Maplet User Guide

Maplet is a mind map editor that runs in your browser. Edit on this device without an account, download your work as .maplet files, and optionally save to Google Drive automatically. It also opens MindMup .mup, Markdown and OPML files.

The officially supported browser is desktop Google Chrome. The screenshots below were captured automatically from the app.

1. Getting started

The Maplet editor with a sample map open — The whole editor. The central topic sits in the middle with branches on both sides.

The header and the editing toolbar — Top: the header · Bottom: the editing toolbar

Header: The File menu, the file name (click to rename), Google Drive status, Download, User guide and Settings.
Toolbar: Undo and redo, Child node, Delete, the Node actions menu, Notes, Link, Style, Find, the View menu, Auto arrange, zoom and fit, and shortcut help (?).
Canvas: Where the map is drawn. Drag empty space to pan; use Ctrl+wheel or pinch to zoom. The minimap in the bottom right shows where you are.
Status bar: Save status, draft storage, selection count, node count and the language selector.

A new map starts with one central topic. Select it and start typing. If you were editing before, a Recover draft dialog appears. Each tab keeps its own draft; drafts of tabs that are still open are not offered.

2. Creating and editing nodes

Typing the title of a new child node — A child node made with Tab starts in title editing.

Tab adds a child under the selected node and starts editing its title.
Enter adds a sibling under the same parent.
F2 or a double-click edits a title.
While typing, Enter applies, Shift+Enter adds a line break, Esc cancels, and Tab applies and continues with a child.
Delete removes a node and its descendants, asking first if it has any.
Arrow keys move between nodes; Alt+↑/↓ reorders siblings.
Undo any change with Ctrl/⌘+Z and redo with Ctrl/⌘+Shift+Z.

Drag a node's bottom-right corner sideways to change its width; double-click it to return to automatic size. The −/+ buttons on a branch collapse and expand it.

3. Node and map menus

Right-click a node (or press Shift+F10) for everything you can do with it. Right-click empty canvas for map-wide actions. Actions that don't apply right now are dimmed.

The node context menu — Node menu: add and edit, notes, link, style and connections, clipboard, order and side, view, delete

The context menu for empty canvas — Map menu: undo, new topic here, select all, find, levels, minimap, arrange and zoom

Copy, cut, paste, duplicate: Ctrl/⌘+C·X·V·D. Whole branches are copied with notes, links and styles. Pasting an indented or bulleted list from another app creates nodes in that hierarchy, and copied branches paste into other apps as an indented list.
New topic here: adds a separate central topic where you right-clicked.
Move node: pick a new parent from a list.
Place left / right: choose which side of the central topic a branch sits on.

4. Selecting several nodes

Three nodes selected together — Selected nodes are tinted green; the one you picked last has the strong outline.

Selecting an area by Shift-dragging on empty canvas — Shift-drag on empty canvas to select an area

Hold Shift or Ctrl/⌘ and click to add or remove nodes.
Shift-drag on empty canvas to select the nodes inside a rectangle.
Shift+arrow keys extend the selection; Ctrl/⌘+A selects every visible node.
Delete, copy, cut, duplicate, move, side and style apply to the whole selection at once and undo in one step.
Drag any selected node to move the group together.
Esc or a click on empty canvas returns to one selected node.

5. Dragging

Dragging a node moves all its descendants with it. The rest of the map stays still while you drag, and where you drop decides what happens. A hint at the bottom of the canvas shows the current mode.

Dragging Social campaign next to Design, with ‘Move here’ shown — Next to another node, “Move here” appears; drop to make it the parent.

Dragging QA just above API, with an ‘Insert here’ line — Just above or below a node, a line and “Insert here” appear; drop to insert before or after it.

Where you drop	Result
Next to or onto a node (within 16px)	Becomes its last child. On a central topic, it joins the side you dropped on.
Just above or below a node	Inserted before or after it. Under the same parent, only the order changes.
Empty space	Moves the position only. Dashed outlines show where overlapping branches will make room on release.
While holding `Alt` (⌥)	Moves the position only, never reparenting; other branches move aside live.

Press Esc while dragging to put it back. A drop undoes in one step. To tidy the whole map, use Auto arrange in the toolbar.

6. Formatting and markers

Open Style from the node menu or the toolbar. With several nodes selected, only the settings you change apply to all of them.

Nodes with an icon, a done task, background and border colors, and note and link badges — Icons, task boxes, background and border, branch line color, note (page) and link (arrow) badges

Font, size and alignment: sans, serif or monospace; small, normal or large; three alignments.
Background color: six light colors that stay readable in the dark theme.
Bold and italic
Task: a checkbox before the title. Tick it right on the node; done tasks are struck through.
Icon: one of ⭐ ✅ ❗ ❓ 💡 🔥 📌 ⚠️ 🎯 📅.
Border color, branch line color and style (solid, dashed, dotted): line settings carry down to child branches.

7. Notes, links and connections

The notes dialog — Notes: write details as plain text.

