Your steps become a flowchart
One row per step, one type per row. Questions become diamonds, and a rejection goes back where it belongs: to an earlier step, or to the end. Add who does what and the chart splits into swimlanes. No sign-up.
The If no column only applies to decisions: write what happens, then pick where it goes next. The owner carries over until it changes, so only fill it in at handovers. You can also paste from a spreadsheet: columns line up with the grid, and lines ending in "?" turn into decisions.
What is it for?
A flowchart shows what a paragraph explains badly: the order of steps, the decision points, and what happens when things don't go to plan. It's the basic tool for scoping a business process, capturing an as-is before redesigning it, explaining an approval chain to a team, or attaching a readable diagram to a specification.
How to use it
- One row per step. Pick its type: Start, Step, Decision or End.
- For a decision, write in If no what happens when the answer is negative, then pick just below where that branch goes: it stops there, it goes to the end of the process, or it returns to a step already passed. That last case is what a real approval loop looks like, where a rejection sends the work back for a fix and another round.
- Fill in the owner whenever the work changes hands, then switch to the Swimlanes layout: each owner gets a column, and every handover becomes visible.
- If your steps already exist somewhere, paste them in one go. From a spreadsheet, the columns line themselves up starting from the cell you paste into.
- Pick a colour scheme, then download as PNG, JPG, SVG or PDF.
FAQ
How do I make a branch loop back?
In the If no cell of a decision, the menu underneath lists every step you have named. Pick the one the process returns to: the arrow runs back up the left side of the chart and connects to it. Several decisions can return to the same place, and the return paths sit side by side without crossing.
What are swimlanes for?
To answer "who does what" without writing it alongside. An approval process usually crosses three or four teams, and handovers are exactly where things stall. Swimlanes make them impossible to miss. Exits and returns stay outside the lanes, on either side, so they don't muddy the columns.
Why exits on the right and returns on the left?
So the two families of arrows never cross. What leaves the process goes one way, what comes back goes the other: your eye follows the main path without untangling anything, even with five or six decisions.
Can I do parallel flows?
Not yet. The tool covers sequences, decisions, exits and loops back, which is the vast majority of business processes. If parallel flows are what you're missing, tell us, that's what decides what comes next.
Can I come back to my work later?
Yes. What you type is kept in your browser, and the Save button lets you keep several diagrams. Ctrl+Z undoes the last action, including a paste.
Is it really free?
Yes, no sign-up and no limit on how many diagrams you make. The free version adds a small site credit at the bottom of the image and lets you keep up to 3 saved diagrams.
How many steps can I add?
Up to 30. Beyond 8 or 9, the vertical layout and swimlanes stay far more readable than the horizontal one.
All the frequently asked questions, across the seven tools.