Zenkit

Mind maps are fantastic tools that enable you to 'map' the way your brain makes connections. They help you visualize the relative importance of ideas, clarify links between ideas, think more creatively, and quickly generate new ideas. Particularly at the beginning and ideation stages, mind maps can help unlock the potential of your project. 

Zenkit's mind map view is a very simple tool you can use to create mind maps with existing data or to create a new collection from scratch. The mind map view is intrinsically linked to the subitem field. Changes you make to the subitem 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, however, creating one is as simple as creating any view. Click on the little "+" icon in the top right-hand corner of your views bar to open the view menu. Select "Mindmap" and then click "Create". 

If a subitem field doesn't yet exist in the collection, click on "Create and continue" when prompted to do so. 

 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 subitem field and started adding items to the hierarchy, if you create a mind map view, it will already be pre-populated with these items. To create new items from the mind map view from scratch, hover over the collection title in the center of the map, then click on the "+" icon that appears to the bottom left. 

Type in the name of the new item and hit enter to save. To add another branch, hit your spacebar (this will create a new branch and another first-tier node). To create a child of your new item, hit your tab key, or click the "+" icon that appears on the item when you hover over it. 

Adding existing items to the map

 Items that already exist in your collection, but aren't added to your mind map yet will be shown in the 'Unconnected' panel to the left. To add an item as a 'child' of another item, drag and drop it onto the item.

Tidying up your mind map

 To snap all items into place automatically, click on the mind map icon that appears at the bottom of the center of your map. 

Moving items on the map

Click & drag an item to move it around the map. Any child or descendant items will stay in the same configuration and move along with the item you're moving. If you move to the opposite side of the item's parent item, the descendant items will flip to the other side. 

Moving around the mind map

To move around the mindmap, click & drag anywhere that isn't on an item, as you would when using Google Maps, for example. 

You can also click & drag the little white box on the navigation overlay in the bottom left corner to move more quickly around the map. 

Scrolling with your mouse or trackpad is another option. Use your mouse's scroll wheel to move up and down, or use the 2 finger gesture on your trackpad to move in any direction. Lastly, you can click "Center" to return to the root item or center your view on the map. 

Collapsing map branches

Larger maps can get a little busy. To hide branches on the map, click on the small folder icon to 'collapse' all branches that appear after that item. To show those branches again, just click on the folder.

Increasing and decreasing map size

 Use the zoom toggle on the top right-hand corner to zoom in and out on the map.

When you're zoomed out, you won't be able to see any item detail beyond its name. This is to keep the mind map clear and uncluttered so you can focus on creating and connecting ideas.

Increasing and decreasing item size

 To increase or decrease the amount of detail shown on items, first make sure that you're completely zoomed in on the map (the map zoom toggle is set to the far right). Click on "Mindmap" in the top right-hand corner to open the view menu, then click on the V arrow next to "Mindmap". Use the item size toggle to increase or decrease items size. You can also choose whether or not to show attached file thumbnails, and where to see the thumbnails.

Exporting the mind map as an image

 To export or print your mind map, click on the "..." icon in the top right-hand corner of the view, then on "Export".

You'll be shown a preview of the map. To download it, click "Download" in the top right-hand corner of the preview. To print the mind map, just open the image with whatever image editor you use and print from there.

Removing items from the mind map

 To remove an item from the map, click on the "x" icon on the bottom left corner of the item. This will place the item and all of its descendants into the 'Unconnected' column. 

Archived items in mind map view

 If you archive an item, it will automatically disappear from the mind map view. If you restore the item, later on, it will not re-appear on the mind map until you add it back by dragging and dropping it from the unconnected panel.