I want to create two completely separate mindmaps in the same canvas for two separate processes.
Then I want to connect/join one mindmap with another? how can I do that in lucidspark or is that even possible?
Solved
How to connect multiple mind maps together
+4Best answer by justinjohnson57
Hi
Thanks for sharing those extra details about your use case! It makes complete sense why Workaround #1 isn't ideal for this. Since mind maps in Lucidspark use an auto-layout format, adding new steps will naturally shift the layout and require you to manually re-align things.
Based on the team handoffs and step-by-step nature you described, it sounds like you might be looking to build a process flow rather than a traditional mind map. Mind maps are great for brainstorming from a single central topic, but they can be a bit tricky when trying to map out sequential processes.
I would actually recommend using standard diagramming shapes and lines instead of the mind map tool! This will give you full control over your layout, and you can easily incorporate your "white rectangle" handoff idea without the auto-formatting moving things around. Note: You can still round the corners of standard shapes if you want to keep that mind map look!
For your idea of having different teams work in different canvases, I think our Breakout Boards feature would be a great fit for what you are trying to achieve! Breakout Boards allow you to have separate workspaces within the same main document.
Here is how you could set this up:
-
Create breakout boards: Create a separate Breakout Board for Team 1, Team 2, and Team 3 so they each have their own space.
-
Build the process flow: Have each team map out their internal process using standard shapes and lines on their specific board.
-
Connect the canvases: Create your "white rectangle" shape at the end of Team 1's flow. You can then use our Actions feature on that shape to add a link directly to Team 2's Breakout Board!
To learn more about how to set these features up, I recommend taking a look at these articles from our Help Center:
-
Add an Action or link to a shape (This is also achievable in Lucidspark, just copy the share link to the different Breakout Boards and ensure the correct sharing permissions are set for the other teams)
I hope this helps! Also, just a quick thing, even though the post got marked as solved, please know that we are still here to help with any further replies you post, to ensure you get the support you need! As always, feel free to let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Best,
Justin J.
+2Hi Nabil S!
Thank you for reaching out to the Lucid Community! To be fully transparent, I’m not entirely sure by what you mean by connecting/joining the Mind Maps with one another but, that’s okay! I’d love to dive into this a little bit further with you.
To help us get a better understanding of your use case, would you be able to share any insights into how you are wanting to incorporate the connection between these two Mind Maps? Are you wanting lines/nodes from the two Mind Maps to converge at a certain point? Are you wanting a line/node to point back to the root of the other Mind Map? Or are you wanting a completely different functionality to the ones I mentioned?
While there aren’t any built-in features to connect Mind Maps together, I did identify some potential ways you can connect them together:
- Workaround #1: You can simply drag one Mind Map to the other and line up the different lines/nodes so that they visually “connect.” Here is a quick example:
- Workaround #2: If the lines/nodes are too far apart to connect together like the example provided above, you can use our Lines feature to connect them together! You can also use the Lines to connect to the root of the other Mind Map if that is what you are needing to do. Here is another example:
I hope these examples help! Please feel free to let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. Additionally, you are more than welcome to submit this as an idea within our Lucid Community! If you have found that no one has submitted this idea yet, please create one of your own and be sure to include details about your use case or what you’d like to see in this experience. This will also allow other users with similar requests to discover and upvote it, then add details of their own.
Best,
Justin
+4Hi Justin,
Thanks for your feedback. I have tried Workaround #1 which works but any change is made then the layout is impacted and has to be manually re-aligned (but it’s manageable).
The use case for connecting multiple mindmaps is - say there are 3 functions, each with their own business process, their own team structure, their own “ways of working”. And Team #1 does their work and the output is shared to Team #2 and the output from Team #2 goes to Team #3 and only then can we get a final deliverable.
So the way I would like to address this in mindmap is….
Each team has their own independent mindmap where they can work internally with their team using their “ways of working”. This results in 3 mindmaps.
