Can I click into a shape to add steps?

Hi ​@Sam.sayer! Thank you so much for reaching out to the Lucid Community. That is a great question! I completely understand wanting to keep your workspace clean and avoiding a separate flow for every single task.

Since you are working in Lucidchart, there are a few different ways to achieve this. To make sure I give you the best recommendation, it would help to understand your current setup a bit better. Could you clarify a few things for me?

• What do you mean by "tasks"? Are these standard shapes (like process boxes), or are you using a specific feature like Lucid Cards?

• What is your ideal end goal? Could you describe exactly what you are trying to accomplish? What do you want to see happen when you click on the task? Are you wanting to click on a box that expands and shows a flowchart specific to that task? For example, clicking on a box that says “Tea” and then it expands to show a flow chart within that box that details the steps on how to make the tea.

• Can you share a screenshot? A visual of your current document showing these specific tasks would be incredibly helpful! (Just be sure to blur any confidential information). If you do not have a document created just yet, that is totally fine!

Looking forward to hearing back so we can get this sorted out for you! You are more than welcome to bring up any further questions or concerns you may have.

Best,

Justin J.

Hi Justin,

Yes sorry that’s exactly what I mean by tasks, just the standard process boxes.

I want to model a process at a high level using the standard process boxes, but treat some of those boxes as collapsed sub‑processes. 
Each sub‑process would allow a drill‑down view where the detailed tasks or steps are documented, either in a list or flow chart without cluttering the primary process map (mocked up an example below, the arrows down act as the ‘clicking into’ the boxes). 
The main view is for understanding flow and accountability; the drill‑down is for operational detail.

Is this possible to do? 

Hi ​@justinjohnson57 , 

Thank you that makes a lot of sense having it like that. Is there a way for me to have that in my actual diagram rather than having to do an arrow out of it. 

I tried to have a container in my diagram but when opened up it removed some of the surrounding process boxes and didn’t open particularly cleanly.  Is the only way for this to work is if the container isn’t in my swimlane diagram? 

Hi again, ​@Sam.sayer!

I completely understand wanting to keep everything inside the swimlane to maintain a clean flow.

You are exactly right about how containers behave inside tightly packed diagrams. Because expanding a container requires extra space, it does not dynamically push surrounding shapes out of the way or auto-resize your swimlanes to make room. That is why it displaced your other process boxes; it simply expands over whatever is currently around it.

If you want to keep the "Make Tea" step cleanly inside your main swimlane flow, here are the three best options moving forward:

• Option 1: Link to a sub-page: Keep "Make Tea" as a standard process box right there in your swimlane. Then, use an Action to link that box to a separate page tab in your document that contains the detailed drill-down. When someone clicks "Make Tea," it instantly jumps them to the detailed view without altering your main swimlane's layout at all.

  • For adding an Action, you can follow this Help Center article that details how to do so: Add an Action or link to a shape in Lucidchart.

• Option 2: Keep the container outside the swimlane: If you really love the Collapse/Expand feature and want to keep it all on one page, keeping the container outside the swimlane (using the arrow method we discussed previously) is indeed the best way to prevent it from disrupting your main diagram when it opens.

• Option 3: Add a note to the shape: If your drill-down is just a text list of steps, you can right-click your standard "Make Tea" process box inside the swimlane and select Add Note. This adds a small clickable icon to the corner of the shape that expands into a text panel, keeping your layout intact.

Feel free to try these options out for yourself to see what feels best for your workflow, and please reach out if you have any further questions or concerns!

Best,

Justin J.

I love Justin’s description of the Collapse and Expand feature and his rationale for using it in the context you described, Sam. 

As a long-time process mapper, my suggestion to you, Sam, is that you consider using the Subprocess (aka Pre-defined Process) shape for those steps, like Make Tea, for which you provide a decomposition. Collapse/Expand is a great solution, but some people will miss it! The visual difference from using the Subprocess shape will clue people in to the fact that there is further definition of that step. Once they’ve seen a map or two that pairs the Subprocess with an Expand/Collapse container, it will become habit for them when they want the extra details.

Hey ​@Cycling Scott! Thanks for chiming in and for sharing that excellent tip about using the Subprocess shape as a visual cue for expanded details. That will definitely be helpful for Sam in achieving their desired outcome here. Please feel free to reach out if you ever have any questions or concerns of your own!

​@Cycling Scott and ​@justinjohnson57 thank you both for the suggestions! 

I’ve decided to do similar to what you’ve said Scott by having it easily identifiable that there is a sub process behind a step and then note it down else where to avoid the risk of user error when reviewing the map if i’m not there to guide them through 

Hey ​@Sam.sayer! 

I am glad to hear you found an approach that works well for your needs! Scott's suggestion is a great way to ensure the sub-processes are clear to anyone reviewing the map on their own.

Please feel free to reach out again if you need help with anything else in the future!

Thanks for the feedback, ​@Sam.sayer -- I’m glad the Subprocess and Container suggestions look like they’ll be useful.