I agree this a MAJOR shortcoming -
Even worse is that the nodes are entered in the map in the order ad hoc (not my way)
So, after some playing around =
I add numbers to each title - to I can make sure they are in order in the outline
(And if not - they can be dragged into correct order = this seams, so far, into allowing the order of the nodes in map to be rearranged - ie this is much easier than rearranging the nodes in the mindmap
I also mind the map tiles only — to re-arrange, then back to trees (if wanted)
FYI
Even though I am not a mind map heavy user - I do have some considerable experience
Have not used them in a few years
And wow - then were 3 choices (programs) - now more than 50
But ALL - seem to have lost a TON of flexibility
They exchanged ease of use for flexibility
I find them so limiting - I often now just use PPT so I can arrange the look and feel (layout) the way I want
So — my ‘other soliution’ I do not think of MN mind map as a mindmap
To me is just a ‘visual outline’ — now I have less ‘expactations’ (frustrations) with expactations 
Yes, I agree. And this is exactly why (again) I’ve stepped away from MarginNote. I don’t need an outlining tool, I want something that allows me to very easily group and connect info - not so much a mindmap as a concept map. I want to ‘play’ with the information to get it, then move on. I don’t need the neat outlines.
I think I need something half way between MarginNote and liquidtext…
@JKF and @TheeeDragon , I agree with you so much. And I believe we are not the minority here. I imagine most users want what you mention - When new users use the app for the first time, after first being impressed and amazed by the features, the first things they notice with Margin Note is how limited the mind map is.
The developers and @Sushi_Support-Team, @Lanco_Support-Team @Relight_Support-Team , please look to this thread and all the threads with similar requests.
It is clear that making the mind map more free would unleash MarginNote to its full potential. It really is a great study app, but with small improvements it could take it to a whole new level. The foundation is already there, please take advantage of the opportunity.
Please consider making the mind map more like a concept map. That is what the users want and how the users actually use the app in practice. I know you want to limit the app to a strict mind map structure for simplicity and to keep with branch like data storage logic - but that is not the way to go if you consider user experience and actual studying in practice. I know there are other apps that are dedicated for concept maps, but none are so well integrated with the actual text and the act of reading and note taking as MarginNote.
Anyways, thank you for an amazing app! (even if it has lots of room for improvement)
as the notes can be float =
just allow the user to put floats where they want
That would at least be a good start. Also have you noticed how floating notes moves to another place as soon as you make a group of multiple notes? They all get moved over to the side under the child notes within the group. Even if the have links… So annoying.
Yes, I definitely need something like this. Quick and easy placement, the ability to link / group without imposing rigid arrangement / duplicated text. Ideally the ability to easily (double tap?) add handwritten note directly into the mindmap.
I’m totally stepping away from the outliner, Ira not what I need at all and I was spending too long in getting my notes ‘right’ in outline terms (and then having to play with export formats).
I’ve actually moved away from MarginNote now and am using Bookends or DEVONthink to go (haven’t decided) to do initial annotations then using goodNotes to drag and drop excerpts to plus handwritten notes. Not nearly so functional but a better fit for what I need. I did discover you can drag and drop excerpts from MarginNote to good notes, which is a further option.
I wrote about this here, but I totally agree with the chorus. I feel like there could just be a button that lets you set the outline on or off, and if it’s off then you gain a whole new arsenal of mapping flexibility. That way everyone is happy.
Hate to make things more complicated – but why not BOTH - how about the OPTION of strict MindMap OR ConceptMap - and maybe being able to switch between them – TheBrain does something similar, allowing you to switch between Concept linking view or MindMap view or even heirarchal list view. On that note…How about a TheBrain Import/Export option? (but I digress). Thought @Sushi_Support-Team, @Lanco_Support-Team, @Relight_Support-Team??
Agreed. Now that Liquidtext has updated its UI slightly, I’ve almost permanently headed in that direction. Apparently device sync is coming later and then I’m there 
My use case is not for neat, structured notes as an output, but quick and flexible non-linear processing of complex papers, and grouping of concepts, in order to gain understanding more quickly.
Ironically, if neat notes as an output was a requirement of mine, MarginNote‘s export functionality is really quite limited.
I’d like to echo everyone else’s request for the ability to float notes anywhere and for them to then stay there. Drawing a line between them that does not create a link but only creates the appearance of a link between free floating nodes would also be extremely useful. Basically I want the abilities of Scapple included on top of what MarginNote already offers.
Hume for MN.pdf (56.4 KB)
I’ve included a PDF exported from Scapple to show what I mean. In this case I am not dealing with strictly hierarchical knowledge and I really don’t mind whether things are linked by html or not, I am simply happy to be able to see visually what is a pretty dense argument. Having this attached to the PDF that I’ve imported to MN and marked up in there using my iPad would be mega. The way you’ve implemented the pencil kit to write on the mind map would further lend itself to this - sometimes I get bored of typing and would like to add to the mind map by handwriting (sort of like OneNote can do). Sadly Scapple doesn’t have an iPad app, OneNote doesn’t make linking text boxes easy and doesn’t work nearly as well for marking PDFs up and extracting from them as MN does.