To connect them…
Team #1 = within their mindmap, the final step would just be a white rectangle indicating that it’s the end of current mindmap and another mindmap (in a different canvas) takes over from there.
Similarly for Team #2 = It would start with a white rectangle indicating that it’s taking over from another mindmap.
By doing this, since they are different functions, they can continue to maintain autonomy but at the same time connect.
Hope this helps.
Thanks,
Nabil
+4Sorry, I don’t know how to change the status but just for everyone viewing…. this issue has NOT been solved.
Sure, the workarounds proposed by Justin work, but that’s not a solution and therefore the gap still exists
.
+2Hi
Thanks for sharing those extra details about your use case! It makes complete sense why Workaround #1 isn't ideal for this. Since mind maps in Lucidspark use an auto-layout format, adding new steps will naturally shift the layout and require you to manually re-align things.
Based on the team handoffs and step-by-step nature you described, it sounds like you might be looking to build a process flow rather than a traditional mind map. Mind maps are great for brainstorming from a single central topic, but they can be a bit tricky when trying to map out sequential processes.
I would actually recommend using standard diagramming shapes and lines instead of the mind map tool! This will give you full control over your layout, and you can easily incorporate your "white rectangle" handoff idea without the auto-formatting moving things around. Note: You can still round the corners of standard shapes if you want to keep that mind map look!
For your idea of having different teams work in different canvases, I think our Breakout Boards feature would be a great fit for what you are trying to achieve! Breakout Boards allow you to have separate workspaces within the same main document.
Here is how you could set this up:
-
Create breakout boards: Create a separate Breakout Board for Team 1, Team 2, and Team 3 so they each have their own space.
-
Build the process flow: Have each team map out their internal process using standard shapes and lines on their specific board.
-
Connect the canvases: Create your "white rectangle" shape at the end of Team 1's flow. You can then use our Actions feature on that shape to add a link directly to Team 2's Breakout Board!
To learn more about how to set these features up, I recommend taking a look at these articles from our Help Center:
-
Add an Action or link to a shape (This is also achievable in Lucidspark, just copy the share link to the different Breakout Boards and ensure the correct sharing permissions are set for the other teams)
I hope this helps! Also, just a quick thing, even though the post got marked as solved, please know that we are still here to help with any further replies you post, to ensure you get the support you need! As always, feel free to let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Best,
Justin J.
+4Thanks Justin for a quick response - really appreciate the details. But, all due respect, I don’t think process flow is what I am looking for.
In my opinion, process flow works best if we have a process in place or creating/drafting a process (more structured).
Mindmap on the other hand is brainstorming and more fluid (like a brain dump) - very unstructured.
But, I have all the info now to move forward - the workaround you proposed is the closed match and will work for now.
The other comment around Breakout Boards, that’s amazing and we have not leveraged that feature so far so thank you for sharing - we will definitely take a stab at that.
And finally, the link feature has some great capabilities in Lucidchart (thanks for sharing the help)..
+4This addresses my query. Thank you.
+2Hi again,
Thank you for getting back to me and sharing those thoughts! To be fully transparent, you make a great point. If your teams are still in that fluid, unstructured brainstorming phase, the Mind Map tool is definitely the best feature for getting those ideas onto the canvas quickly.
I’m so glad to hear that the workaround will do the trick for now! I am also glad that you are going to take Breakout Boards for a spin! Combined with the linking features, I think it will be an awesome way to give your teams the autonomy they need while keeping everything connected.
Additionally, since you are looking for a bit more flexibility with how Mind Maps connect and layout, you are more than welcome to submit this as an idea within our Lucid Community! If you have found that no one has submitted this idea yet, please feel free to create one of your own and be sure to include details about your use case or what you’d like to see in this experience. This will also allow other users with similar requests to discover and upvote it, then add details of their own.
Please feel free to let me know if you have any further questions or concerns!
Best,
Justin
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