Creating Flowcharts in the Office Suite

Question

I need to create a couple of flowcharts and I am wondering which of the Microsft Office products are best suited to doing so (Word, Powerpoint, Excel?). Do any/all of these have flowchart creation features, and if so how do I access them?

Answer 1

Word & Powerpoint will let you create crude flowcharts just by using the drawing toolbar. However for anything more than 2 or three boxes you need Visio, kind of part of Office but not included in any of the suites.

See the Microsoft page for more info http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/visio/default.aspx or select a free alternative from http://alternativeto.net/desktop/microsoft-visio/

Answer 2

Although not part of the standard Office Suite, Microsoft Office Visio is probably the product you are looking for. It is designed for drawing diagrams and charts. It looks like from there website they have a free online demo, or you can download a 60-day trial version to try it out.

Answer 3

Visio is your best bet as far as MS Office products are concerned, but that is not saying anything. I use Visio, but it is definitely not a preference. I would recommend looking at alternative products which can satisfy your needs (and there are also plenty of freebies out there which will be more than adequate).