How to Create Flowcharts in Excel Series -
Setting Page Margins when Exporting Flowcharts to Word or PowerPoint
By Nicholas Hebb
Excel Flowchart Maker
FlowBreeze - a flowchart generator for Excel that makes flowcharts from text. Risk-free, 30-day trial.
Mind your Margins
Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint don't have the same page sizes. By default, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word have close, but slightly different page margins. Both have 1" top and bottom margins, but Microsoft Excel has 0.75" left and right margins while Microsoft Word has 1.25" left and right margins. This gives Microsoft Word a 1" less page width.
The point: flowcharts that fit on a single page in Excel may not fit on a single page in Word.
To ensure that you are working within Microsoft Word's page margins, change the margins in Microsoft Excel using File > Page Setup > Margins from the menu. This will only effect the current file. After changing the margins, select File > Print Preview from the menu, then close the preview screen. This will make the page break lines visible, providing you with boundaries to work within.
PowerPoint, on the other hand, not only has different page margins, but the page orientation is typically landscape. The largest slide frame size is 6.4" x 9", but you can enlarge that up to 7.5" x 10" and still have a reasonable margin.
Also, it's a good idea to give yourself a little bit of a buffer between the page breaks and the nearest shapes. The drawing canvases in Word and PowerPoint have small internal margins as well, so you should avoid trying to squeeze it too tight.
About the Author
Nicholas Hebb is the founder of BreezeTree Software, maker of FlowBreeze Flowchart Software.