How to draw mind maps with Microsoft Word

Our lines of thought rarely follow a straight line from A to B. They can generate new ideas at any time. So, you really need a mind map design tool.

The mind map is simply a chart that connects ideas and concepts related to a central idea. This is a great idea capture tool to gather all the chaotic thoughts in our brain. Paper and pen are the easiest tool to start building your mind map. But today, the article will guide you to create mind maps with Microsoft Word in a very simple way.

Microsoft Word 2016/2019

The meaning of the mind map

By putting ideas or thoughts in the mind map, we are encouraging the brain to work, thinking about every aspect, evaluating the relationships between ideas instead of treating them as a hierarchical list. .

The key to mind mapping is visualization of all data - combining words with other factors and adding images to the brain to understand the vast amount of data.

How to create mind maps in Microsoft Word

In fact, we have many applications for creating mind maps. However, if you do not want to install these software, Microsoft Word can help you quickly draw it. First of all, you need to understand the following rules for creating effective mind maps:

• Think of the main idea and write it down in the center of the diagram.
• Think of relevant ideas and place them around the main idea. Connect the whole idea with a correlation. Use lines, lines / shapes / colors ... to illustrate ideas and relationships.
• Leaving a lot of space between ideas because new ideas and new relationships will appear as the mind map develops.
• Always sticking to the flow of ideas.

Familiarize yourself with how to group images in Word

How to create charts in Microsoft Word is extremely easy with the help of basic shapes and links. Expand it with icons, photos, SmartArt, charts, even videos. As a result, the mind map completed with Word can literally become a professional document.

Step 1: Switch to Landscape Mode

This mode provides maximum workspace horizontally. In New Word Document, choose Layout> Orientation> Landscape . If you finally want to print it, select Size in the Page Setup group .

Step 2: Combine the shapes available in Word

Most of the tools we can use are in the Illustrations group on the Insert tab . Click on Shapes - which contains all the basic building blocks for a mind map.

You can use simple shapes like ovals, rounded rectangles to represent the central idea. Then label the whole image with Text Box.

Stretch and connect shapes with lines and arrows to show the relationship between them. Like all other elements, you can copy and paste shapes, so that the layout of the main ideas - sub doesn't take much time.

Step 3: Start drawing diagrams with shapes and Text Box

All elements can be detailed by using the full collection of shape styles - Shape Styles . Drawing the first shape will display the Shape Format tab in the context. The best thing is that when you point your mouse on any tool, you will directly see how the diagrams display when using them.

Step 4: Format the pictures

To change the shape attribute. Right-click the selected image, and then click Format Shape in the context menu.

Any option in the Line connects all primary & secondary nodes. Lines are also shapes and changes in their angle or appearance can be made either in Format Shape or from the Ribbon (double-click the shape to bring up the Format tab ).

Step 5: Label the Shape and Line

You can label shapes and lines with text to identify the relationship between them. However, in older versions, Microsoft Word restricts the orientation of text vertically or horizontally. In Word 2016 & 2019 , go to Insert> Text> Text Box and insert Simple Text Box that you can rotate to the desired angle.

In addition to illustrating the mind map with photos on your computer or online source, you can touch Icons to have the option to present the process and workflow accordingly.

Go to Ribbon> Insert> Illustrations Group> Icons .

While inserting an image or icon, use the corner processing icon to determine the size of the image. You can also adjust the transparency and color the icon to match the background color of the mind map.

Step 6: Add notes & links to mind maps

You can extend the mind map in Word by adding hyperlinks to external sources. But what if I want to add more detailed notes to the diagram?

Microsoft Word does not support adding notes or attaching documents, however, you can rely on OneNote .

The OneNote Linked Notes feature allows you to attach OneNote to a part of an open Word document and leave notes. Any notes you make in OneNote are linked to the related Word file. To use Linked Notes in Word, go to Ribbon> Review> Linked Notes .

OneNote will be next to the mind map and ask you to choose Notebook, Section, Page for the new note along with the Select Location box . Select the new page or current page to get started.

Start taking notes at the OneNote window on the right. OneNote has embedded a small avatar image for that page with a snippet and a link to the related document. You just need to click on that small avatar image to open the corresponding mind map at any time.

To stop taking notes, go to the upper right corner of the attached OneNote window. Click the chain link icon, then select Stop Taking Linked Notes.

Microsoft Word, even Microsoft PowerPoint can be a tool to build mind maps quickly. It works more flexibly than paper & pen because you can easily update information by adding or rearranging topics. You can copy it to other Office programs, even print hard copies if needed.

Hope the article is helpful to you!