Mind Maps
Visually collect and organize your ideas in mind maps with so called nodes.
Thereby you get an overview over all ideas, concepts and drafts.
When creating a mind map we differentiate between two approaches:
- Plan-based approach: The main nodes of the mind map correspond with the project phases (Top-Down).
- Task-based approach: The main nodes of the mind map correspond with the tasks of the project (Bottom-Up).
Content
Copy a mind map to the planning
Create a mind map
To create a mind map, proceed as follows.
1. open an existing project or create a new one.
2. To create a new mind map, click on the Mind Maps tab. Then click on the blue button New Mind Map.
3. By default, your mind map has the same name as the project itself. You can change the name by clicking the three vertical dots on the right and then clicking Rename Mind Map.
4. The main node is automatically located in the center of a new mind map. By default, this also corresponds to the name of the project. You can change this by double-clicking.
5. Now create a sub-node. To do this, click on the plus under the main node.
6. By default, the new node is created as a child node of the node selected in the mind map. Name the node and press Enter or click somewhere outside the node.
7. Now create as many nodes as you like. By right-clicking on a node, you also have the option of adding parent or neighbor nodes.
8. Give the mind map a colorful look by changing the background or font color of your nodes. Simply select the corresponding node and choose the color of your choice in the side panel on the right. Here you can also adjust the font size, write down a description text or add documents to nodes (works also with drag and drop).
9. Since InLoox 11.15, you can also use custom fields in mindmap nodes. These are defined in the InLoox account settings. You can find more information about custom fields in InLoox in the help article: custom fields and in our video tutorial: custom fields.
Mind map Templates
If you use certain mind map frameworks frequently, it makes sense to save them as templates. Simply saving your individually designed mind maps in your personal template repertoire allows you to use them quickly and effectively in different projects.
How to save a mind map:
1. Open an existing mind map.
2. Click on the blue Templates button at the top right and then on Save Mind Map as Template.
3. Give the template a name in the new dialog box and then click on Save.
4. The saved template is displayed under the Templates button and can be opened here at any time.
Note Under Manage Templates, you can rename, delete and export the template.
Create tasks from a mind map
You can create tasks from existing nodes in a mind map. This allows you to optimize the transition from conceptualization to actual implementation without having to create tasks manually.
This procedure is particularly suitable if you have created the mind map using the task-oriented approach. This means that the nodes of the mind map correspond to the tasks in the project. (Tip: If the nodes of your mind map correspond to the planning phases of your project, read how to copy a mindmap to the planning).
Proceed as follows:
1. Open an existing mind map. Our example looks like this:
2. Click on the button at the top right, which represents a task list.
You now have two options:
- Copy New Nodes to Tasks: Tasks are created from all nodes of the mind map including the main node.
- Copy New Leaf Nodes to Tasks: Tasks are only created from the end nodes of the mind map.
3. After you have selected the desired option, the corresponding nodes are automatically created as tasks.
4. In our case, we have selected variant 1, Copy New Nodes to Tasks. In the task overview in the Kanban board, you will now see the new tasks in the leftmost column "To Do".
Info You can continue to work on your mind map and transfer newly added nodes as tasks at any time. Thanks to InLoox's intelligent synchronization function, nodes that have already been transferred are recognized and not transferred again, thus avoiding duplicate entries. This keeps your work process efficient and clear at all times.
Copy a mind map to the planning
To seamlessly transform your creative preliminary considerations and ideas from mind maps into concrete project plans, you can copy the structure of a mind map into the planning.
This is particularly suitable if the mind map was created according to the planning-oriented approach, i.e. if the nodes of the mind map correspond to the planning phases in the project. When you transfer the mind map to the planning, each node is converted into an activity in the planning.
Proceed as follows:
1. Open an existing mind map. Our example looks like this:
2. Click on the button at the top right, which represents a Gantt chart.
3. The planning opens. The following applies:
- The nodes of your mind map are now automatically displayed as tasks in the planning.
- A summary task is created in the planning from the main node (central node in the middle of the mind map).
- Further sub-nodes of the mind map are summarized in the planning as further summary tasks for the parent node.
- The default duration is 1 day per task.
Our example mind map from above now looks like this in the planning:
You can (and should) adjust all of the details individually and specify the planning.
You can find out more about planning in the help article Project Planning.