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How to Create Flowcharts in Excel Series -
Flowchart Symbols Defined: Flowchart Symbols and Their
Meanings
By Nicholas Hebb
The following is a basic ov erv iew , wit h descr ipt ions and m eanings,
of t he m ost com m on flow ch a r t sym bols - also com m only called Excel Flow cha rt W iza r d
flow ch a r t sh a p e s, pr oce ss flow dia gr a m sy m bols or bu sin e ss FlowBreeze - a flowchart ing
pr oce ss m a p sy m bols, depending upon w hat t y pe of flow diagr am aut om at ion add- in for Excel t hat
m akes cr eat ing flowchart s
y ou're creat ing. The t able below list s t he flow char t sy m bol draw ing,
t he nam e of t he flowchart sym bol in Micr osoft Office, and a shor t sim ple and pain fr ee. Download
descript ion of w here and how t he flowchar t sy m bol is used. a Fr ee 30- day Tr ial Today .
TABLE OF FLOWCHART SYMBOLS
( ak a, Flow chart Shapes, Business Pr ocess Map Sym bols)
Sy m bol Sy m bol Nam e Sym bol Descr ipt ion
( alias)
Pr oce ss / Ope r a t ion Sym bols
Process Show a Pr ocess or act ion st ep. This is t he m ost
com m on sym bol in bot h pr ocess flow char t s and
business pr ocess m aps.
Predefined A Pr edefined Pr ocess sym bol is a m ar ker for anot her
Process pr ocess st ep or ser ies of process flow st eps t hat ar e
( Subr out ine) for m ally defined elsew her e. This shape com m only
depict s sub- processes ( or subr out ines in pr ogr am m ing
flow char t s) . I f t he sub- pr ocess is consider ed " know n"
but not act ually defined in a pr ocess pr ocedure, w or k
inst r uct ion, or som e ot her pr ocess flow char t or
docum ent at ion, t hen it is best not t o use t his sy m bol
since it im plies a for m ally defined process.
Alt er nat e As t he shape nam e suggest s, t his flow char t sy m bol is
Process used when t he process flow st ep is an alt er nat e t o t he
norm al pr ocess st ep. Flow lines int o an alt er nat e
pr ocess flow st ep ar e t y pically dashed.
Delay The Delay flow char t sy m bol depict s any w ait ing per iod
t hat is par t of a pr ocess. Delay shapes ar e com m on in
pr ocess m apping.
Prepar at ion As t he nam es st at es, any process st ep t hat is a
Pr epar at ion process flow st ep, such as a set - up
oper at ion.
Manual Manual Oper at ions flowchart shapes show which
Oper at ion pr ocess st eps are not aut om at ed. I n dat a pr ocessing
flow char t s, t his dat a flow shape indicat es a looping
oper at ion along wit h a loop lim it sy m bol ( w hich is not
suppor t ed by Micr osoft Office, but a Manual Operat ion
sy m bol rot at ed 180° w ill do t he t r ick.)
Br a nch in g a n d Con t r ol of Flow Sym bols
Flow Line Flow line connect or s show t he dir ect ion t hat t he process
( Arr ow , flow s.
Connect or )
Term inat or Ter m inat or s show t he star t and st op point s in a
( Ter m inal Point , pr ocess. When used as a St ar t sy m bol, t er m inat ors
Oval) depict a t rigger act ion t hat set s t he pr ocess flow int o
m ot ion.
Decision
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I ndicat es a quest ion or br anch in t he process flow .

Typically, a Decision flowchart shape is used w hen
t her e ar e 2 opt ions ( Yes/ No, No/ No- Go, et c.)

Connect or Flow ch a r t : I n flow char t s, t his sy m bol is ty pically sm all

( I nspect ion) and is used as a Connect or t o show a j um p fr om one
point in t he process flow t o anot her. Connect or s ar e
usually labeled w it h capit al let t er s ( A, B, AA) t o show
m at ching j um p point s. They ar e handy for av oiding flow
lines t hat cr oss ot her shapes and flow lines. They are
also handy for j um ping t o and fr om a sub- pr ocesses
defined in a separat e area t han t he m ain flowchart .
Pr oce ss M a ppin g : I n process m aps, t his sym bol is full
sized and show s an I nspect ion point in t he pr ocess
flow .

