Skip to main content

Import a Process on a Word/PDF/Visio Document onto the Staging Area

Import directly onto the stage from where the sections can be dragged-and-dropped onto the map to build your workflow.

Hylet Pistorius avatar
Written by Hylet Pistorius
Updated yesterday

Importing speeds up process creation and editing by allowing you to bring in Activities, Tasks, Notes, Activity tags, Process objectives ,Process notes, Triggers

Inputs and outputs.

There are 2 methods to import a process on a Word/PDF/Visio document:

  1. Onto the staging area (explained in this article) - process will import onto the stage from where it can be edited, dragged-and-dropped onto the map.

  2. Directly onto the map - This method is recommended when the imported document contains a logical, clearly mapped process using recognised process-mapping shapes and methods. The tool will create a happy path that can be edited into branches and gateways.


    ​

First method: Import a Process from a Word/PDF/Visio Document onto the staging area

  1. Open the Process/value stream you want to import into.

  2. In the right-hand side diagram content menu, select the import icon

    to open the import panel.

  3. Toggle stage - see details further down in the article

  4. Two ways to import:

    1. Select Browse to upload a file.

    2. Drag and drop the file onto the import stage.

  5. Wait for the document to load.

  6. Once imported into the staging area:

    • Review each section that was created from the document.

    • Edit any text that did not import correctly using the Edit button.

    • Delete unnecessary sections using the Delete button or by selecting a section and pressing Delete (fn-Backspace) on your keyboard.

    • Change the section types where needed (for example, to Activities, Tasks, Notes, etc.).

    • Drag and drop the sections onto the map to create the Process.

Stage/Map Toggle:

  1. Stage (toggle is grey) - process will import onto the stage from where it can be edited, dragged-and-dropped onto the map.

  2. Map (toggle is green) - process will import directly onto the map.

Notes on the Different Document Types

  • Word (.docx, .dotx, .docm)

    • Each sentence becomes its own section if it ends with a period and a space (". ").

    • Bullets and numbered points become separate sections, even without a period and space.

    • Tables are split by row and then by cell; each cell is further split into sentences.

    • You can edit or delete sections directly in the Import panel.

    • If the file is too large, you may be prompted to select a page range (this selector is not very accurate for Word).

  • PDF

    • PDFs are treated more like a single image when processed, and may not always import accurately.

    • Some PDF fonts may not convert correctly.

    • Sentences, bullets, numbered points and tables are split in the same way as Word where possible, but results can be less reliable than Word.

  • Visio

    • Each shape that contains text becomes its own section.

    • Objects in Visio that will be mapped as Decisions: Decision, Gateway, Diamonds

    • Both Visio Drawing and Visio Viewer files can be imported:

      • Visio drawing

        • This is the actual diagram file you create and edit.

        • Common file types:

          • vsdx – modern Visio drawing

          • .vsd – older Visio drawing

          • .vsdm – Visio drawing with macros

        • You need Microsoft Visio (the full app or Visio for the web) to edit these.

      • Visio Viewer

        • This is not a drawing format, it’s:

          • Either the Visio Viewer application (a free add-on to view diagrams)

          • Or sometimes people loosely say “Visio viewer file” when they mean:

            • A web link to a Visio file opened in the browser

            • A PDF or image exported from Visio for viewing only

        • You can’t edit in Viewer – only zoom, pan, see shapes, maybe comments.

  • Images (Word & PDF)

    • Images in Word and PDF documents appear in the Import panel and can be added to Activities. Drag-and-drop the image onto an activity to automatically create an attachment containing the image.

    • Because the original image names are unknown, images are named in the format:
      ​import_document_ACTIVITYID (for example, import_document_14825).

Notes

  • Maximum file size for import: 3.99 GB.

  • For large files with multiple tabs:

    • You may be asked to select a tab.

    • The Word page range selector is not very accurate.

    • For more accurate page selection, convert the Word document to PDF and import the PDF instead.

  • If you experience issues importing a PDF (for example, due to fonts or layout), convert it to a Word document and import the Word version.

Did this answer your question?