Annotating flowcharts

You can annotate a flowchart to communicate with other users of the flowchart and clarify the intention and functionality of processes. Annotations appear as yellow sticky notes.

About this task

Use annotations to ask and answer questions among team members or communicate implementation details as a flowchart is developed. For example, an analyst can add an annotation to explain the selection logic for a process and the Marketing Manager can use the annotation to request changes.

Annotations can supplement the mouse-over information that is provided by the Note field on the General tab of the process configuration dialog. For example, the Note field might describe the selection criteria, but an annotation can be added to ask questions.

Each process box in a flowchart can have a maximum of one annotation. A process box that has an annotation includes a small annotation icon. The icon helps to identify which processes have annotations if the annotations are hidden.

Procedure

Open a flowchart for editing.
Right-click a process box, and choose Annotations > Add Annotation.
Type the information that you want to convey. A small annotation icon is added to the process box so you can tell that the process is annotated, even if annotations are hidden.

When you are done, save the flowchart.

When you save a flowchart, the show/hide state for annotations is retained and any blank (empty) annotations are removed.

The following table explains how to work with annotations.

Action	Details
Add an annotation	In flowchart Edit mode, right-click a process box and choose Annotations > Add Annotation. You can use a maximum of 1024 characters. Each process box can have only one annotation. Annotations are not saved until you save the flowchart.
Edit an annotation	In flowchart Edit mode, show the annotation. Click the annotation and make your changes. An annotation can be edited by anyone who has permission to edit the flowchart.
Remove an annotation	Use either method in flowchart Edit mode: Right-click a process box and choose Annotations > Remove Annotation. When an annotation is showing, use the menu on the annotation to Remove Annotation. An annotation can be removed by anyone who has permission to edit the flowchart. An annotation is automatically removed if its process box is deleted.
Show or hide all annotations	In View or Edit mode, click the Show All Annotations or Hide All Annotations button in the flowchart toolbar. If you are in Edit mode, the state is retained when you save the flowchart.
Show or hide a specific annotation	Use either method in flowchart Edit mode: Right-click a process box and choose Show Annotation or Hide Annotation from the Annotations menu. When an annotation is showing, use the menu on the annotation to Hide Annotation. The state is retained when you save the flowchart.
Move an annotation	Annotations always appear to the right of the associated process box. If you move a process box, the annotation is also moved. In View or Edit mode, you can drag an annotation to a new position but the position is not saved after you exit the flowchart.
Copy annotations	Annotations are copied in the following situations: a. If you cut/copy/paste a process box that has an annotation. b. If you save a process box to a template and paste the template. c. If you copy a flowchart. For method c, the original display state of the annotations is retained.
Select or resize an annotation	Annotations cannot be selected or resized and are unaffected by Zoom.
Save annotations	You must save the flowchart or annotations will not be retained.
Print annotations	When you print a flowchart, any visible annotations are also printed. Show any annotations that you want to print. Only annotations that are visible in the workspace are printed. Annotations that are outside of the screen area might not print.

Example

The following image shows the annotation menus and icons.

Item	Description
1	Use the toolbar icons to show or hide all annotations in the flowchart.
2	Use the menu on an annotation to remove (delete) or hide the annotation. To access the menu, you must show the annotation.
3	Right-click a process and use the Annotations menu to add, remove, show, or hide an annotation.
4	The annotation icon indicates which processes have annotations.