How to combine drawing and mind mapping

Using the map as the skeleton

The mind map and the freeform canvas solve different problems, and a document can hold both. The map is a tree of nodes, one idea per node, each with a label, a color, children and a position. The canvas is a surface of paths, shapes and text. Neither one substitutes for the other.

The useful arrangement is to let the map carry the structure and the canvas carry the evidence. The branch names say what the argument is about, and the drawings and scribbles beside the map are the things you could not say in two words. Read the map for the shape and the canvas for the detail.

Open the Mind map button in the toolbar to work on the tree, and the drawing tools sit in the same left toolbar for everything else. A single project file holds both, and the introduction to mind maps covers the tree itself.

• One idea per node, everything else on the canvas
• Mind map and Builder buttons sit beside the tools
• Both halves live in the same project file
• Map for structure, canvas for evidence

Sketching beside the map on the same canvas

The mind map and the canvas elements share one document, and Fit content to view frames the visible elements and the map together. A sketch can therefore sit beside the branch it belongs to, rather than in a second file that nobody can find.

Draw it with the brushes. The Crayon/Chalk brush gives a rough diagram, the Smooth Pen a clean outline, and the Web/Spider Brush fills an area with strands. Text elements label the parts, and the eight shapes cover the geometry you would otherwise draw by hand.

Keep the sketch physically close to its node. A map with a diagram floating in the far corner of an infinite canvas loses the link between the two, and the reader has to hunt for it. The shape guide covers the geometry tools in detail.

• Fit content to view frames the map and the drawings
• Four brushes cover rough, clean and textured marks
• Text elements and eight shapes cover the rest
• Put the sketch next to the branch it explains

Saving a freehand drawing into a node

A node can hold a small drawing of its own. Right-click the node and choose Add / edit drawing, and a 1000 by 650 canvas opens where you can sketch with a color and a brush size from 1 to 32. Saving it attaches the drawing to the node as a thumbnail.

That thumbnail slot is shared with an uploaded image, which is why a node can look like a picture whether you drew it or loaded it. Double-click the thumbnail to see the full version. It is a small feature, but it is the one that lets a node carry a sketch rather than a word.

For anything longer, a rich note does the same job in text. The note editor takes bold, italic, underline, bulleted and numbered lists, links, and Dictate, which turns speech into text. Icons, a fixed set of seven emoji, mark the kind of node at a glance.

• Node drawing pad is 1000 by 650
• Color plus a brush size from 1 to 32
• Saved into the same thumbnail slot as an image
• Rich notes take lists, links and Dictate

Note: The node drawing is a small pad for a quick mark, not a second canvas. A detailed diagram belongs on the canvas beside the map, where it keeps its own scale and can be edited as shapes.

Moving a branch without losing its sketch

Nodes carry a position, and moving a branch moves its nodes without touching anything you drew on the canvas. Drag a node with the Select tool and the branch follows, because the tree is one connected object rather than a set of loose boxes.

Auto-arrange with A clears the manual positions and re-runs the layout, which is a reset rather than a tidy-up. It suits a map that has just gained a lot of branches, and it is the wrong tool when you have spent time placing nodes by hand, because it throws that placement away.

A drawing stored inside a node is attached to the node, so it travels with it. A drawing made on the canvas does not travel, because it is a separate element on a separate surface. Decide which kind of mark you are making before you make it.

• Dragging a node moves its whole branch
• A re-runs the layout and clears manual positions
• A node drawing travels with the node
• Canvas drawings stay where you put them

Sharing one undo history across both tools

Undo and redo are shared across the canvas, the mind map and App Builder, so one history covers every mode. Ctrl/Cmd+Z undoes the last change whatever it was, a drawing stroke or a node rename, and Ctrl/Cmd+Y or Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z redoes it.

