How to Open a FLO File

A file with the extension ".flo" contains a flowchart created with iGrafx FlowCharter or RFFlow. Although both of these are commercial products, you can open an ".flo" file without purchasing anything. RFFlow distributes a free viewer for ".flo" files and iGrafx distributes a trial version of FlowCharter 2011 that functions for 30 days. Download one of these utilities and use it to view an ".flo" file.

Instructions

1. RFFlow Viewer

   • 1
     Open a Web browser and navigate to the download page for the RFFlow Viewer. Click the "Click here to download" link near the middle of the page and save the file "RFFlowViewer.exe" to the desktop.
   • 2
     Double-click the file "RFFlowViewer.exe" on the desktop after the download finishes. A new window titled "WinZip Self-Extractor" appears.
   • 3
     Click the "Setup" button. The extractor unpacks the setup utility for RFFlow Viewer and displays a new window.
   • 4
     Click the "Continue" button. The program displays the message "Welcome to the RFFlow installation program."
   • 5
     Click the "Install" button.
   • 6
     Click the "Browse" button to select an installation directory for RFFlow Viewer or click the "Continue" button to use the default destination of "C:\Program Files\RFFlow." The utility copies RFFlow Viewer to the selected folder and displays the message "RFFlow has been successfully installed on your system."
   • 7
     Click "OK" to close the setup utility and then double-click the "RFFlow" shortcut on the desktop to launch RFFlow Viewer.
   • 8
     Click the "File" menu in the upper-left corner of the window and select "Open."
   • 9
     Double-click the ".flo" file to open it in RFFlow Viewer.

   IGrafx FlowCharter 2011

   • 1
     Navigate to the download page for iGrafx FlowCharter 2011 and click the "Download Trial" button near the middle of the page. This brings you to a new page titled "Trial Software Downloads."
   • 2
     Click the "Download Free Trial" link next to "iGrafx FlowCharter 2011." The next page requires you to enter basic information such as your name, company name and email address. IGrafx will email the trial license key for FlowCharter 2011 to the email address you provide.
   • 3
     Fill in the requested information and click the "Submit" button. This opens a download window. Save the file "iGrafxCD.exe" to the desktop.
   • 4
     Double-click the file "iGrafxCD.exe" on the desktop when the download is complete. A new window appears to notify you that iGrafx will be extracted to the folder "C:\iGrafx2011."
   • 5
     Click "OK," and then click "Unzip." This extracts the setup utility. Click "OK" again when this process is complete. A new window titled "iGrafx 2011 Setup" appears.
   • 6
     Click "Next" to view the license agreement for iGrafx FlowCharter 2011. Click "I accept the license agreement" and then click "Next" to continue installation. The next screen prompts you for your FlowCharter 2011 license key.
   • 7
     Check the email address that you provided when filling in the iGrafx registration information. You should see a message from iGrafx with the title "iGrafx FlowCharter 2011 Trial Download." Open the message and copy the registration key from the body of the message to the FlowCharter 2011 setup utility. Click "Next."
   • 8
     Select the "Typical" radio button to install the most common components of FlowCharter 2011, or select the "Custom" radio button to customize options such as languages and help file availability. Click "Next" twice to install FlowCharter 2011 using the options you have selected.
   • 9
     Click "Finish" when the message "iGrafx 2011 has been successfully installed" appears.
   • 10
     Click the "FlowCharter 2011" icon under the "iGrafx" Start menu folder to launch the application.
   • 11
     Click the "File" menu in the upper-left corner of the window and select "Open."
   • 12
     Double-click the ".flo" file to open it in FlowCharter 2011.