How to Make a Flowchart in Word: SmartArt or Shapes

To make a flowchart in Microsoft Word, use Insert → SmartArt → Process for a simple linear chart. If the process has yes/no decisions, choose Insert → Shapes → New Drawing Canvas and draw Flowchart shapes on it instead. Word only keeps connector arrows attached to shapes that sit on a canvas, so that step matters.

Quick steps

Menu paths are for Word in Microsoft 365 on Windows. Mac notes come later.

1. Click where the chart should go and choose Insert → Shapes → New Drawing Canvas.
2. Open Insert → Shapes again and draw shapes from the Flowchart group inside the canvas.
3. Select each shape and type its label.
4. Choose Line Arrow or Connector: Elbow Arrow from the Lines group and drag between the connection dots on two shapes.
5. Label each decision's exits with small "Yes" and "No" text boxes.
6. Select rows or columns of shapes and use Shape Format → Align to line them up and space them evenly.
7. Set the canvas to In Line with Text so it moves with your paragraphs, then save.

SmartArt or shapes: which should you use?

SmartArt turns a typed list into a finished graphic and handles spacing, arrows and colors for you. But its Process layouts run in a single line, so a step can't have two exits. Shapes on a drawing canvas take longer, but you control every box and arrow.

How do I make a flowchart with SmartArt in Word?

1. Put the cursor on an empty line and choose Insert → SmartArt.
2. Click Process in the dialog's left column. Basic Process runs left to right, Vertical Process runs top to bottom, and Basic Bending Process wraps long sequences onto several rows.
3. Click OK and type your steps in the text pane. If the pane is hidden, click SmartArt Design → Text Pane.
4. Press Enter to add a step. Press Tab to turn a line into a detail bullet under the step above.
5. Restyle it on the SmartArt Design tab with Change Colors and the SmartArt Styles gallery.

To make one step look like a decision, select it, choose Format → Change Shape and pick a diamond. The flow still has a single path, though.

Unlike PowerPoint and Excel, Word can't convert SmartArt into ordinary shapes. A chart that outgrows SmartArt usually needs rebuilding with shapes, so choose carefully up front.

How do I build a flowchart with shapes in Word?

Start with a drawing canvas

Microsoft's documentation is explicit: in Word, connection points only work when the lines and the shapes they join are on a drawing canvas. Without one, arrows float free, and moving a box means fixing every arrow by hand.

Choose Insert → Shapes → New Drawing Canvas, the last item in the Shapes menu. Drag the frame's edges to resize it whenever you need more room.

To make this automatic, go to File → Options → Advanced. Under Editing options, tick Automatically create drawing canvas when inserting AutoShapes. Already drew shapes outside a canvas? Cut them with Ctrl+X, click inside a canvas and paste with Ctrl+V.

Add and style the shapes

Open Insert → Shapes and find the Flowchart group. Hover over a shape to see its name, such as Flowchart: Decision. Click a shape and drag inside the canvas to draw it. Hold Shift to keep its proportions, or hold Ctrl and drag an existing shape to copy it.

Style the first box, then right-click it and choose Set as Default Shape so new shapes match. To label a shape, select it and type.

Diamonds hold less text than rectangles, so keep each decision to a short question, such as "Budget approved?" If the words still wrap badly, widen the diamond. You can also reduce its margins in the Format Shape pane under Layout & Properties → Text Box.

Connect shapes so arrows stay attached

1. Open Insert → Shapes and choose Line Arrow for straight runs or Connector: Elbow Arrow for right-angle turns.
2. Hover over the first shape until small connection dots appear on its edges.
3. Click a dot, drag to a dot on the next shape and release.
4. Test it by dragging one of the two shapes. If the arrow stretches to follow, it's attached.

An elbow connector's yellow handle moves its bend without detaching either end. To draw many arrows in a row, right-click the arrow in the Shapes menu and choose Lock Drawing Mode. Press Esc to stop. Right-click a finished arrow and choose Set as Default Line to reuse its style.

How do I add a decision branch with Yes/No labels?

A decision is a diamond with two exits. Draw one connector from the bottom point for "Yes" and another from a side point for "No". Keep directions consistent, for example "Yes" always continues down and "No" always leaves to the right.

Word's connectors can't hold text, so the labels go in text boxes:

1. Choose Insert → Text Box → Draw Text Box and draw a small box inside the canvas.
2. Type "Yes" or "No".
3. On the Shape Format tab, set Shape Fill to No Fill and Shape Outline to No Outline.
4. Drag the label beside its connector, close to the diamond.

For a loop, such as "Fix errors" returning to "Review draft", join the sides of the two steps with an elbow connector. Route it around the outside of the chart so it doesn't cross other arrows.

