FlowBreeze 2.0 Help Online
In lieu of a full preview of FlowBreeze 2.0, I have posted the help file online. A firm release date has not been set, but an October launch is most likely. The full list of new features and improvements will be posted soon, but the following is a sampling of some of the more prominent ones.
Text-To-Flowchart Wizard
The Text-To-Flowchart Wizard allows you to pre-layout a flowchart in plain text on a worksheet. It will load the text into a form that allows you to set the symbol type, style, out-bound flow line routings, and any branch labels for Decisions. Below are screenshots of the Text-To-Flowchart Wizard window and the resulting flowchart.
So this …
… becomes this:
Integrated Excel 2007 Styles
FlowBreeze 2.0 allows you to preset the symbol styles using the styles available in Excel 2007 - even if you are using a previous version of Excel. In general, the styles render nicely in previous versions of Excel (with the exception of the last row of styles in the first image, which are only available in Excel 2007). Below are the two tabs for the symbol style selector window and the flow line style selector window.
Flowchart Settings
The Settings received a major overhaul in version two. As shown below, the styles can now be preset by symbol type, as well as the default width and minimum height. The keywords and prefixes still function the same for text to symbol generation, but the editor has been simplified. FlowBreeze ships with a basic set of flowcharting symbols “active”, but the symbol list editor now has 124 different shapes available. Other new features have been added to the “Special Symbols Settings” and “Advanced Settings” (not shown), and those will be outlined on the product page upon release.
Flowchart Templates and Other Startup Options
FlowBreeze 2.0 will ship with an integrated template loader. When you start a flowcharting session, you will now be able to load a template for title blocks; cross-function diagrams (aka swim lanes or deployment charts); opportunity charts; DMAIC, PDCA and SIPOC diagrams; or a number of other flowchart and block diagram templates, as shown in the image below.
Save As Picture
Excel has always had limited capability to export shapes and worksheet ranges as picture files. FlowBreeze 2.0 will allow you to save flowcharts as PNG, BMP, JPG, GIF, TIF, or WMF picture files. Not only can you save the flowcharts as pictures, but you can save spreadsheets as well. One of the major selling points for FlowBreeze is the convergence of data and diagrams. The screenshot below shows a flowchart with spreadsheet data being saved as a picture.
More to Come
There are many other features that were added to FlowBreeze 2.0, and the full details will be announced upon release.
18. October 2007 at 7:06 am :
I wanted to comment on the add-in and the help page…
Great work! I like it!
I’m a Quality Blackbelt and find myself mapping processes on a regular basis. I like the capability of reading from text and I’m currently working with the trial version. What I wonder is the capability of a cross-functional tool from this as well. I use Visio and nearly every flowchart is a cross functional one. Is that capability within the realm of future additions?
Please feel free to contact me on my work email address. I would like to begin a dialog with you regarding this capability. I don’t want to be the “flowchart guy”. Teaching folks to fish is the goal, not to keep giving them fish.
Thanks and keep up the great work with this tool.
Michael Copeland
18. October 2007 at 9:49 pm :
Thanks Michael. I contact you off-line.
The software comes with 120 templates. A few samples are included in the trial version. Basically the templates are just title blocks with boxes and lines to create the swim lanes for the cross functional flowcharts.
You can also create the cross functional lanes manually with boxes and lines. This gives a bit more flexibility since the templates come with fixed-width lanes, and none of the templates come with swimming pools (i.e., swim lane sub groups).