The five symbols you'll actually use
- Rectangle — a process step or action ("Send confirmation email").
- Diamond — a decision with branching paths ("Payment succeeded?").
- Oval / rounded rectangle — start or end of the flow ("Order received", "Done").
- Parallelogram — input or output of data ("Read CSV", "Print receipt").
- Arrow — direction of flow between steps.
Ready to draw?
No signup. Opens instantly in your browser.
When to break the rules
Strict notation matters for compliance, engineering, or BPMN docs. For casual flowcharts — onboarding, sketching an idea, explaining a process to a coworker — rectangles, diamonds, and arrows are enough. FlowSimp ships with that minimal set on purpose.
Try it
Open the editor and try drawing each shape, or read the flowchart maker overview.