The connections dialog — Connections: link to a node in another branch with an arrow.

A purple dashed arrow from Market research to Social campaign — Connections are drawn as purple dashed arrows, independent of the hierarchy.

A node with notes shows a small page badge; hover it to read the notes.
Links accept http, https and mailto addresses only. Click the link badge to open it in a new tab.
Remove a connection in the connections dialog; deleting either node removes it too.

8. Find

The find bar with ‘launch’ typed and two nodes outlined in yellow — Matching nodes get a yellow outline; the bar shows “current/total”.

Open it with Ctrl/⌘+F or Find in the toolbar. It searches titles. Enter goes to the next result and Shift+Enter to the previous one; results inside collapsed branches are revealed. Close it with Esc.

9. View: levels, focus and minimap

Expand all: open every collapsed branch.
Main branches only, Show 2 / 3 levels: see the outline of a large map quickly.
Expand all below in the node menu expands one branch only.
Show / Hide minimap: your choice is remembered on this device.

The map collapsed to its main branches — Main branches only: branches with children are collapsed and show a + button.

Only the Development branch is shown — **Show only this branch** from the node menu. **Show whole map** at the top left returns.

The minimap shows the whole map and the area you are looking at (green rectangle). Click or drag on it to move there. It hides while dragging and on narrow screens.

10. Opening, saving and exporting

New map: opens in a new tab when this tab already has a map in progress, otherwise right here. The Drive folder and connection carry over to the new tab.
Open: .maplet, MindMup .mup, Markdown .md, OPML .opml and indented .txt. You can also drop a file onto the window.
Download (header button, Ctrl/⌘+S): saves a .maplet file with positions, styles, notes and connections.
Download .mup: a copy MindMup can open.
PNG and SVG images: save the visible map as an image.
Markdown and OPML: move to note-taking or outliner apps; hierarchy, notes and links only.
Print / Save as PDF: choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialog for a PDF.
Original backup: download an imported MindMup file exactly as it was.

Your edits are kept in this browser as a draft, so you can recover them after closing the window. On a shared computer, turn draft storage off in Settings.

11. Google Drive

When the deployment has a Google connection configured, a Drive button appears in the header. Connect, pick a save folder, and Maplet saves a few seconds after you stop editing.

The Google Drive dialog — Google Drive: choose a save folder, open from or save to Drive

Drive sync status in the header — Sync status in the header

Click Connect Google Drive in the header and sign in.
Choose a save folder. Choosing a folder does not create a file.
Open from Drive to open a file, or Save to Drive to save the current map.
Later edits save automatically; the header shows editing, pending and synced.

If the same file changes elsewhere, changes that don't overlap merge automatically and you choose which side to keep for conflicts. For security you need to Reconnect after reloading the page, but the save location is remembered.

12. Settings, theme and language

Language: 한국어 or English. Also available in the status bar.
Theme: match system, light or dark.
Keep editing drafts on this device: turning it off deletes stored drafts and stops saving new ones.

The editor in the dark theme — The dark theme. Nodes with a background color you chose stay light.

13. Keyboard shortcuts

The ? button in the toolbar or the ? key shows them in the app too.

Keys	Action
`Tab` / `Enter`	Add a child / sibling
`F2`, double-click	Edit a title
Arrow keys	Move between nodes
`Delete`	Delete a node and its descendants
`Ctrl/⌘`+`Z` / `Shift`+`Z`	Undo / redo
`Ctrl/⌘`+`S`	Save to Drive / download the file
`Ctrl/⌘`+`C` `X` `V` `D`	Copy · cut · paste · duplicate
`Alt`+`↑`/`↓`	Reorder siblings
`Ctrl/⌘`+`F`	Find
`Ctrl/⌘`+`A`	Select all visible nodes
`Shift`/`Ctrl/⌘`+click	Add to or remove from the selection
`Shift`+arrows / drag on empty canvas	Extend the selection / select an area
`Esc`	Cancel a drag, clear a multi-node selection
Right-click, `Shift`+`F10`	Node menu · map menu on empty canvas
`Alt` (⌥)+drag	Move position only
`Space`+drag	Pan the canvas
`Ctrl/⌘`+`+` `−` `0`	Zoom in · zoom out · fit to screen

14. FAQ

Where are my edits stored?

While you edit, a draft is kept in this browser. To move to another device or browser, Download a .maplet file or save to Google Drive.

I want to place a node next to another one, but it keeps becoming its child.

Hold Alt (⌥ on a Mac) while dragging to move the position only. If it already moved under the other node, press Ctrl/⌘+Z.

My map has become cluttered.

Click Auto arrange in the toolbar to reorganize the whole map by branch size. One undo brings the previous layout back.

I want to edit a MindMup file and keep using it in MindMup.

Use File → Download .mup for a compatible copy. Maplet-specific positions may look different in other editors, and Download original backup always gives you the original.

Drive disconnected after I reloaded the page.

For security, sign-in credentials are never stored. Click Reconnect in the header to keep saving to the remembered folder and file.