Frequently Asked Questions

A card is the basic unit. It can represent anything - a person, place, object, or any idea at all.

You can create a card in three different ways: click the card icon in the sidebar, double click on the canvas, or click and drag the card icon from the sidebar onto the canvas.

Click add a part when a card is selected.

Or press enter after creating a part to add another.

To create a relationship, click and drag the arrow that appears above your card on hover to another card. You can also select the relationship tool in the sidebar - when it appears, drag each endpoint to the two cards you are relating.

Change the relationship from an arc to an elbow by using the “Line type“ tool in the toolbar that appears at the top of your map when the relationship is selected.

Select the blue Share button in the top right corner of your map. From there you can invite collaborators by email, share a view-only or edit link, share a presentation, or embed your map on your website.

You can also navigate to where your collaborators’ cursors are in the map by clicking on their avatar.

Your map activities are being saved for you automatically. Assuming your device is connected to the internet, the changes you make to your map are saved right away.

By highlighting the text in a card you can change the font size, make it bold, italicize it, or hyperlink it.

Hold down your space bar while clicking and dragging to avoid grabbing cards as you pan around your map.

To undo any action, press command/ctrl + z. To redo, press command/ctrl + shift + z or command/ctrl + y

Hold down shift on your keyboard and click individual cards to select them.

Or hold down shift and click and drag to select all cards in a region.

Select multiple cards by holding down shift while clicking and dragging, then press command/ctrl + g to create a new card containing the current selection.

Click and drag on a blank area of the canvas to move around a map.

Click the button to the left of the zoom controls to center your current selection in the canvas. If no cards are selected, clicking the button will center the entire map. You can also use command/ctrl + 0 on your keyboard.

With multiple cards selected, go to the three-dot-menu in the toolbar at the top of the map, and select "link to selection."

Or press command/ctrl + shift + L to copy a link to the current selection to your clipboard.

Click on your avatar in the upper right hand corner and select Settings from the dropdown menu to toggle autocomplete from Wikipedia or your Ideas library.

To enable spellcheck, click on your avatar in the upper right hand corner and select Settings from the dropdown menu, then toggle the spellcheck setting.

To change the default background color on all of your maps, click on your avatar in the top right corner of your map and navigate to the Settings menu. There you can switch between white and grey.

This will only apply to your own maps, and will not be visible to collaborators.

You can also access the Settings menu by right-clicking on the canvas.

To hide all of the tools on the edges of your canvas, select the “Focus mode” icon in the top right corner of your map, to the right of the Help button.

Hold down option/alt on your keyboard and drag cards to duplicate them.

Turn on autocomplete and select autocomplete suggestions to reference canonical ideas from Wikipedia or ideas you have used previously.

To export your map as a PDF, image, or as a JSON or CSV file - use the three dot menu to the right of your map’s title and select “Export.”

If your map has waypoints, you can also export your presentation to PowerPoint, so that each waypoint becomes its own slide.

Print your map from the PDF or image, or use command+P on your keyboard while inside a map.

To import content into your map from a CSV file, go to the three dot menu to the right of your map’s title, and select "Import."

Hover over a collaborator in the top right of a map to see the cards they've contributed.

Recent activity helps you find what’s changed in a map and playback your mapping process, whether you are working alone or with others.

In the recent activity panel, you can click on an entry to see those cards in the map, or hit play to see how the map has changed over time.

Open the bulk action menu and look under 'Align' to align a selection of cards in your map.

Open the card menu and select 'Pop out parts' to 'pop' the parts of a card out and position them as you'd like. Popped-out parts remain tied to their parent card and move with it.

Use the menu on the popped-out parts or the parent to select 'pop in parts' and return them to their parent.

Drag and drop a card onto another to add it as a part.

Drag and drop a card off of another to remove it as a part.

Or select the "detach part" option from the card menu.

Drag and drop parts within a card to reorder them.

Resize a card by dragging the handle in the bottom right corner of the card.

To move your card on a locked vertical or horizontal axis, hold down the shift key on your keyboard while dragging the card.

Right click on a relationship to open the menu, then select or deselect the directional arrows to add or remove arrowheads from the relationship.

Click on a relationship to open a menu and use the style selectors to change the relationship line's color, pattern, and thickness.

Click on a relationship to open a menu and choose "Add a card", or double click on a relationship to add a card.

Click on a relationship to highlight it, then grab one of its endpoints and move it to a different card.

Click on a relationship to open its menu and choose "Straighten Line".

Or select a relationship and press shift + \

A perspective lets you filter and describe cards on your map from a specific point of view.
The visibility eye icon identifies who or what is taking the perspective.
The dot icons identify cards that are seen in the point of view
The perspective note lets you describe the view of the perspective-taker on a specific card.

Waypoints enable you to navigate quickly to different cards or regions of cards. A sequence of waypoints can serve as a lightweight presentation or guided walkthrough of the map.

You can create a waypoint in three different ways: select "add waypoint" in the waypoints sidebar and adjust the selection box around the cards you'd like to include in your waypoint, select "create a waypoint" in a card's more actions menu, or select a card and then select "add a waypoint" in the waypoints sidebar. select "create a waypoint" in a card's more actions menu, or select a card and then select "add a waypoint" in the waypoints sidebar.

To edit the content of a waypoint select the waypoint's menu and click "edit." Then adjust the selection box freely.

To reorder waypoints, drag and drop them within the waypoints sidebar.

Go to the menu on the waypoints sidebar and select "delete all waypoints."

To present a map, select "start presentation" in the waypoints sidebar more actions menu, or select the waypoint you'd like to begin with.

You can navigate through the presentation using the arrows on your keyboard, or the controls at the bottom of your map.

To add an image, GIF, file, or video to your card - drag and drop the file onto a card or open the card menu and select media.

On a free account you can upload files up to 25MB, and on a pro account you can upload files up to 250MB.

Hover over your attachment, go to the three-dot menu in its top right corner, and select "resize___."

Hover over your attachment, go to the three-dot menu in its top right corner, and select "delete ___."

Attributes allow you to add more informational detail about cards.

Use them as additional metadata and labels, and as a tool for categorizing and filtering.

In the card menu, hover over "attributes," enter an attribute name, and then an attribute value. Hit enter on your keyboard to add the attribute to your card.

Double-click or right-click on an attribute to edit it.

Open the attributes sidebar and select the attribute you would like to focus on or filter by.

Double-click or right-click on an attribute to remove it from the card.

Regions allow you to add resizable and overlapping containers on the canvas behind your cards.

Use them to organize the contents of your map and create color-coded groupings of cards.

Use regions to identify sections of the canvas.

You can create a region in three different ways: click the region icon in the sidebar, click and drag the region icon from the sidebar onto the canvas, or right click and select "create a region."

To reposition a region, drag the shaded title bar near the top border of the region.

To reposition a region and everything inside it, command/ctrl-click to select the region and all its contents. Then, drag to reposition and the entire selection will move together.

To change the size a region, drag the resize handles that appear when hovering over any of the region's edges.

Delete a region by right clicking inside the region and selecting "Delete region" from the right-click menu

Or select "Delete region" when expanding the three dot menu at the top right corner of the region.

Your maps are 100% private, unless you decide to proactively share them with a collaborator or viewer. For more information, head to our security, privacy policy, and terms of service pages.