Question 1

What do the different flowchart shapes mean?

Accepted Answer

A rounded pill is a terminator, meaning start or end. A rectangle is a process: a step that does something. A diamond is a decision, which asks a yes/no question and has one arrow leaving it per answer. A parallelogram is data going in or out. A rectangle with a bar down each side is a predefined process, meaning a sub-process defined elsewhere. These shapes come from the ANSI and ISO 5807 flowchart conventions and are near-universal.

Question 2

How do I draw a line between two shapes?

Accepted Answer

Hover a shape and connection dots appear around its edge. Drag from a dot to another shape and the two are connected. For a line that takes a specific path, pick the Line tool, click where it should start, click once at every corner you want it to turn, then click the shape it should end on. Every bend is placed by you and stays exactly where you put it.

Question 3

Does this tool re-route my connectors automatically?

Accepted Answer

No, and that is deliberate. A connector stores the exact polyline you drew. Moving a shape slides the attached end along with it and stretches the segments touching that end, but nothing recalculates the path, so a diagram you leave today opens tomorrow looking exactly the same.

Question 4

How do I change the path of a line I already drew?

Accepted Answer

Select it. A square handle appears at each end, a diamond at every bend, and a hollow circle in the middle of each segment. Drag a diamond to move one bend, drag a circle to slide a whole segment sideways, drag a square end onto a different shape to re-attach it, and double-click a diamond to remove that bend.

Question 5

How do I draw a loop in a flowchart?

Accepted Answer

A loop is a line that points back to an earlier shape. There is no special symbol for it: draw a connector out of the later shape, click a couple of times to take it around the outside of the diagram, and land it on the earlier one. Because nothing re-routes it, the corridor you route it down is the corridor it keeps.

Question 6

Is my flowchart saved anywhere?

Accepted Answer

It is kept in your own browser as you work, so closing the tab does not lose it, but nothing is uploaded and there is no account. Export to PNG or SVG to share it, or to JSON to keep a copy you can open again here.