How to Make a Genogram in Excel
A complete guide to creating genograms in Excel using the cell grid, shapes, and elbow connectors. We cover every step, then show you why a dedicated genogram tool saves hours of frustration.
Why People Try to Make Genograms in Excel
Excel is on nearly every work and school computer, and its cell grid looks temptingly like graph paper. Snap to Grid even gives it a real edge over Word for keeping generations in straight rows. But a spreadsheet is not a canvas: there are no genogram symbols, no clinical templates, and shapes float precariously above cells that can resize underneath them. Below, we walk through every step honestly, including where Excel falls apart.
How to Make a Genogram in Excel: 8 Steps
Follow these steps to create a basic genogram using Excel's grid, shapes, and connectors. Menu names can vary slightly between Excel versions, so we describe the action wherever locations differ.
Set Up the Excel Grid as a Drawing Canvas
Excel's cell grid can act like graph paper. Resize the columns so cells become small squares, which makes alignment far easier than a blank Word page.
- Open a blank workbook and click the Select All corner (above row 1, left of column A)
- Set a narrow column width so each cell is roughly square with the row height (about 2 in width units, or drag until the column pixel width matches the row pixel height)
- Zoom out to 70-80% so you can see several generations at once
- Turn off unneeded worksheet elements if you want a cleaner canvas (in the View options, you can hide gridlines later before exporting)
Tip: Column width and row height use different units in Excel, so match them by the pixel value shown in the tooltip while dragging, not the number itself.
Insert Shapes for Each Family Member
Use Insert > Shapes to draw squares for males and circles for females, following standard genogram notation.
- Go to Insert > Shapes and pick Rectangle for males
- Pick Oval and hold Shift while dragging to draw a perfect circle for females
- Keep every shape the same size: draw one, then copy-paste (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V) or duplicate (Ctrl+D) for each person
- For a deceased person, layer two short diagonal lines over the shape to form an X
- For the index person (the client or self), give the shape a thicker outline via the shape outline weight setting
Tip: Set the fill to white or no fill and the outline to black before duplicating your first shape. Every copy inherits the formatting, so you only style once.
Arrange People by Generation Using Snap to Grid
Place each generation in its own horizontal band of rows. Excel's Snap to Grid makes shapes align to cell edges automatically.
- Enable Snap to Grid from the shape alignment options (under the drawing/shape format tools, in the Align menu)
- Reserve the top rows for grandparents, the middle band for parents, and the bottom band for the index person and siblings
- Leave 3-5 empty cell columns between people in the same generation for connector lines
- Leave 4-6 empty rows between generations so vertical lines have room
- Center children beneath the midpoint between their two parents
Tip: Snap to Grid is Excel's biggest advantage over Word for genograms: shapes click into cell boundaries, so rows stay straight without manual nudging.
Connect Partners and Children with Elbow Connectors
Excel's elbow connectors attach to shapes and stay attached when you move them, which is better than drawing free-floating lines.
- Go to Insert > Shapes and choose Elbow Connector (or a straight Line for simple horizontal links)
- Hover over a shape until connection points appear on its edges, then drag from one shape's connection point to another
- Draw a horizontal line between married partners, connecting the bottom or side points of their shapes
- Drop vertical connectors from the partner line area down to each child's shape
- For divorce, layer two short diagonal line shapes across the partner line; one slash indicates separation
Tip: Connectors that snap to connection points (they show as small dots when you hover) will follow shapes when moved. Free-drawn lines will not, so always attach both ends.
Add Names and Dates with Text
Label every person with their name, birth year, and death year if applicable.
- Right-click a shape and choose Edit Text to type the name and birth year inside it
- Use a small font (8-9pt) so text fits within the shape
- For longer notes (occupation, diagnosis, dates), insert a text box just below the shape
- Remove the text box outline and fill so only the words show
- Do not type labels into the worksheet cells behind the shapes; cell text will not move with the shapes and will misalign the moment anything shifts
Tip: Group each shape with its text box (select both, then Group) so labels travel with the person when you rearrange the chart.
Try the SmartArt Hierarchy Shortcut (and Know Its Limits)
SmartArt's Hierarchy layouts can rough out a descendant chart in minutes, but they cannot produce a true genogram.
- Go to Insert > SmartArt and choose a Hierarchy layout (such as an organization-chart style)
- Type names in the text pane; press Tab to demote a person to the next generation down
- SmartArt auto-spaces and auto-aligns everything, which is fast for a simple one-parent-line family tree
- The catch: SmartArt only supports one parent per node, so it cannot draw marriage lines or partner pairs
- It also cannot use circles for females and squares for males within the same layout, so standard genogram notation is impossible
Tip: Use SmartArt only as a quick draft of who belongs where, then rebuild with manual shapes, or skip Excel entirely for anything clinical.
Mark Relationship Types on the Lines
Adjust line styles to distinguish marriage, divorce, cohabitation, and other relationship statuses.
- Solid line = marriage (the default connector style)
- Dashed line = cohabitation (change via the shape outline dash options)
- Dotted line = dating or engagement
- Two manual slashes across the line = divorce; one slash = separation
- Excel has no wavy, zigzag, or double-line connectors, so emotional relationship notation (close, conflicted, enmeshed, cut-off) cannot be drawn properly
Tip: If you must indicate an emotional relationship, add a small text annotation near the line, but note this is a workaround, not standard McGoldrick notation.
Set the Print Area and Export to PDF
Define exactly which cells contain your genogram, then export a clean copy.
