Mind maps are fantastic tools that allow you to ‘map’ the way your brain makes connections. They help you visualize the relative importance of ideas, clarify connections between ideas, think more creatively, and generate new ideas quickly.
Especially in the initial and ideation phase, mind maps can help you unlock the potential of your project.
Zenkit’s Mind Map view is a very simple tool that allows you to create mind maps with existing data or create a new collection from scratch. The mind map view is closely related to the subitems field. Changes you make to the subitems field are reflected directly in the mind map and vice versa.
Creating a mind map view
A mind map view is not created by default when you create a new collection, but creating one is as easy as creating any view. Click on the name of your current view in the upper right corner to open the Views menu. Click on"+ New View" and then select "Mind Map.
If a subitem field does not yet exist in the collection, click "Create required fields" when prompted.
The center of the mind map contains the name of your collection.
Creating items in the mind map view
If you have already created a subitems field and started adding items to the hierarchy, when you create a mind map view, it will already be pre-populated with these items. To create items from scratch in the Mind Map view, hover over the Collection title in the center of the map and then click on the icon"+", which appears at the bottom left.
Type the name of the new item and press Enter to save it. To add another branch, press the spacebar (this will create a new branch and another node of the current layer). To create a ‘child’ for your new item, press the Tab key or click the icon"+", which appears on the item when you move the mouse over it.
Advanced adding of existing items to the map
Items that already exist in your collection, but have not yet been added to your mind map, will be displayed in the "Not Connected" area displayed on the left side.
To add an item as a ‘child’ of another item, drag&drop it onto the map Drop at the item.
Tidying up the mind map
To sort all items automatically, click on the mind map icon that appears at the bottom center of your map.
Moving items on the map
Click and drag an item to move it on the map. All subordinate or descendant items remain in the same configuration and move together with the item you are moving. When you move to the opposite side of the parent item, the following items are switched to the other side.
Navigating through the mind map
To move around the mind map, click and drag to a location that is not on an item, such as you would do when using Google Maps.
You can also click and drag the small white box on the navigation pane in the lower left corner to move around the map faster.
Scrolling with the mouse or trackpad is another option. Use the scroll wheel on your mouse to move up and down, or use the 2-finger gesture on your trackpad to move in any direction.
Afterwards, you can click on "Middle" click to return to the root item or to center your view on the map.
Collapsing branches
Larger mind maps can be a bit cluttered. To hide branches on the map, click on the small folder icon to ‘collapse’ all branches that appear after that item. To view these branches again, simply click on the folder.
Zooming in and out of the mind map
Use the zoom slider in the upper right corner to zoom in and out of the map.
If you have zoomed out, you will not be able to see item details beyond the name. This happens to keep the mind map clear and concise so you can focus on creating and connecting ideas.
Increase and decrease the item size
To increase or decrease the detail depth of the items, first make sure you are fully zoomed into the map (the mind map zoom slider is set on the far right).
Click on ‘Mind Map’ in the upper right corner to open the view menu, then click on "Edit" next to "Mindmap.
Use the ‘Item Size’ slider to increase or decrease the item size. You can also choose if and where you want to preview the attached files.
Export mind map as an image
To export your mind map, click on the icon". " in the upper right corner of the view and then click on "Export.
You will be shown a preview of the map. Click on "Download" in the upper right corner of the preview to download it.
Removing items from the mind map
To remove an item from the map, click on the X icon in the bottom left corner of the item. This will move the item and all its descendants to the ‘Unconnected’ area.
Archived items in the mind map view
When you archive an item, it automatically disappears from the mind map view. If you restore the item later, it will no longer appear on the mind map and you will have to add it again.