Getting started with Mindomo

Getting started with Mindomo is quick and intuitive, whether you’re creating your first mind map or exploring more advanced features. This guide will walk you through the basics of building, customizing, navigating, saving, and sharing your mind maps to help you make the most of your Mindomo experience.

Creating mind maps

Click the Create button (1) at the top of the Dashboard’s left panel. The Create new panel opens, where you can choose to create a mind map, concept map, organigram, timeline, fishbone, outline, Gantt chart, or folder, or start from one of your templates. Click Mind map (2) to create a mind map from scratch.

The mind map is created right away and opens in the editor. To change its look, use the Themes button in the editor (see Map styles).

The two buttons below Create offer other ways to start: AI Mind Maps generates a mind map for you (see Mindomo AI), and Templates lets you start from a ready-made structure (see Using templates).

After creating the mind map, you’ll be presented with Mindomo’s tidy and easy-to-use interface. The toolbar below the selected topic gives you quick access to its options, and the Ask AI button in the bottom right corner opens Mindomo AI (see Using Ask AI).

Topic types

There are four topic types:

Central topic
Main topic
Subtopic
Floating topic

Editing topics

To edit a topic, click the topic to select it. A blue outline appears around it. Click again to highlight the text, then type your text.
To insert a new text line into a topic, place the cursor at the end of the line, hold SHIFT, and press ENTER.
Press ENTER to finish editing the text.

Creating a topic or subtopic

1. Select an existing topic. When a topic is selected, small connection points appear around its border. You can use these points to quickly add new topics.

Central topic - depending on the diagram layout, one or two connection points will appear. Click a point to create a new topic on the corresponding side of the central topic.
Subtopic - four connection points appear around the selected topic: left (1) adds a parent topic, right (2) adds a subtopic, top (3) adds a sibling topic before the selected topic, and bottom (4) adds a sibling topic after it.

2. Use keyboard shortcuts to create topics faster: press TAB to insert a subtopic and ENTER to insert a sibling topic.

3. Select a topic and click the Insert button on the toolbar. From this menu you can insert a subtopic, a relationship, a boundary, a summary, a label, a math equation, a task, or a floating topic, duplicate the topic, or add a topic with the same style.

To delete a topic, select it, click More on the toolbar, and choose Delete. Alternatively, press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Repositioning a topic

Drag and drop topics to reposition them or move them under other topics.

Now that you’ve created your first map, learn how to navigate it, open your other maps, and save and share your work.

Navigating

Zoom

Use the controls in the bottom right corner of the editor: Zoom out (1), the current zoom level (2), Zoom in (3), and Center diagram (4), which brings the map back to the middle of the screen.
To zoom with the mouse, hold CTRL and scroll the mouse wheel.
To zoom with the keyboard, press CTRL + + to zoom in and CTRL + - to zoom out.

Pan

To pan with the mouse, click and drag the mind map canvas.

To pan using the keyboard, hold CTRL + ALT and press the arrow keys.

Opening mind maps

The Dashboard opens on My diagrams and gives you access to all your maps and folders. Use the left panel to switch between Recent, My diagrams, Shared with me, Bookmarks, Documents, and Trash; your folders are listed below them, under My folders. Just click on a map (1) to open it.

If you’ve opened a folder, use the My diagrams link at the top of the page to go back, or click the Mindomo logo (2) to return to the Dashboard. From the editor, click the back arrow in the top left corner.

Use the search bar at the top of the Dashboard to find a map by its title, topics, tasks, or notes. Type in the search field (1), pick one of the suggested searches (2), or open Search operators (3) for power filters such as due:week or assigned:me. For more details, see Searching.

To switch to another map without leaving the editor, click the map title (1) next to the back arrow. It lists your recent diagrams and has a Search all diagrams box (2). For more details, see Recent maps.

Saving mind maps

Click the More button (the menu icon next to the map title) in the top left corner of the editor to find these options:

Save (Autosaved) - autosave is enabled, so you don’t have to save every time you want to back up your work. You can also press CTRL+S.
Make a copy - creates a copy of the map. You can also press CTRL+SHIFT+S.
Export - export the map to your computer/Dropbox/OneDrive/Google Drive in a variety of formats: PDF, RTF, PNG, mind map formats, Microsoft Excel formats, and more. See Exporting Mind Maps.