- Select the cell range covering the whole genogram, then set it as the Print Area (Page Layout > Print Area > Set Print Area)
- Switch page orientation to Landscape in the Page Layout settings
- Use the scale-to-fit options to force the chart onto one page (fit to 1 page wide by 1 page tall)
- Hide worksheet gridlines before exporting if you want a white background (uncheck Gridlines in the View options)
- Save or export as PDF (File > Save As or File > Export, choosing PDF), since Excel has no native PNG export for a sheet
Tip: Always preview before exporting. Excel loves to split charts across page breaks, and a genogram cut in half between generations is unusable.
Not sure which symbols to use for divorce, twins, or deceased family members? Keep our printable genogram symbols sheet next to you while you work, and browse genogram examples to see how finished charts should look.
The Problem with Genograms in Excel
Excel was designed for numbers, not clinical diagrams. Here's what it cannot do for genograms.
No Standard Genogram Symbols
Excel offers generic rectangles, ovals, and lines, but no McGoldrick-standard symbols: no medical quadrants, twin brackets, pregnancy or miscarriage markers, and no proper emotional relationship lines. Everything must be faked by layering basic shapes.
Relationship-Line Spaghetti
Past two generations, connector lines start crossing each other. Excel has no routing engine to keep lines tidy, so a 3-4 generation family with multiple marriages quickly turns into an unreadable tangle of overlapping elbows.
Shapes Detach When Rows Resize
Shapes float on top of the worksheet grid. Resize a row or column, insert cells, or sort data anywhere on the sheet, and shapes can stretch, shift, or separate from their carefully placed positions and free-drawn lines.
A Spreadsheet Is Not a Canvas
Excel was built for calculations, not diagrams. There is no automatic layout, no symbol palette, no way to model people and relationships as data. You are hand-drawing on top of a grid that was never meant to hold a clinical chart.
No Clinical Templates
Excel ships with budget and calendar templates, not genogram templates. Free "excel genogram template" downloads online are typically just pre-drawn shapes with the same limitations, and editing them is as slow as starting from scratch.
Painful Reflow When Adding People
Discover a new sibling or a second marriage mid-chart, and there is no room for them. You must manually shove every shape in that generation sideways, re-center children under parents, and redraw any lines that were not snapped to connection points.
The Better Way: GenogramAI
Instead of fighting Excel's grid and connectors for hours, create professional genograms in minutes with a tool built specifically for the job.
AI Builds It for You
Describe your family in plain English and GenogramAI generates a complete, properly formatted genogram in about 30 seconds. No shape drawing, no connector wrangling.
Standardized Clinical Symbols
McGoldrick-standard symbols, medical quadrants, and dozens of structural and emotional relationship types are built in, with clinical templates ready to use. No layering basic shapes to fake notation.
Clean Exports in One Click
Download a high-resolution image of your genogram ready for clinical records, coursework, or presentations. No print areas, page breaks, or PDF workarounds.
Real comparison: A 3-generation genogram with emotional relationships and medical history takes 3+ hours in Excel vs. under 5 minutes in GenogramAI.
Try it freeExcel vs. GenogramAI: Feature Comparison
Side-by-side comparison for genogram creation
Skip the Spreadsheet. Describe Your Family Instead.
GenogramAI's AI understands family descriptions in plain English and creates professional genograms with proper symbols, relationships, and layout in about 30 seconds.
Instead of hours in Excel, type this:
"My grandparents Robert and Helen married in 1960. They have 3 children: my dad James (married to Susan, my mom), Uncle Tom (divorced), and Aunt Lisa. My parents have me and my brother. Grandpa had heart disease. Uncle Tom has diabetes."
Genogram in Excel: FAQs
Can you make a genogram in Excel?
Yes, you can make a basic genogram in Excel using Insert > Shapes for squares (males), circles (females), and elbow connectors for relationship lines. Excel's Snap to Grid actually makes alignment easier than in Word. However, Excel has no genogram symbols, no emotional relationship lines, and no medical quadrants, so it only works for simple family-tree-style diagrams, not clinical genograms.
Is there a free genogram template for Excel?
Excel does not include a built-in genogram template. Some websites offer downloadable .xlsx genogram templates, but they are just pre-drawn shapes on a worksheet: hard to edit, missing clinical symbols, and prone to breaking when rows resize. GenogramAI's free plan includes 2 professional genograms with standardized symbols and export, which is a more practical free option than an Excel template.
How do I make family tree connectors in Excel?
Use Insert > Shapes and choose the Elbow Connector. Hover over a shape until connection points appear on its edges, then drag from one shape's connection point to another. Connectors attached this way stay linked when you move the shapes. Free-drawn lines do not follow shapes, which is the most common reason Excel genograms fall apart during editing.
Can I use SmartArt to make a genogram in Excel?
SmartArt's Hierarchy layouts can quickly draft a simple descendant chart, but they cannot make a real genogram. SmartArt supports only one parent per node, so there is no way to draw marriage lines or partner pairs, and every node uses the same shape, so you cannot use squares for males and circles for females. It is useful as a rough draft at best.
How long does it take to make a genogram in Excel?
A basic 3-generation genogram with 10-15 family members typically takes 2-4 hours in Excel, covering grid setup, shape placement, connectors, labels, and export cleanup. The same genogram takes 5-15 minutes to build manually in GenogramAI, or about 30 seconds using its AI text-to-genogram feature.
How do I export a genogram from Excel as an image?
Excel has no native PNG export for a worksheet. The usual workarounds are: set the Print Area around your genogram and export to PDF, take a screenshot, or select all the shapes, copy them, and paste them into another program as a picture. For clinical documentation that needs clean image files, a dedicated genogram tool with one-click export is far more reliable.
What is the best alternative to making a genogram in Excel?
GenogramAI is the best alternative to Excel for genograms. It is purpose-built for clinical genograms with McGoldrick-standard symbols, structural and emotional relationship types, medical quadrants, clinical templates, AI generation from a text description, and one-click export. It runs in any web browser with no installation and offers a free plan.
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