Put your Flowchart Title in a Text Box

If you want to give your flowchart a title for each page, you're usually better off creating one with a Textbox. This is especially true if you're going to export the flowchart to another program such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft PowerPoint.

If you're creating a flowchart in Excel, and plan to leave it in Excel, just entering the title in a worksheet cell is fine. But if you try to copy the flowcharting shapes to Word or PowerPoint, the title cell will not be copied along with the shapes.

The problem with creating the title in Word is - you have to leave room for it above the flowchart drawing canvas. Lets say that you copy the flowchart and paste it into Word. Where do you put the title? Often the flowchart is big enough to take up the whole page. In Word, flowcharts (and other drawings) are contained in a Canvas object. The canvas can be tricky to position, and if it's large enough, trying to add a text title above it can be a real pain.

Many times I have battled with placing objects (flowcharts, pictures, drawings, etc.) on a Microsoft Word document, trying to get the placement just right, and many times I have lost. So 9 times out of 10, it's easier to just put the flowchart title within the drawing.

One last hint: To avoid the boxy look for a title in a Text Box, right-click on the textbox and select Format Textbox. A dialog will open. Select Colors and Lines. Click on the border color dropdown and select No Line.

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Want more useful flowcharting tips? View the list of other flowchart, process map, and process improvement articles here.

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About the Author

When he's not writing about flowcharts Nicholas Hebb runs BreezeTree Software, maker of FlowBreeze Flowchart Software - a program that cuts the time to create a flowchart dramatically compared to traditional flowcharting tools. What makes FlowBreeze different?

It converts your text into flowchart symbols based on the words you type, adds a connector from the last shape, and many other time saving features. And, because it's a Microsoft Excel graphics addin, you will create flow charts that are highly portable and integrate directly with Microsoft Office for easy sharing and collaboration.

Click here to view the On-Line FlowBreeze Flowchart Software Demo and see for yourself. (It's a short, 30 second video that loads fast.) You'll be impressed.