Make a copy

This dialog appears when you choose to make a copy of a map. To save the copy:

Fill in the copy’s Title.
Click Browse to choose the folder the copy is saved in.
Click Make a copy.

To share a map, click Share in the top right corner of the editor. In the Share dialog you can:

choose who can open the map under General access (1),
protect the map with a password (2), if you are a premium user,
copy the map’s link (3) - the arrow next to Copy link also offers a view-only link, an embed code, and an RSS feed,
invite people or groups by name or email, and choose whether they can edit or only view (4),
set what editors are allowed to do (5).

Changes are saved automatically. Click Done to close the dialog. You can also share a map from the Dashboard: right-click it and choose Share this diagram.

Publishing

To publish a map, click Change under General access and choose who can open it: keep it Restricted (1), make it Public on the web (2) so anyone can find and view it, or share it with Anyone with the link, either view only (3) or with editing (4), with no login needed. You can also allow viewers of a public map to copy it (5). Click Save (6).

Editor rights

Click the settings button (5) in the Share dialog to open Editor rights, where you choose whether editors can add people and change the map’s permissions, or whether only the owner can. Only the owner can delete the map.

For private, team, group, class, and guest sharing, viewer privacy, links and embedding, and password protection, see Sharing Mind Maps.

Editing mind maps

Use the Style panel to change the look of the whole map, and the topic toolbar to customize individual topics.

Map styles

Click the Themes button (the color wheel) in the top bar of the editor. The Style panel opens; its settings apply to the whole diagram.

Preset styles - on the first tab, choose the layout (1), color palette (2), and topic size (3) of your mind map. Colors and fonts you set directly on topics, relationships, boundaries, or the diagram background override the diagram style; Reset to diagram style (4) removes them.
Generate with AI - click Generate with AI (5) at the top of the panel to let Mindomo AI create a style for you. Describe the look you want (1) or pick a suggestion (2) such as “Calm and professional”. Choose multicolor or single-color branches (3), leave Keep text readable selected so the text stays easy to read, and click Generate (4).
My themes - on the second tab, you can:
- Save current style as a theme (1) - keep the current look as one of your themes. Click Apply next to a saved theme to use it.
- Import (2) - import previously saved themes.
- Export (3) - export your themes.
- Theme Editor (4) - create your own personalized theme.

For more details, see Themes.

Diagram background

Right-click an empty area of the canvas to open the Diagram background panel. Choose a background color (1), or an image (2) from the Patterns or My images tab. Reset to theme (3) goes back to the theme’s background.

Topic customization

To add details and customize a topic, select it and use the toolbar to access different features:

Insert - add subtopics, relationships, boundaries, summaries, and more
Style - topic style
Notes, comments and attachments - add notes, comments, task info, and attachments
Icons - add icons
Multimedia - add multimedia
Links / Attachments - add links and attachments
Task - set the topic as a task
Smart Tools - use smart tools
Layout - customize the layout
More - cut, copy, paste, delete, and other options

Insert

Click Insert on the toolbar to add a subtopic, a topic below, a relationship, a boundary, a summary, a label, a math equation, a task, or a floating topic, or to duplicate the topic. See also Creating a topic or subtopic.

Boundaries

The Boundary functionality will help you mark and determine the limits of an area on your map. You can apply boundaries to any topic but the central one.

To insert a boundary, select a topic, click the Insert button on the toolbar, and then choose Boundary.

Summaries

To insert a summary, select a topic, click the Insert button on the toolbar, and then choose Summary from the menu. You can add a summary to any topic but the central one.

Relationships

To add a relationship between two topics, select the first topic, click the Insert button on the toolbar, and then choose Relationship (or press CTRL+L). Then click the topic you want to connect it to.

To change the color, shape, weight, pattern, line endings, or label of a relationship, see Relationships.