That shared history is the reason a combined document is safe to experiment in. You can try a branch, watch it land badly in the layout, and step back out of it without first checking which tool the change belonged to. Twenty versions of the document are kept, and the Version history panel lists them with timestamps.

The undo guide covers recovery in more detail, and the shortcut list has the keys that only work in one mode, such as Tab for a child node and A for auto-arrange.

• One history for canvas, map and App Builder
• Ctrl/Cmd+Z undoes, Ctrl/Cmd+Y redoes
• 20 versions kept, with timestamps
• Version history restores an earlier state

Exporting the combined document

The two halves export separately, because they are different kinds of object. The mind map goes out as PNG, which is rasterized from its SVG and capped at 4096 pixels on the longest side, or as SVG, which stays sharp. The canvas goes out as PNG, JPG or vector SVG.

The mind map also exports as Markdown, as an OPML 2.0 outline and as a plain-text outline, which is how the structure leaves the app and turns into a document, a note or an import somewhere else.

If you want everything in one file, save the project instead. Save Project (.canv) writes the canvas elements, the style, the mind map, any App Builder project, the camera and the layout mode into one JSON file, and Open Project... brings it back. The export guide compares every format.

• Mind map: PNG, SVG, Markdown, OPML and text outline
• Canvas: PNG, JPG and vector SVG
• Project file keeps both halves in one document
• Export the map and the page separately

A checklist you can reuse

• The map holds the structure and the canvas holds the evidence
• Sketches sit close to the node they explain
• Small marks are stored in node thumbnails, large ones on the canvas
• Manual node positions were not lost to an accidental auto-arrange
• The undo history was checked after a change in either tool
• The map and the canvas were exported in the formats the reader needs
• A .canv project file was saved to keep the two halves together

Common mistakes to avoid

• Putting the detail in the map. A node label is a label. When a branch needs a drawing, a note or a diagram, put it on the canvas or in a rich note, and keep the tree readable.
• Drawing a long way from the branch. A sketch in the far corner of an infinite canvas has no visible link to the node it belongs to. Keep the marks within sight of the map.
• Expecting auto-arrange to tidy the drawings. Auto-arrange re-runs the node layout and leaves the canvas elements exactly where they are. It fixes the tree, and it does not touch the page.
• Using the node pad for a detailed diagram. The 1000 by 650 node pad takes a quick mark, not a working diagram. Anything that needs shapes and labels belongs on the canvas instead.
• Exporting only the half you remember. The map and the canvas are separate exports, so sending one and forgetting the other leaves the reader with half a document. Export both.

Frequently asked questions

Can I put a large sketch inside a node?

No. A node drawing is made on a 1000 by 650 pad with one color and a brush size from 1 to 32, and it is stored as a thumbnail in the same slot an uploaded image would use. Anything larger belongs on the canvas next to the map, where it keeps its own scale and can be edited as ordinary shapes and text.

Will auto-arrange move my drawings out of the way?

No. Auto-arrange with A clears the manual positions of the nodes and re-runs the map layout. Canvas elements are a separate set of objects in the same document, and they stay exactly where they are. It is worth knowing before you press the key, because a layout you spent time placing by hand is not recoverable except through undo.

Can I undo a drawing after I renamed a node?

Yes, because the history is shared across the canvas, the mind map and App Builder. One undo stack covers every mode, so a drawing stroke and a node rename are steps in the same sequence. Twenty versions of the document are kept, and the Version history panel in the top bar lists them with timestamps for a bigger jump.

How do I get a map and its drawings into one file?

Save the project. Save Project (.canv) writes the canvas elements, the style, the mind map, any App Builder project, the camera and the layout mode into a single JSON file with a CANV1 header, and Open Project... reads it back. For sharing, the two halves export separately, as PNG or SVG for the map and PNG, JPG or vector SVG for the canvas.

This guide is part of the canvas and sketching collection. For the wider product tour, read the complete Canvasola guide, and keep the keyboard shortcut cheat sheet open while you work.