New app: Mapsy – Create a mind map node from a Card, Shape, Sticky Note, or Text

  • 14 November 2023
  • 4 replies
  • 121 views
Robert Johnson
Userlevel 7
Badge +12

I have been using the Miro Assist Expand with ideas action on mind map nodes and am loving it. However, what has frustrated me is, when I have another objects type, e.g., a sticky note from a brainstorming activity and I want to turn it into a mind map, I have to copy the text, create a mind map, and paste the text into the mind map – that is just too many steps.

Given there was no “switch type” action to convert objects into mind maps, but there is CRUD (create, read, update, delete) mind map in the Miro SDK in an experimental release, I had the idea to take @Yash's open-source Cardsy app (that makes cards from other objects) and use it to make a one-click solution to create mind map nodes from other objects.

Thanks to @Max Harper for assisting with the final lines of code, you can try it our for yourself here.

Install link

The install link can be found here → https://linktr.ee/realrobertjohnson

Note:

  • This is an unofficial Miro app. You may also be blocked from installing it from your Miro plan admin(s).
  • Mapsy is running on an experimental release and could stop working at anytime.
  • You can only generate one mind map root node at a time. If you select more than one object before running Mapsy, only the first object selected will be generated as a mind map root node.

Demo

Here it is in action:

 

Visual Thinker | Volunteer Community Moderator

4 replies

Robert Johnson
Userlevel 7
Badge +12

Note: I have updated the Mapsy install link and shared it on my Linktree page.

Visual Thinker | Volunteer Community Moderator
G

Hey @Robert Johnson - this is pretty neat!  

 

It would be even cooler if it could operate on multiple selected items at the same time.

 

My use case was, I had a list of ideas/issues sent via email.  By putting them into a spreadsheet and then pasting them into Miro, I am able to create them as individual sticky notes.  Your App then allowed me to convert each sticky note into a mindmap, which i could then drag/drop into a single mind map.  The only problem was your app only does the first item in a selection, so I had to do each one individually. 

 

It would be amazing if I could select 20 sticky notes, hit the Mapsy button and get it to spit out a mindmap with a placeholder root node, then all 50 sticky notes as children off that root node!  Or even if it created 50 individual mindmap root nodes, they can easily be drag/dropped to join them together.

 

In any case, your app helped me avoid having to copy/paste text one by one (for about 50 items!) and instead was able to just (click an item, click Mapsy, rinse and repeat) - yes 50 times but still alot better than to deal with (select text, copy, add mindmap node, paste).

 

In my case I also would have been happy if it deleted the original item once it converted it to a Mindmap entry, but again, it’s easy enough to delete them after the conversion yourself.  If you do take this further, that would be a useful command/option to have as well.  Eg one command to “duplicate as mindmap” and another to “convert to mindmap" (which deletes the originals once done).

Robert Johnson
Userlevel 7
Badge +12

@gribbster - Thanks for your feedback! It’s also nice to know that someone out there in the Miroverse has found this app useful!

I added your feedback to my backlog to explore. For starters, I would enhance it to at least create individual nodes from multiple selected objects. I like your idea of creating a placeholder root node, but then I am thinking of the use case where someone wants them all separate - there doesn’t seem to be a way to select an entre mind map and delete just the root node, and if you select all of the children, and copy-paste/duplicate, then you end up with some new root nodes. I will ponder all of this and post back here when I have an update (which I will work on here-and-there on the weekend during my toddler’s naps ;)

Visual Thinker | Volunteer Community Moderator
G

if you select all of the children, and copy-paste/duplicate, then you end up with some new root nodes


Not sure what you mean by “some” new root nodes? 

In my case, every child becomes a root node if you cut/copy them from a mindmap and paste them onto the board.  (If any of them already had their own children, those children are preserved under the new root node that child became). 

Then if you do want to attach anys eparate root nodes back into an existing mindmap, you drag them in (multiple selection is supported), and they attach (stll showing the solid rounded border), but you can just set the border to blank and tey appear as normal looking leaf nodes then.

 

But yeah whether you did individual nodes or a placeholder root node with children, being able to do more than 1 item at once would be fantastic for all those times someone sends you a bunch of bullet points and you want to get them into a mindmap 😁

 

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