Hello
Floating PDFs: Doable in MarginNote.
Drawing a Link: Doable using PencilKit: you can have a fake link by just connecting it with a pen, or generate a real link if you turn on the mindmap gesture in pencilkit settings.
You can directly write on the mindmap and then drag a rectangle to select your content and turn it into a card, if you want.
Kind Regards,
MarginNote-QSD
Support Team
Whit due respect, that is not what has being requested above. Please, review the posts again. I too consider this as a major issue when using MN.
Many thanks,
Rafael.
Sorry I was replying to @shv.
I thought what shv asked is to achieve a similar result like his embedded PDF in our software. Maybe I misunderstood him/her … could you help elaborate this for me?
Many thanks.
Kind Regards,
MarginNote-QSD
Support Team
Hi,
I think @shv is supporting the main idea developed in all the previous comments i.e., more flexibility when it comes to creating mind maps. He provides a graphical example of what it would be good to achieve within MN (attached pdf)
He is also arguing that drawing a link between nodes is not the same. For instance, it is not possible to collapse/expand the information linked to that parent node.
I think this would be ‘game-changing’ for many users (like myself) that are choosing other apps (e.g., Liquidtext) for this lack of flexibility.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Rafael.
Hello
I see. So what you want is an advanced version of mindmap - in the word of computer science - to become a graph instead of a tree, which we are right now?
Kind Regards,
MarginNote-QSD
Support Team
Hello,
Exactly that, BUT from the many implications of the mindmap becoming a graph, as opposed to a tree, the KEY change will be the ability to move nodes around without the current restrictions. So, if, at least, you could incorporate this feature, it will give MN the boost that many of us want.
Please would you consider this request?
Many thanks,
Regards,
Rafael.
By removing the nodes from grouping you gain the ability to place them anywhere. When you attach them in parent-child relationships they adjust to a hierarchy nature. You can draw links between floating nodes. Those links are less visible than the kind that iThoughts uses but their visibility is the only issue.
I appreciate that my parent child relationships retain their hierarchy and when these trees and other nodes are not enclosed by groups I can place them and link them any way I want. Now it doesn’t look as pretty as iThoughts but functionally it has the same role.
Still, I can have 20 even 30 papers that I’m pulling excerpts from and things can get very, very messy if I’m freely moving nodes around and I really appreciate that while I’m gathering excerpts that MN keeps things neat.
It’s the synthesis stage that I think free floating can help, and that is when I break the nodes out of the document groupings and start using some free floating functionality. Which MN does have. But I very quickly move to a proper mind map tool (iThoughts) because it allows much cleaner and clearer concept maps which are driven by the synthesis process.
I guess I’m just wondering, specifically what is the use case for free floating nodes in your work? When I first started with MN I too wanted free floating nodes but I very quickly found that free floating nodes just got messy. It wasn’t until after I’d finished the gathering stage and started the synthesis stage that I found myself wanting them again. Then simply moving the nodes out of the document groups gave me precisely what I was wanting. Free floating boxes and I could link them however I wanted. I wasn’t happy with the visuals of that (links are not clear enough) but it would still work. Exporting to iThoughts gives me the visuals I want and the concept map layout that I want, all problems are now solved (for my needs).
PS: I think they are doing the map a disservice by calling it a “mind map.” It really isn’t a mind mapping tool like we are used to these days. It’s really just a note organiser that functions very efficiently by grouping your notes in various ways. Breaking them out of groups and into free floating form is possible but at that point you lose several layers of efficiency, but by that stage you are likely beyond the gathering stage and possibly have moved beyond MN as well.
Hi,
I too appreciate the benefit from the automatised structure that currently MN offers when attaching excerpts. However, I think both ideas are compatible.
The existing structured attachment (parent-child relationship) could still be the ‘first step’ when attaching two or more nodes together, the fact that there is a possibility to move the node around afterwards should not change your workflow unless you want to.
In my view, the benefit of this functionality is the key point of a mind map, which is being able to organise and divert ideas in a graphical manner for better understanding. The two-step process you describe is precisely what It would avoid, plus in some cases you can do the synthesis stage while gathering information at the same time (and safe time).
For me, the linking feature doesn’t work because the topic node replicates and cause confusion, specially for an end-result mindmap.
Regards,
Rafael.
I think a third way to aggregate nodes should be helpful: tree, box or free. If you have a large map the navigation is quite impossible, because nodes are on the same level on the same side. Using both left and right at root node or a more space aware mode would be very useful.
The hierarchical structure of your mind maps are just numbered lists represented visually. Numbered lists represented visually are useful in certain cases, but in my opinion not that much more useful than numbered lists themselves. Not everything fits neatly into a numbered list. And when you force something into a numbered list, vital details can get overlooked.
Furthermore, if I simply wanted to force a piece of text into a numbered list then I would use ABBYY to OCR it and export it to MS Word. Once in Word it’s easy to make an outline quickly and it looks nicer than MarginNote.