Following the long and successful partnership between Google and MindMeister, which produced integrations in Google Hangouts and Google Drive, among others, MindMeister was invited to create an add-on for Google Docs, Google’s web-based office suite within Google Drive. The add-on is part of Google’s just released add-on store available for Google Docs and Google Sheets, which allows users to install and manage third-party apps and thus add new features to Google’s free web apps.
What Does It Do?
The MindMeister add-on is a neat little app that turns any bullet point list created in the Google document into a MindMeister mind map.
All you have to do is select the list and choose the command Add-ons > MindMeister > Insert as Mind Map from the menu. The map that is generated adopts the exact hierarchical structure used in the bullet-point list. It appears in the document within a few seconds, after which you can modify its size, position and other features.
How to Get It
You can browse through add-ons for Docs and Sheets by selecting Get add-ons in the Add-ons menu of any open document or spreadsheet. This will open the add-on store, where you will find the free MindMeister add-on. Or simply click here to go straight to the store!
Why You’ll Love It
If you’re a Google Docs user, we think you will love this add-on for a number of reasons:
- It saves time: If you wanted to a list from your Google document into a mind map before, you had to import your list as a plain text file (.txt) into MindMeister – using tabs or spaces to indent lines – then take a screenshot of the map and insert it manually into the document. Now you can do all this with just a few clicks!
- It’s free and simple: no sign-up, no fees, easy updating
- It enriches your documents with only a few clicks: Whether you’re writing a report, a paper, a how-to or an entire textbook, mind maps are a great way to visualize information, provide a quick overview of a topic, illustrate a concept and display connections and hierarchies.
This short tutorial video shows the add-on in action. Take a look!
Want to find out more about Google’s new add-on store? Read the full article on the Google blog!
I think it\’s cool!! Quick, easy and useful. Nice 🙂
One question: why doesn\’t it show the mindmap clockwise (or counter-clockwise)? Now the list-order seems to be displayed in a left-right order.
Best regards,
Maik
Hi Maik,
Thanks for the feedback! We\’ve actually already talked about changing the order for the next update – looks like it\’ll be clockwise soon. Cheers
Hi
Should be real great having the other-way-opportunity, to go from mindmap in Mindmeister directly to a bullet point list in GoogleDocs.
And without going around with .rtf or word export.
Do you have plans for this?
Hi Audun, we\’ll see what we can do! 🙂
geht nicht, ich finde das gar nicht im Store!
Hi Hans, hast du versucht nach \”MindMeister\” zu suchen im Add-on Store?
I\’d love to have this feature available in Evernote as well! ! 🙂
I\’m surely going to add this to Google docs!
I totally agree with Audun above. It would be great to turn mindmaps into lists in Google.
Can an image be one of the bullet points? Thanks.
Hi Caroline,
At the moment that\’s not possible, but we\’ll see what we can do! Cheers
Hi Guys – Great idea & works nicely.
Quick Q – can I save or transfer the MindMap created in Google Docs into my normal MindMaps in MindMeister?
Regards
Andy
Hi Andy, thanks for the feedback! Right now it\’s not possible to transfer the mind map into your MindMeister account, but it will be in the future. We\’re working on it!
Is all google docs use free? Do I need to retain the logo in the graphic?
Hi Matthew, right now it\’s not possible to get rid of the logo, sorry. The MindMeister add-on for Google Docs is completely free, how much you pay for Google Docs itself depends on your kind of subscription.
I meant to ask, do I need to retain the logo in the graphic as a condition of it being free? Can I crop it out and use a trimmed version of the image w/out the logo?
Ah, well, if the logo bothers you that much, go ahead and remove it – we\’re not going to sue you 😉
Ha, great! Thanks for the response. I\’m wanting these to display inside an access form – major space issues.
If I were to enable MindMeister as a Google Docs Add-On, does all of my information stay in Google Drive? Or does MindMeister pull the information (bullet point list) and store it on MindMeister servers?
Hi Nolan,
MindMeister temporarily pulls the information to create the mind map from the list but deletes it as soon as the process is finished, so non of it is actually saved. If you have any concerns about security, you can also check out this page here: https://www.mindmeister.com/security
Cheers!
That\’s great! Google docs have too many shortcomings, I will try the new mindmeister addon and see how it goes. This not modify my old files no?
Thanks!
Hi Magda,
Once you\’ve added the MindMeister add-on to Google Docs you can open any document (old and new), select a bullet point list and turn that list into a mind map. Enjoy! 😀
Helllo,
Is there any way to customize the mind map generated ?
Even basic stuff, such as changing the colour, the position of items or the fonts, seem impossible to do !
Thanx for the answer 🙂
Hi Robin,
At the moment there are no customization options for the add-on, sorry. Our priority was to create a fast and simple way to add a map to your documents. But if you want to work on the map you can always create it in MindMeister and export it as a PNG. The image can then also be added to your document.
Cheers!
When working with the mind map is there any way to move the map around? If so how?
Hey Caley,
If you select the map in the document and then either choose \”Wrap text\” or \”Break text\” in the menu that appears underneath it, you can move the image around freely.