an arrow or an elbow connector between shapes. To anchor shapes to one another:
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- Go to Shape in the Edit toolbar, then choose a line or arrow under Lines and Connectors.
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- Hover directly over the first shape until the cross-hairs are directly over an anchor point. The anchor point will turn green.
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- Click to insert the line or elbow connector.
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- Drag the other end of the line to an anchor point on the second shape and release.
Gridlines and blue dots appear on the slide to help you to place the elbow connector. Once shapes are connected, you can move the shapes and the line will remain attached.
Add elbow connectors
An elbow connector is a specific type of arrow that allows you to depict intricate workflows. To move an elbow connector separately from attached shapes:
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- Hover over the elbow connector until the double arrows appear.
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- Click and drag the elbow connector to adjust the placement.
Note: If you have connected two shapes with an elbow connector and then move one of the shapes, the line for the elbow connector will be automatically re-drawn along the simplest path.
To use a line or elbow connector with a chart:
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- Click and drag the endpoint of the line or connector to the edge of the chart until the green circular anchor points appear.
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- Release the line or connector to attach to the chart.
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- If you want to adjust the line weight, style, or endpoints, use the options located in the Border Format drop-down.
Add text to connectors
To add text to either an elbow or line:
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- Double-click the elbow or line. A text box automatically appears.
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- Add your text.
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- The text box is coupled to the line or elbow. When the line or elbow is moved, the text moves as well. This reduces the amount of editing you need to do when updating flowcharts in the future.
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- Once text is added to a line or elbow, it can be moved and formatted similar to a full-fledged text-box.
Add text and change a shape
To change an existing shape in your flowchart::
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- Right-click to select a shape and choose Shape Properties in the drop-down menu.
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- In the Shape Properties panel, click the Change Shape drop-down.
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- Choose the desired new shape.
Change slide dimensions
To adjust the layout dimensions of the slide for your flowchart:
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- Go to the View toolbar and choose the Layouts icon.
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- Use the Layout Properties panel on the right to set the dimensions of your layout. The dimension you set on the layout slide will set the dimensions for any slide using that layout.
For precision work, use the zoom feature. You can zoom in and out using the zoom in/out buttons in the bottom right corner of your screen.
Custom logos and shapes
To insert a custom logo or other unique shape:
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- Click on the Image icon in the Edit toolbar.
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- Choose the appropriate file from your computer or network.
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- Upload the image as a PNG or JPEG file.
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- To resize, select the image and use the resize handles that appear.
Note: Visio™ files can also be uploaded. Contact Workiva Support to get this process started.