Flowcharting Tools And Symbols

As we have seen that flowchart is a symbolic or diagrammatic representation, then standard symbols are used to represent the sequence of operations. There are two categories of flowcharting tools or symbols;

• General Symbol

• Special Symbol

The categories of these two types of symbols are given in the table below;

Flowchart Symbol	Name ( Alternates )	Description
	Processing Symbol	An Operation Or Action Step.
	Terminals Symbol	A Start or Stop Point In A Process.
	Decision Symbol	A Question or Branch In The Process.
	Delay or Bottleneck Symbol	A Waiting Period.
	Pre-defined Process Or Subroutine Process	A Formally Defined Sub-Process.
	Alternate Process Symbol	An Alternate To The Normal Process Step.
	Input/Output Symbol	Indicate Data Inputs And Outputs To And From A Process.
	Document Symbol	A Document Or Report.
	​Multiple Documents Symbol	Same As Document, But For Multiple Documents.
	Preparation Symbol Or Loop Indicator	​A Preparation or Set-Up Process Step or Loop Operation.
	Display Symbol	A Machine Display.
	Manual Input Symbol	Manually Input Into A System.
	Manual Operation Symbol	A Process Step That Isn't Automated.
	Card Symbol	A Old Computer Punch Card.
	Paper Tape Or Punched Tape Symbol	An Old Computer Punched Tape Input.
	Connector Symbol	A Jump From One Point To Another.
	On-Page Reference Symbol	Continues on the matching symbol containing the same letters.
	Off-Page Reference Symbol	Continuation Onto Another Page.
	Transfer Symbol	Transfer Of Materials.
	Or Symbol	Logical OR
	Summing Junction Symbol	Logical AND
	​Collate Symbol	Organizing Data Into A Standard Format Or Arrangement.
	​Sort Symbol	Sorting Of Data Into Some Pre-Defined Order.
	​Merge ( Storage ) Symbol	Merge Multiple Processes Into One. Also Used To Show Raw Material Storage.
	Extract Symbol	Extract ( Split Processes ) or More Commonly - A Measurement or Finished Goods.
	​Stored Data Symbol	A General Data Storage Flowchart Symbol.
	Magnetic Disk Symbol ( Database )	A Database.
	Direct Access Storage Symbol	Storage On A Hard Drive.
	Internal Storage Symbol	Data Stored In Memory.
	Sequential Access Storage Symbol ( Magnetic Tape )	An Old Reel Of Tape.
	Callout Symbol	One Of Many Callout Symbols Used To Add Comments To A Flowchart.
	Flow Line	Indicates The Direction Of Flow For Materials and/or Information.

Figure: Flowcharting Tools And Symbols

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