[ Just t o confuse t hings furt her , som e people w ill use a

cir cle t o indicat e an operat ion and a squar e t o indicat e
an inspect ion. That 's why it 's im port ant t o include a
sy m bol key in t he flowchar t .]
Off- Page Off- Page Connect or shows cont inuat ion of a process
Connect or flow char t ont o anot her page. When using t hem in
conj unct ion w ith Connect ors, it 's best t o differ ent iat e
t he labels, e.g. use num ber s for Off - Page Connect ors
and capit al let t er s for Connect or s. I n act ual pr act ice,
m ost flow char t s j ust use t he Connect shape for bot h on
- page and off- page r efer ences.
Merge Flow ch a r t : Show s t he m er ging of m ult iple pr ocesses
( St orage) or infor m at ion int o one.
Pr oce ss M a ppin g : com m only indicat es st or age of r aw
m at er ials.
Ex t r act Flow ch a r t : Show s w hen a process split s int o parallel
( Measur em ent ) pat hs. Also com m only indicat es a Measur em ent , w it h a
capit al 'M' inside t he sym bol.
Pr oce ss M a ppin g: com m only indicat es st or age of
finished goods.
Or The logical Or sym bol show s when a pr ocess div erges -
usually for m or e t han 2 br anches. When using t his
sy m bol, it is im por t ant t o label t he out - going flow lines
t o indicat e t he cr it er ia t o follow each br anch.
Sum m ing The logical Sum m ing Junct ion flowchart shape is show s
Junct ion when m ult iple br anches conv er ge int o a single pr ocess.
The m er ge sy m bol is m ore com m on for t his use,
t hough. This sym bol and t he Or sym bol ar e r eally m or e
relevant in dat a pr ocessing flow diagram s t han in
pr ocess flow char t s.
I n pu t a n d Ou t pu t Sy m bols

Dat a The Dat a flow char t shape indicat es input s t o and

( I / O) out put s fr om a pr ocess. As such, t he shape is m ore
oft en r efer red t o as an I / O shape t han a Dat a shape.
Docum ent Pr et t y self explanat or y - t he Docum ent flow char t
sy m bol is for a pr ocess st ep t hat produces a docum ent .
Mult i- Docum ent Sam e as Docum ent , except , well, m ult iple docum ent s.
This shape is not as com m only used as t he Docum ent
flow char t shape, even when m ult iple docum ent s are
im plied.
Display I ndicat es a pr ocess st ep w her e infor m at ion is display ed
t o a per son ( e.g., PC user, m achine operat or) .
Manual I nput Manual I nput flowchart shapes show pr ocess st eps
where t he oper at or / user is prom pt ed for infor m at ion
t hat m ust be m anually input int o a syst em .
Card This is t he com panion t o t he punched t ape flowchart
shapes. This shape is seldom used.
Punched Tape I f you'r e ver y good at st r et ching all t he life out of a
m achine, y ou m ay st ill hav e use for t he Punched Tape
sy m bol - used for input int o old com put ers and CNC
m achines.
File a n d I n f or m a t ion St or a g e Sy m bols

St or ed Dat a A gener al Dat a St orage flowchart shape used for any

pr ocess st ep t hat st or es dat a ( as opposed t o t he m or e
specific shapes t o follow next in t his t able) .
Magnet ic Disk
( Dat abase)

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Flowchart Symbols Defined: Business Process Map and Flow Chart Symbols and thei... Page 3 of 3

The m ost univ ersally r ecognizable sy m bol for a dat a

st or age locat ion, t his flowchar t shape depict s a
dat abase.
Direct Access Dir ect Access Stor age is a fancy w ay of saying Har d
St or age Dr iv e.

I nt er nal Used in pr ogram m ing flowchart s t o m ean infor m at ion

St or age st or ed in m em or y, as opposed t o on a file.

Sequent ial Alt hough it looks like a 'Q', t he sym bol is supposed t o
Access St or age look lik e a r eel of t ape.
( Magnet ic Tape)
D a t a Pr oce ssin g Sy m b ols

Collat e The Collat e flow char t shape indicat es a pr ocess st ep

t hat r equir es or ganizing dat a, infor m at ion, or m at erials
according int o a st andar d for m at or ar rangem ent .
Sort I ndicat es t he sort ing of dat a, infor m at ion, m at erials int o
som e pr e- defined order .

Cav eat : The descript ions giv en abov e ar e w r it t en fr om t he perspect iv e of som eone using t hem t o cr eat e
pr oce ss flow ch a r t s, w her eas m any of t he flow char t sy m bols act ually have t heir r oot s in t he dat a
processing diagram s and pr ogr am m ing flow char t s. So, not all t he flow char t ing shapes show n below m ay
be relev ant t o y our needs.

The flowchart sym bol nam es in parent heses ar e com m on alt er nat es for a given shape. Som et im es a
flowchart shape can have m or e t han one m eaning, as w it h t he Cir cle shape, w hich depict s a j um p node in
flow chart s and inspect ion point in business process m apping. Ot her t im es, t her e ar e j ust m ult iple nam es
for t he sam e flow chart sy m bol - such as Term inat or and Ter m inal Point .

THE 4 MOST COMMONLY USED FLOWCHART SYMBOLS

The vast m aj orit y of flow char t s r ely on j ust 4 of t he process sy m bols t o do all t he heavy lift ing:
Te r m in a t or , Pr oce ss, D e cision , and Con n e ct or . I n fact , if y ou use other flow char t ing shapes, m any
people w on't k now what t hey ar e for, so y ou should probably add a shape sy m bol key t o y our flowchart .

ABOUT THE FLOWCHART SYMBOLS

You m ight t hink t hat an ex pensive flow char t soft w ar e pack age is r equir ed t o m ak e pr esent at ion - qualit y
flowchart s. I t isn't . All t he shapes used in t his ar t icle w er e cr eat ed in Micr osoft Excel, com plet e w it h t he
soft ened out lines, gradient fills, and dr op shadow s.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicholas Hebb is t he founder of Br eezeTr ee Soft w ar e, m ak er of Flow Br eeze Flow char t Soft w ar e.

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