How to add notes to a mind map

Decide what belongs on the branch

A branch label is a signpost. It should be short enough to read in a glance, and short enough that you can hold the whole map in your head. Detail that needs more than a phrase belongs in the note attached to that node, where it stays available without cluttering the structure.

The test is simple: if the detail would push a label past a few words, it is note material. The exception is the words that make a branch findable. If a note contains a term you will search for months later, repeat that term in the label, so search lands on the right branch.

Notes also rescue a branch that wants to become three branches. Instead of a label like "Pricing: tiers, trial, enterprise", which commits you to a structure you have not decided yet, label the branch "Pricing" and put the candidates in the note. The branching rules guide covers the cases where splitting really is the answer.

• A label is a signpost, the note is the paragraph
• Put anything longer than a phrase in the note
• Repeat searchable terms in the label, not only in the note
• Notes let you postpone a structure decision

Open the note panel for a node

A node's note opens in its own panel inside the editor. Select the node you want to annotate, open its note, and you are typing into a formatted editor rather than a plain text box. The note belongs to that node, so it moves with the branch and travels with the file when the project is saved.

Each node stores its own note, which makes notes independent rather than shared. Two nodes that need the same explanation can each hold it, and rewriting one never edits the other. Canvasola allows up to 80,000 characters per rich note, so length is not the constraint you need to design around.

Because the note lives on the node, adding it late is fine. Notes are often the last thing you write, once you know what the branch turned out to mean. If you have not used the editor yet, the complete Canvasola guide shows where the mind map sits in the document.

• Select the node, then open its note panel
• The note is stored on the node and moves with the branch
• Up to 80,000 characters per rich note
• Notes are independent, so rewriting one never edits another

Note: A node note stores formatted text, so bold stays bold when the note is reopened. Keep to the toolbar options instead of typing markup by hand.

Format the note so it can be skimmed

The note editor gives you the formatting you need for a note you will read again: bold, italic and underline, bulleted and numbered lists, plus a control for adding a link. A note in plain prose forces you to read it word by word, while the same content as a list can be scanned in three seconds.

Use bold for the claim and lists for the support. If a note holds three dates, put them in a numbered list in the order they matter. If it holds a definition, a reason and a caveat, three short paragraphs with the key term in bold beat one dense paragraph that nobody re-reads.

Underline is in the toolbar as well, and it is a good marker for words that came from someone else, especially in a note that also holds your own reading. A note you plan to quote later should show where the quoted words came from, so the next reader can check them.

• Bold the claim, list the support
• Number lists that have an order to them
• Keep the first line of a note answerable on its own
• A note you will quote should show where the words came from

Dictate a note instead of typing it

The note editor has a Dictate button that turns speech into text. If you are capturing notes while a meeting is still running, or a thought is faster to say than to type, dictation is quicker and keeps your attention on the map.

Dictation writes into the note, so treat it the way you would treat a transcription: read it back and fix the names, the dates and the numbers before you close the panel. It is fastest for the sentence you have to write but never want to type, such as a quotation or a summary.

A dictated note is also a cheap way to capture the reason behind a branch. Say why a decision was made in a couple of sentences and attach it to the node. Later, when someone asks why the map looks the way it does, the answer is already hanging off the branch.

• Dictate the long sentences, type the labels
• Read back names, dates and numbers before closing the note
• Speech is fastest for reasons and summaries
• Dictation fills the note, it does not create a node

Link out to a source from a note

The note editor includes an add-link control, which is how you point from a node to the page, document or file the detail came from. A note that says where something came from is worth ten times a note that repeats it, because the second copy will drift away from the first.

Put the link in the note rather than in the label. A label with a URL in it becomes a wall of text and breaks the parallel structure of the branch, while a link at the end of a note keeps the map clean and the reference attached to the idea it supports.

Node images serve the same purpose for visual source material. A node can hold an image file, with PNG, JPEG, WebP and GIF accepted and an upload limit of 1.5 MB, and a freehand drawing saved into the same thumbnail slot works too. Double-click a thumbnail to view it. A sketch of the diagram you are describing is often a better note than a paragraph about it.

• Add the link in the note, not the label
• Name the source in the text next to the link
• A node thumbnail accepts PNG, JPEG, WebP and GIF files
• Double-click a thumbnail to open it

Find the note again with search

Notes are written to be read later, and later is when you will not remember which node holds them. Press Ctrl/Cmd+F while a mind map is active and the search panel looks through both node labels and note text. The results are ranked, you can move through them with the keyboard, and you can jump straight to the node that matched.

Searching is also the fastest way to audit a map you inherited. Search for a word you expect to find and see how many branches mention it, then search for a word you expect and see how many do not. The gap between those two counts is exactly where the map is thin.

Search covers the map you currently have active, so if you work across several workspace tabs, run it in the tab that holds the map you mean. The shortcut cheat sheet has the full list of map keys, and the color guide shows another way to keep a map findable.

• Ctrl/Cmd+F searches labels and notes together
• Results are ranked, with keyboard navigation and jump-to-node
• Search for a term you expect to find, then one you expect to miss
• Search runs on the active map only

A checklist you can reuse

• Every node label reads as a signpost rather than a paragraph
• Detail that outgrew a label was moved into the node's note
• Notes use bold for the claim and lists for the supporting detail
• Dictated notes were read back and corrected before the panel closed
• Sources are linked from the note, and named in the text beside the link
• Ctrl/Cmd+F was used to confirm a note can be found again later

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing paragraphs in the label. A long label breaks the parallel structure of a level and makes the map impossible to scan. Put the sentence in the node note where it can be formatted and searched.
• Notes that repeat the label. A note that says the same thing as its label adds length without adding information. Notes are for the detail that the label could not carry.
• Copying a source instead of linking it. A pasted paragraph will drift from the original and you will not notice. Link to the source from the note and keep your own summary alongside it.
• Unread dictation. Dictated text arrives with the wrong names, dates and numbers. Read it back before you close the note, because fixing a name in the panel takes seconds and fixing it later takes longer.
• Notes you will never find again. A note you cannot locate is the same as a note you never wrote. Put the searchable term in the label, and use Ctrl/Cmd+F to confirm you can find it.

Frequently asked questions

How much can I write in a single node note?

A single rich note can hold 80,000 characters, which is far more than a note needs in practice. The practical limit is readability, not space. If a note is that long, it is a document, and it probably belongs in a separate branch set or a file of its own.

Does search find text inside notes?

Yes. Ctrl/Cmd+F searches node labels and note text together, ranks the results and lets you jump to the matching node with the keyboard. The search applies to the map that is currently active, so run it in the right tab if you keep several maps open.

Is there a limit on how many nodes can have notes?

A single map can carry 2,000 nodes, and every node can hold a note, so the practical limit is how much you want to read later. A map where every node has a paragraph of notes usually needs fewer, bigger branches.

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