by Kurt E. DeSoto

May, 2002

Do you need an organizational chart or a corporate structure chart to attach to an FCC filing or distribute to colleagues? I use them regularly to depict the ownership of licensees both before and after proposed transfers of control. They are easier to create than you think. And you won't need a graphics artist!

Embedded in Microsoft's Office suite (in versions prior to XP) is a free tool you can use to create and insert simple organizational charts into either Word or PowerPoint documents. Although the tool is designed for personnel charts, it is sufficiently flexible to build corporate structure charts as well.

To launch the program, open a document in Word or PowerPoint, click on the "Insert" pull down menu in the tool bar at the top of your screen and click on "Object." This will bring up a pop-up window. Select the "Create New" tab and scroll down to the "MS Organization Chart" Object type. Next, hit "OK" to start the program.

The interface uses some unique tools to insert information and additional levels, but they are easy to learn. For example, the program includes buttons marked "Subordinate," "Co-Worker," and "Manager" that are used to drag and drop levels as appropriate. With a little creativity, these same buttons can be used to build corporate structure charts for "subsidiaries," affiliates," and "parents," respectively. You can also select the font style and size; choose colors for the text, background and lines; and incorporate shadows behind your boxes. Best of all you don't need design skills; the program will automatically re-position all boxes and connecting lines for perfect spacing as you add data.

For more information on how to use the program, simply click on "Help" in the program's tool bar. For troubleshooting or to view FAQs, log on to http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq and perform a search using the term "organization chart."

If you use Microsoft Office XP or need more detailed or complex charts, you can purchase the stand-alone upgrade for this program directly from its developer, HumanConcepts LLC, at www.orgplus.com (888-821-1261). The software is entitled "OrgPlus," and the company recently released version 4.0 SE. A free 30-day trial is available online at http://www.orgplus.com/products/evaluate.htm. When installed, the program is launched in the same fashion as described above for the integrated Microsoft tool. The only difference from the procedure described above is that instead of selecting the "MS Organization Chart" Object type, you will need to choose "HumanConcepts OrgPlus Chart."

OrgPlus allows you to import data from various formats-such as ASCII text, Excel, Extensible Markup Language (XML) and previous OrgPlus chart files-or enter data directly into the templates provided. The software also allows you to add pictures to your charts or include links to e-mail addresses, webpages, sub-charts, or any documents or files accessible to your users. The finished product may then be easily inserted into your Word or PowerPoint documents. In the Professional version, you can publish your chart files to documents that contain a cover page, a table of contents, the chart (or the large chart broken into more manageable sub-charts), and an index page. In Word the output appears as a document; in PowerPoint it appears as a slide show. For web viewing, OrgPlus publishes to an intranet or the Web in a file format called OrgViewer (.OV). OrgViewer files can be opened in Internet Explorer or Netscape browsers (versions 4.0 or higher) with the free plug-in from HumanConcepts's website available at http://www.orgplus.com/products/orgviewer.htm. The upgraded software supplies several wizards and over twenty pre-designed templates to help you through these processes.

The price - ranging from about $190.00 for the basic version to $495.00 for the Professional version - might be somewhat cost-prohibitive to load onto everyone's PC, but the software is worth acquiring for at least a few persons in your organization to support more complicated or specialized needs. HumanConcepts is willing to consult with all users (free of charge) regarding "Org Charting Best Practices" to minimize expenses while maximizing effective use of the program. For example, most organizations need only a few copies of the more expensive Professional version to import data and generate and publish the charts and a greater number of copies of the less expensive Standard version to edit the chart files.

Now, if they could only make software that would as easily organize the paperwork in my office.

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Mr. DeSoto is an attorney at the law firm of Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP. He practices in the areas of wireless and wireline telecommunications, telephone company ratemaking, and equipment authorization. He previously worked in the FCC's Common Carrier Bureau. 5/2002


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