Style

Select a topic and click Style on the toolbar to change how it looks:

Font - the font and its size.
Style and Alignment - bold, italic, underline, or strikethrough text, aligned left, center, or right.
Color set - the color palette offered for the topic. The button next to it generates a color set with AI.
Text color - the color of the topic text.
Background - the fill color of the topic.
Shape - the shape of the topic, such as a rectangle, capsule, ellipse, or underline.
Box style - the fill style, border, size, and padding of the topic.
Copy, Paste, Reset, and Apply to - copy, paste, or reset the topic’s style, or apply it to the topic’s siblings, children, descendants, or all topics on the same level.

Notes, comments and attachments

Select a topic and click Notes, comments and attachments on the toolbar. A panel opens on the right, where you can:

Add a note - add longer text to the topic (or press SHIFT+F2). Format it with the editor’s toolbar (headings, lists, bold, links, and more), then press CTRL+ENTER or click Done to save.
Leave a comment - discuss the topic with your collaborators (or press SHIFT+F9).
Add task info - manage the topic as a task (see Task below).
Attach - attach a file to the topic.

For more details, see Notes and Comments.

Icons

Click Icons on the toolbar to add markers to the selected topic, such as numbers, flags, checkmarks, and emojis. Use the search box to find an icon by name, the Web tab to search for icons on the web, and Remove all icons to clear the topic’s icons. For more details, see Icons and Emojis.

Multimedia

Click Multimedia on the toolbar to add an image, a video, or an audio file to the selected topic. Paste a link, pick a file from My uploads or the Mindomo library, search the web, upload a file from your computer, or choose Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive under From another source. For more details, see Multimedia.

Links / Attachments

Click Links / Attachments on the toolbar to paste or type a web link, or to link the topic to an uploaded document, a topic in this diagram, or another diagram. You can also upload a file from your computer, or link one from Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive under From another source. For more details, see Links and Attachments and Multiple Hyperlinks.

Task

Click Task on the toolbar to manage the selected topic as a task. Add the details you need: priority, assignees, progress, dates, and duration. Click More for further options, such as rolling up subtasks, showing closed tasks, or removing the task. For more details, see Task Management.

Smart Tools

Click Smart Tools on the toolbar. On the AI tab, Mindomo AI can expand the selected topic with ideas, questions, pros and cons, a SWOT analysis, an explanation, or subtopics. It can also check your spelling and grammar as you type or on demand, and rephrase the topic. The Bookmarks tab works with the Mindomo browser extension, which lets you capture links, text, and images from the web to add to your diagrams later. For more details, see Smart tools and Mindomo AI.

Layout

Click Layout on the toolbar to choose how the selected topic’s subtopics are arranged, adjust their spacing, and change the line shape, line ending, color, and thickness of their connections. Reset to default undoes these changes. For more details, see Layouts.

Click More (…) on the toolbar to cut, copy, or paste topics, paste a style, copy a link to the topic, detach the topic, open Tools and Template, or delete the topic. You can also turn Always show topic toolbar on or off here. For more details, see Tools and Copy-Paste Branches.

Using Ask AI

Ask AI lets you work on your map together with Mindomo AI. Click Ask AI in the bottom right corner of the editor, next to the zoom controls, or open the More menu (the menu icon next to the map title) and choose Ask AI. The Mindomo AI panel opens on the right:

Type a request or a question about your map, and press ENTER. If a topic is selected, it is added to your request so that Mindomo AI knows what you are referring to; click × to remove it. Type / to pick an action.
Actions - ready-made actions: chat about the map, turn notes or an article into branches, expand the selection, summarize, or generate a theme or a color set.
Click the model button to choose the AI model. Each model uses AI credits at a different rate (1×, 7×, and so on); your remaining credits are shown at the top of the panel.

Use the buttons at the top of the panel to see your chat history or start a new chat. Mindomo AI can make mistakes, so check its changes; you can undo them from the panel. For more details, see Mindomo AI.

Organizing mind maps

To create a private folder, click Create (1) on the Dashboard and choose Folder (2). Enter a folder name and click Create. The folder appears at the top of My diagrams and under My folders in the left panel.

To move a map into a folder, drag the map onto the folder, or right-click the map (or click its ⋮ button), choose Move to…, select the folder, and click Move here.

The same menu lets you open a map (also in a new tab), rename, duplicate, share, or password-protect it, see its diagram info and the files on it, export it, or delete it.