Flowchart Symbols

Overview

Flowchart symbols are graphical representation of program steps or statements. The symbols are figures like rectangle, diamond , circle, etc. We can build flowchart by connecting different flowchart symbols using connecting arrow lines.

Let’s learn basic symbols that are commonly used in flowcharts. Note that there could some variations in the symbols based on the flowchart software. In general, some basic flowchart symbols are as follows:

Symbol	Name	Purpose
	Terminal Start / End	The symbols indicate the starting or ending of the flowchart or program.
	Connected arrow lines	The connected arrow lines connect the flowchart symbols and show the program flow of control.
	Connector	Connector symbols connects parts without intersecting lines.
	Input / Output	The Input and Output symbols indicate I/O operations in the flowchart or program. Input operation is the inflow of data like obtaining the data from the user into the program. Output operation is outflow of data like displaying the data to the console.
	Declare	The Declare symbol is used to declare variables in the flowchart or program. Variables are named memory location to store values in the program. Declaration specifies the data type of the variable. Most programming languages require you to explicitly declare variables before using them in the program.
	Process	The symbols indicate the operation in the processor. Assignment, Calculations, etc.
	Decision	Decision symbol is used to create a binary branch. Each branch execute based on the condition if it is True/False or Yes/No.
	Call	The Call symbol is used to invoke the functions or procedures. The Call symbol transfers the program control to the procedure/ functions.
	Preparation or Loop	Preparation symbol represents a setup for another step in the flowchart. Flowgorithm Flowchart software. This symbol denotes various loop statements. The Loop symbol is used for repetition statements like While, For, Do-While Loop. The loop statement executes a statement or group of statements multiple times based on the loop condition.
	Breakpoint	The Breakpoint symbol is used while debugging the flowchart or program. The breakpoint symbol halts the flowchart execution, so that we can analyze the program state, variables, etc. to find the cause of any error.
	Document	The Document symbol indicate file, printed document, or report etc.
	Multi-Document	The Multi-Document symbol indicate multiple files, printed documents, or reports etc. .