How do I line up and space the shapes evenly?

Select several shapes with Ctrl+click. Inside a canvas you can also drag a selection box around them, or turn on Home → Select → Select Objects first. Then open Shape Format → Align:

• Align Center lines up a column of steps.
• Align Middle lines up a row.
• Distribute Vertically or Distribute Horizontally makes the gaps equal across three or more shapes.

If the shapes jump to the page edge instead of lining up with each other, open Align again and choose Align Selected Objects.

Group a finished section with Shape Format → Group → Group. Note that Ctrl+G doesn't group in Word; it opens the Go To dialog.

What if the flowchart doesn't fit on one page?

A drawing canvas is one object, so it can't split across a page break. You have three good options:

1. Give it more room. Add section breaks before and after the chart with Layout → Breaks → Next Page. Click inside that section and choose Layout → Orientation → Landscape. Only that section turns sideways.
2. Split it with off-page connectors. End page one with a Flowchart: Off-page Connector shape labeled "A". Start the next canvas with a matching "A".
3. Summarize, then zoom in. Show a detailed stage as a single Flowchart: Predefined Process shape, then chart that stage on its own page.

Whichever you choose, set the canvas wrapping to In Line with Text or Top and Bottom with Shape Format → Wrap Text.

Does this work in Word for Mac and Word for the web?

Word for Mac has the same Insert → Shapes and Insert → SmartArt menus, but no drawing canvas. As a result, connectors don't stay attached to shapes. Use SmartArt for simple linear flows. For branching charts, build the flowchart in PowerPoint for Mac, where connectors work, then group it, copy it and paste it into Word.

Word for the web has a much lighter drawing toolset. For anything with connectors, open the document in the desktop app, or insert a finished image.

When is Word the wrong tool?

Word is fine for a one-page chart inside a report. It starts to struggle when:

• the chart grows past roughly 15–20 shapes, because every change means manual nudging;
• you need swimlanes to show which team owns each step;
• the same chart must stay in sync across a document, slides and a wiki.

For those cases, PowerPoint gives you a bigger canvas with the same tools, and Microsoft Visio offers dedicated flowchart and cross-functional (swimlane) templates.

Flowchart symbols you'll need

Most business processes need only five shapes from Word's Flowchart group:

• Terminator (rounded ends): start and finish.
• Process (rectangle): an action or step.
• Decision (diamond): a question with two or more exits.
• Data (parallelogram): an input or output, such as a form or report.
• Off-page Connector: continues the flow on another page.

For the full set and the rules behind them, read our flowchart symbols guide.

Faster option: generate the flowchart with AI

Manual layout is the slow part of any Word flowchart. If you'd rather describe the process than draw it, Infogiph's AI flowchart maker handles the layout:

1. Describe the process in plain English: the steps, each decision and what happens on each branch. You can also upload a photo of a whiteboard sketch or a screenshot of an old chart.
2. Infogiph generates an animated, fully editable flowchart, usually in about 5–15 seconds.
3. Refine it by chatting ("add a No branch that returns to review"), or edit labels, icons, colors and layout on the canvas.
4. Export a PNG or SVG and add it to Word with Insert → Pictures → This Device. The 4:5 portrait preset suits a portrait page.

One honest trade-off: Word treats the result as a picture, not as editable shapes. To change it, edit it in Infogiph and export again. Then right-click the old image and choose Change Picture to swap it in place.

The free plan includes 5 AI generations in total (a one-time allowance that doesn't reset), the full editor and unlimited exports. Free exports carry a small Infogiph watermark. You sign in with Google, and no credit card is needed.

FAQ

Why won't my arrows stay connected to the shapes in Word?

Either the shapes aren't on a drawing canvas, or you're using Word for Mac. On Windows, cut the shapes and arrows, paste them into a new drawing canvas and reattach each arrow to the connection dots. On a Mac, build the chart in PowerPoint and paste it into Word.

Can I convert SmartArt to shapes in Word?

Not directly, because Word lacks the Convert to Shapes command. Copy the SmartArt into PowerPoint and choose SmartArt Design → Convert → Convert to Shapes. Then copy the shapes back into a Word drawing canvas.

Can I make a swimlane flowchart in Word?

Yes, by hand. Draw long, lightly filled rectangles across the canvas, one per team. Send them behind the steps with Shape Format → Send Backward → Send to Back. Then label each lane and place each step inside its owner's lane.

Keep going

• 15 flow chart examples you can copy shows what clear branching looks like.
• How to make a flowchart in PowerPoint covers the same tools on a bigger canvas, plus animation.
• Prefer to start from a finished chart? Edit the approval workflow template or the decision tree template, then export it for Word.