Flowchart Rules And Symbols
Use the symbols in a way that makes sense to your audience.
Flowchart rules and symbols. Most flowcharts consist of simple geometric symbols ovals rectangles diamonds connected together with straight lines. Traditional flowcharts use a diamond symbol to represent a decision. The most common symbol used in a flowchart is the rectangle. On this page we show you a visual representation of each of these flowchart symbols along with their names and a brief description.
Inside each symbol a written action describes what to do at that point. While various standards for symbol usage and flowchart creation have been established it s okay to ignore the rules. There are three inherent problems with this. So what are the different symbols used in a flowchart.
Flowchart tutorial with symbols guide and examples a flowchart is simply a graphical representation of steps. In addition the basic flowchart conventions rules and symbols these intermediate flowchart symbols will help you describe your process with even more detail. But if you use symbols in a non standard fashion be sure to do it consistently so your readers understand your meaning for that symbol each time they see it. You might use these to indicate items like create.
The rectangle often contains an action verb cuing the user as to the action to take. But there are much more symbols to make your flowchart more meaningful. See how to use these basic flowchart symbols instantly. Standard flowchart symbols flowcharts use special shapes to represent different types of actions or steps in a process.
The various flowchart symbols available within the shapes galleries of microsoft office applications can represent different concepts. It shows steps in sequential order and is widely used in presenting the flow of algorithms workflow or processes. Above image shows all the standard flowchart symbols. The process itself and the variables involved are written inside the shape.
For example an elongated oval indicates a terminal symbol and it contains the word start meaning you start there. For input and output use parallelograms. Lines and arrows show the sequence of these steps and the relationships between them. Most people are only aware of basic symbols like processes and decision blocks.
Five basic flowchart symbols flowcharts are the ideal diagrams for visually representing business processes. Single and multiple document icons show that there are additional points of reference involved in your flowchart.