Adding Nodes With Quick Entry

Though Minder's UI is designed to help you create a mind mapping structure with as little friction as possible, sometimes it is even more useful to add/edit nodes using a text editor that is similar to creating outline-like structures using Markdown syntax. As such, Minder comes with a Quick Entry capability that can either be invoked with the contextual menus or with a few simple keyboard shortcuts.

The Quick Entry utility can be used in two different modes. One for inserting new nodes into the mind map, either as descendants of the currently selected node or as a new tree within the mind-map (if no node is currently selected). The other mode allows you to edit/replace the selected node and its descendants. The UI for both modes are essentially identical with the exception that when the replacement mode is used, the contents of the currently selected node and its descendants are automatically placed into the Quick Entry text field in the proper format.

The quick entry insertion utility can be invoked with the keyboard shortcut (Control-Shift-E) when either a single node is selected or no nodes are selected. The quick entry replacement utility can be invoked with the keyboard shortcut (Control-Shift-R) when a single node is selected.

Quick Entry UI

The user interface for the the quick entry window is straightforward with a standard text field at the top of the window, a syntax help button in the lower left corner, a Cancel button on the lower right side, and either an Insert or Replace button in the lower right corner of the window. A representation of this field is listed below:

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Clicking on the help button in the lower left corner will show/hide the syntax information for the window which is represented below:

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