An organizational chart shows who reports to whom. Each card represents a person or role. The lines show the primary reporting structure.
Studio builds a hierarchy: one top-level leader, and each other person with one primary manager. Matrix or dotted-line relationships are not modeled. Use the chart for the primary line and document secondary relationships elsewhere.
Gather the minimum data
Name is the only required spreadsheet field. To build a connected hierarchy, also provide a manager name for each person except the top-level leader, or use matching Employee ID and Manager ID columns.
Titles and departments are optional.
| Name | Title | Manager | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Rivera | Chief Executive Officer | Executive | |
| Casey Lee | VP Engineering | Alex Rivera | Engineering |
| Morgan Chen | VP Operations | Alex Rivera | Operations |
| Jordan Patel | Engineering Manager | Casey Lee | Engineering |
Stable employee IDs are safest for recurring updates because a rename does not change the person's identity.
Start a chart in Studio
Open Org Chart Studio. The start screen offers 3 paths.
If you opened this chooser with New chart while another chart was open, closing it returns to that chart without replacing its people. A signed-in account with no charts must choose a starting route, because there is no existing chart to return to. Back inside the template picker returns to these 3 choices.
Choosing a spreadsheet or template starts a separate chart when you came from an existing saved chart. Cancel spreadsheet mapping anytime before Confirm & import. If you are working as a guest, check for the Local label before clearing or replacing the browser draft.
Use a spreadsheet
Choose Use a spreadsheet, pick Choose spreadsheet, or drop an Excel or CSV file into the upload area. If an Excel workbook has several sheets, choose the roster sheet. Check Map spreadsheet columns and choose Confirm & import.
Name is the only required mapping. Titles, departments, managers, Employee IDs, and Manager IDs add structure and detail. The mapping screen shows row counts and issues before the chart is committed. The CSV import guide covers file shapes, ID-based reporting, suggestions, and repair.
Start from a template
Choose a template when its roles are close to the organization you need. Replace the fictional people and roles in People, then adjust the reporting relationships. A template is a starting structure, not a claim about how your company should work.
Choose Use a template, search for an industry, then choose Use template on the structure you want. Each option shows its role count. Back returns to the start choices.
Start blank
Choose Start blank for a small chart or when the roster is not ready. Studio creates 1 top-level person. On the desktop chart, the initial editor opens: enter the name, title, and department, then choose Done. Use Details when you also need contact information or role details. On a phone, tap the person's name or title in People to edit their details, then choose Save changes.
Select that first person's card and use the plus below it for Add direct report. Enter the report's details and choose Done. The side plus controls add a coworker who shares the selected person's manager, so they are not the right control for the first report beneath the top-level person.
Open People when you prefer rows and labeled fields. Choose Add person, edit names and titles, or set Reports to without dragging. On a phone, Studio opens in the compact People workspace; it edits the same chart.
Card, person, and theme
A person is the chart record: name, title, department, reporting relationship, contact details, and any role details you add. A planned or vacant role uses the same kind of record even when no occupant is named.
A card is that record's visible box on the chart. Some technical descriptions call the same box a node. Selecting or moving the card changes that person or role; it does not create a second copy of the record.
Edit person opens that person's fields. Done saves the field changes; Cancel leaves the record as it was.
A theme controls how cards and connectors look, including fonts, colors, borders, and department treatment. Editing a person's title changes their record. Changing the title's font changes appearance only.
Practise without changing your chart
Open Help, search for changing a manager, and open the interactive manager guide. Choose Try in playground. If you are still on the new-chart start screen, choose Play and learn with a practice chart instead.
The practice workspace opens with fictional people and asks you to move Sam Patel to another manager. Changes there use a separate practice chart and do not change the chart you had open.
Choose Reset practice chart to restore the original fictional people and reporting lines. Choose Back to your chart to leave practice. Studio returns to Help over your original chart.
Check the reporting lines
On the chart, select a card to see its actions. Drag a person only after reading the named drop outcome, or use Reports to in People for a precise manager choice. Changing a manager does not automatically change the person's department.
If an imported manager cannot be resolved, Studio opens People with Needs manager selected. Assign the intended manager there. The top-level leader is the one person who should have no manager. Use the missing-people guide when a person is present in the data but absent from the connected chart.
Undo and Redo cover changes to people and reporting lines. Theme and layout changes stay outside that people history.
Style and arrange the chart
The chart and People are 2 views of the same records. Editing a name, title, department, or manager in either place changes the chart data.
Open Themes to change colors, fonts, card design, connectors, and department treatment. Theme previews use sample people. Choose Apply to chart to put the previewed design on this chart. Each chart owns its theme.
Open Layout to change spacing and how teams are arranged. Use the plus and minus controls to zoom, and Fit to bring the whole chart back into view. Zoom changes your working view; export page scale and pagination are separate.
Name and save the chart
Choose the pencil beside the chart name, enter a useful name, and press Enter. Before sign-in, Studio keeps a local draft in that browser. A local draft continues work on this device; it is not an account backup.
Sign in to save charts to your account. Saved charts update automatically. Wait for Saved before switching charts or closing the tab; if Studio shows a save error, use Retry.
The current chart name opens Your charts to search, switch, duplicate, or delete saved charts. Account limits are shown in that list rather than fixed in this article.
Export the result
Choose Export, select a format and scope, then inspect the preview.
- PNG is available free with a watermark when the selected scope is within the free export limit shown in Studio.
- CSV is always free and contains the people data rather than the visual design.
- PDF and editable PowerPoint require an active export pass.
Export the entire organization or a branch under one manager, with a depth limit when needed. Page size, scale, and pagination affect the file, not the saved chart. Current pass prices, durations, and people limits appear in Export. See watermark and pass help before buying or troubleshooting a clean file.
Keep the chart useful
Use Update from spreadsheet in People when a newer roster arrives. Studio compares it with the current people and lets you choose additions, field edits, manager moves, and removals before applying them. It does not create a live HR-system sync.
Give one person responsibility for updates and agree on the source file.