SmartDraw lets you build an organizational chart automatically by importing a data file of your organization's employee list from Excel or any HR software where you manage employees. You can also generate an organizational chart by connecting to your Azure Active Directory.
In addition to creating your org chart automatically, you will also be able to skip data you don't want included, and show some data in a tool tip without cluttering up the visual.
Preparing your Data
Before you can import your data, the list must be formatted with the fields you want to show for each employee as columns and the values for an employee as rows.
Here are some basic rules for making sure your data is going to be readable:
- Each row must represent a unique employee. No duplicates.
- One of the columns must identify the supervisor of that employee.
- All of the rows must have a supervisor (a person that employee reports to) except for the top position in the org chart.
- Make sure your name formatting is consistent across columns. The formatting of the supervisor's name or identification must match the formatting of the identification for the same person in the employee column. This is easiest if you're using numerical employee IDs. If you're using names, make sure that the names are spelled the same and the order of the first or last name is the same in both columns.
The table can be in CSV, XLS, or XLSX format.
Note: if you have issues generating a visual, try reducing the complexity of the data you're trying to import. SmartDraw will work best with charts that show less than 200 employees. If your entire company has more employees, consider rendering the org chart for each department separately to keep the visual a manageable size.
Import Your Data
Once you have your data set up, select Build Org Chart from Data in the Org Charts category from the Template dialog.
You can choose between connecting to your Azure Active Directory or importing a local CSV or XLSX file.
Using a Local File
If you previous exported a data file from a third party system, you can import it here to generate an organizational chart visual.
Find the file on your system and click on Load File to have SmartDraw process and parse your data.
Preview Your Data
The parser identifies the matching columns and guesses which columns are the name and title fields. The extension will give you a preview of how we see your data so you can make some changes if necessary.
Each row in the table will add a shape to the org chart.
Specify Special Column Types
SmartDraw styles and builds your org chart using rules given to each data type. Data identified as Name will be shown centered inside a single org chart shape, while anything identified as a Hyperlink will trigger a hyperlink icon with a link to be added to the shape, and so forth.
The data type is displayed in the first menu above each column. You can change this type by selecting another option from the drop-down menu.
The Rules for Data Types
Name: Data from this column is set to Show in Shape as the first row of text. If you have first and last names in separate columns, you'll have to join them or just choose only one to display as the name in the org chart.
Title: This will show up as the second row of text inside the shape.
Hyperlink: This will add a hyperlink to the specified URL inside the shape. You use this to add links to employee records, for example.
Other: These columns are set to appear in the data layer (Show in Data) by default and not inside the shape itself. You can change this using the display menu. Once the org chart is built, you can find this information by hovering over the blue "i" icon in the lower right corner of an org chart shape. Other columns are added to the shape after the Name and Title in left to right order.
Choose Display Options
For each column in your data, you have three choices presented in the display menu at the top of each column (this is the second drop-down menu):
- You can show the value in the shape by choosing "Show in Shape". This might be appropriate for someone's name, title, or telephone number.
- Move the value to a data layer shown only on hover by choosing "Show in Data". This might be appropriate for data like a hire date or employee ID.
- Hide this value completely by choosing "Don't show".
If you leave the defaults as they are, two rows, one for Name and one for Title, will show in each shape. All other data in columns will be moved to the data layer and shown as shape data. You can customize this using the display options listed above.
Build the Chart
When you're ready, click "Build Diagram" to generate your Org Chart automatically. Once you've opened your document you can edit your Org Chart diagram like any other SmartDraw diagram.
Getting Data from Azure Active Directory
You can also build your organizational chart by importing data from your Azure Active Directory account.
Like before, launch the Org Chart Extension, by clicking on Build Org Chart from Data under Extensions on the template dialog.
Click on Azure Active Directory and login to your Azure Active Directory with your credentials.
Choose the Supervisor or Manager
Once SmartDraw can see your directory, you will be prompted to select which part of the organization to make the org chart for by selecting the manager or supervisor from a drop-down list.
Set Data Visibility
Once a manager is selected, you'll be shown some sample data to give you a preview of how SmartDraw sees your organization.
For each data type, you choose its visibility in the resulting organizational chart.
When you're ready, click Build Diagram to generate your organizational chart.
