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Can I import a spreadsheet (or .csv) and have Lucid automatically generate a flow diagram to my specifications?

  • The flow diagram demonstrates a simple journey - from start to finish.
  • The flow diagram consists typically of between 60 and 90 individual steps.
  • Each step can be connected to one or more other steps.
    • e.g. step 1 could connect to step 2 and 3
  • The connections between steps can be primary or secondary and indicated with two line types: primary - solid, secondary - dotted.
    • e.g. step 1 could connect to 2 as primary, using a solid line, and step 3 as secondary, using a dotted line.
  • The data expressing what step is linked primarily and secondarily to which steps is held in a spreadsheet
    • e.g. step, primary, secondary
      • Step: Each row has the number of the step: 1, 2, 3, etc.
      • Primary: Shows which step the current step should link to using a solid line: link to Step 2
      • Secondary: Shows which step the current step should link to using a dotted line: link to Step 3
  • It is common that there can be more than one connecting step for both primary and secondary.
    • e.g. step 1 could link primarily to 2, yet secondarily link to 3 and 4.
    • therefore Step: 1, Primary: 2, Secondary: 3,4

Whilst I have other aspects that I would like to programmatically see achieved - such as the colour and shape of the step, and colour of the connecting lines - as well as a uniformed distance between each step - maintaining a straight row where possible, if I can automate the main tasks outlined, that would be a huge win.

My goal after this is to then embed the results into a spreadsheet, where each step sits comfortably in the column width.

Any help would be most welcome. Ideally before I spend ages building 7 of these journey maps by hand.

Hi ​@cranialscratch 

Lucidchart offers powerful automation capabilities for creating flow diagrams from spreadsheets, leveraging features like Data Linking, Smart Containers, and AI-enhanced tools.

  • While these features can handle most of the diagram creation, you may still need to make some manual adjustments to achieve your specific requirements, such as customizing connection types, line styles, and layout.

For the manual pointers you can also explore Lucidchart API capabilities that best fit your requirements with ease.

Hope this helps - Happy to help further!!
Thank you very much and have a great one!
Warm regards


Hi ​@Humas1985 

I appreciate the certainty and confirmation that it should do these things, yet I don’t appear to be able to get it to do what I’m looking for. I’ve even tried using Mermaid to code it up with no real luck. Is there a tutorial I can use or do you have experience and willing to take on an hour or so of training?


Hi ​@cranialscratch, thank you for posting in the community! It sounds like you might find our CSV import for process diagrams helpful for your use case. You can also find a sample data set in the article which demonstrates how the data needs to be formatted. 

Please let me know if this is not what you are looking for, or if you have any questions!