You type; it arranges
This is the whole difference between a mind map and a diagram. In a diagram you place the boxes and the tool keeps the lines attached. In a mind map nothing is placed at all — positions are worked out from the shape of the tree every time it changes, so adding a branch in the middle of a finished map costs nothing to accommodate.
That is what makes it usable at the speed thoughts arrive. Tab makes a branch off whatever is selected and puts the caret in it; Enter makes another alongside. A map of forty ideas is forty presses of two keys and the words, with no pause to tidy anything up.
Why branches go both ways
Top-level branches alternate left and right of the centre. That is not decoration: a map that grows in one direction becomes a tall thin column that stops fitting on screen after a dozen entries, and the balance is kept by counting the sides rather than by flipping between them, so it stays even after something is deleted.
Below the first level a branch stays on its own side, because a sub-branch that jumped sides would take the eye across the middle of the map to follow one idea. Fold anything with children to get it out of the way — the count that appears on a folded branch is how many ideas are behind it, so folding never feels like losing them.
Outlines in, outlines out
A mind map and an indented list are the same information, so the Outline panel shows one as the other and turns edits in either direction. Paste the bullet points out of a document, meeting notes, or a table of contents and it becomes a map; copy the outline back out when what you need is prose.
Indentation decides the levels, and the size of one indent is taken from the text itself rather than assumed — tabs, two spaces and four spaces all work, because the editors people paste from disagree about it. The map is kept in this browser, on this device, with no account and no server copy.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add a branch?
Tab, which branches off whatever is selected and leaves the caret in the new one so you can keep typing. Enter adds another at the same level instead. Both work while you are still typing in a branch.
Can I move a branch somewhere else?
Use the arrows to move it among its siblings. A branch cannot be hung under one of its own descendants, which would cut that part of the map loose from the centre and make it vanish.
What does the number on a folded branch mean?
How many ideas are folded behind it, counting every level. Folding hides them and deletes nothing — unfold, or press the space bar, to bring them back.
Is the map saved?
Yes, in this browser on this device. There is no account and no server copy, so clearing site data or opening the page elsewhere gives you an empty map. Export the outline or a PNG for anything you need to keep.
Can I turn my notes into a map?
Open the Outline panel, paste the indented list in and build from it. Tabs, two spaces and four spaces are all understood, so it does not matter which editor the notes came out of.
Why is the PNG bigger than what I see?
It is drawn again at twice the size and cropped to the map rather than captured from the panel, so there is no band of empty canvas and the text stays crisp when it is dropped into a document.
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