Nodes and connections

Select a node or connection to see and edit it in the Details panel on the right. In Visualise mode the same panel is read-only.

A node’s details

A node’s panel has its Name, then three sections you can collapse: Details, Tags and Connections. Remove from map and Delete node stay at the bottom.

Details

The Details list holds everything you’ve recorded about the node, one row per item. Click a name or value to edit it.

To add something, click Add property and type its name. The list suggests, in order:

1. a measure the map already has, with how many nodes use it;
2. a name other nodes on this map already use, so your spelling matches theirs;
3. “…” as text, kept on this node only;
4. Create measure “…”, for a number you want to compare across nodes.

Enter picks the best existing match, or plain text if there isn’t one. It never creates a new measure.

A measure’s row has an arrow. Click it to open the measure in the Measures card.

If several nodes have the same text detail and all its values are numbers, the list offers Make “…” shared (N nodes). That turns it into a measure on every node that has it, so you can size, colour or filter by it. It changes every one of those nodes, so it never happens automatically.

Tags

A tag is something a node either has or doesn’t. Add one from Add existing tag…, or type a name into Quickly tag this node… and press Enter. A name that matches an existing tag reuses it. Remove a tag with the × on it.

A tag group shows as one choice, for example Type: Person. Pick another to replace it, or None to take it off. Add existing tag… offers the tags that aren’t in a group.

Connections

The node’s connections are listed as sentences that start from this node, such as “funded by Common Knowledge”. Click the first part to open the connection. Click the other node’s name to go to that node.

A directed connection coming into this node is turned around. The app uses the connection type’s inverse name if it has one (see Measures, tags and connection types). Otherwise it works one out, so “maintains” becomes “is maintained by”. If it can’t, the row starts with the other node instead: “Common Knowledge partners with”.

Say what a connection is

Double-click a connection’s line, or click the pencil in its Details panel. The box What is this connection? opens. A new connection opens it straight away.

Start typing. The box suggests the map’s connection types, most-used first, with a count beside each. Pick one to assign it. If nothing matches, you get two choices:

• Keep as note “…” stores your text on this connection only. Enter does this by default. Use it for things you haven’t pinned down yet.
• Create connection type “…” makes a reusable type from your text and assigns it. It’s created undirected, with no value. Change that from the Connections card.

If the connection already has a type, the box also offers Edit “…”… to change the type itself.

A connection has a type or a note, never both. Choosing one clears the other. Notes can’t be filtered, weighted or clustered in Visualise mode, so turn them into types when you can (see Turn a note into a type).

An undefined connection shows a warning at the top of its panel until you give it a type or a note.

A connection’s details

Direction

The panel shows the two nodes one above the other: the start at the top, the end at the bottom. Arrowheads between them show the direction, and the reverse reading appears beneath for a directed type. Click either node to go to it.

Direction comes from the connection type. For a directed type, the panel has a swap button (Swap which node it points from) to fix a connection drawn the wrong way round.

Value

If the connection type records a value, such as a grant’s amount, the panel has a box for it. The box is labelled with the value’s name and unit, such as “Amount (GBP)”. The value is optional. Empty the box to remove it.

Dates

Most connections don’t need dates. To add them, click Add dates. You get three boxes:

• Date: when it happened, such as when a grant was awarded.
• From and To: the period it holds, such as the grant’s term. Leave To empty if it’s ongoing.

Each takes a year, a month or a day (2024, 2024-06 or 2024-06-15). Type only as much as you know. Once set, the dates read as one line, such as “2023 · Nov 2023 – Oct 2025”. Click it to edit, and clear every box to remove the dates.

Properties

The Properties list holds anything else about the connection: columns kept from an import, details added through the API, and anything you add. Click Add property to add one. It suggests names other connections on this map use. Long lists show the first few rows, with Show N more.

More actions

• The two nodes’ names are links to them.
• Add another connection draws a second connection between the same two nodes.
• Show connection types opens the Connections card.
• Remove connection deletes it.