1. Create A New Node

MindNode Pro offers several ways to create new nodes. Probably the easiest way is to click and drag the node well (this is the plus sign that appears next to a node when you hover over it). There are also several keyboard shortcuts that help you quickly create nodes during brainstorming sessions.

2. Reconnect Nodes

Sometimes it’s necessary to move a node from one branch to another. MindNode Pro makes this task extremely easy. Simply drag and drop a node onto another node.

MindNode Pro also allows to reconnect and reposition a node in one simple step: Drag a node onto an other node (a focus indicator will appear) and wait for the focus indicator to flash. The flash indicates that the two nodes are now connected and that you are able to move the node to a new location.

Hints:
- Pressing Space during hovering over a node will connect them immediately.
- Pressing Option (Alt) during reconnecting, will apply the style of the super-node to its new sub-nodes.
- If you accidently reconnected a node, you can press Esc to abort the operation.

3. Fold Nodes

In MindNode Pro the node well is also used to fold and unfold nodes. When pressing Option (Alt) the node well transforms into the folding icon and a single click will fold or unfold the sub-nodes.

4. Constrain Node Width

MindNode Pro offers two different ways to constrain the node width.
Grow Width: In this mode the node size increases automatically until it reaches a predefined width.
Fixed Width: Nodes have a fixed width and don’t grow or shrink automatically.

Hints:
- You can resize a node directly on the canvas by using the resize handle (the tiny squares that appear when a node is selected).
- A simple double click on the resize handle will deactivate width constraining.

5. Create Links

To create a link, select a node and put it into the title edit mode (double click). Select the text which you want to underlay with a link. Open the inspector and select the link tab. Check the “Enable as hyperlink” check box and choose from the pop-up-button whether you want to create a hyperlink or a file link. If you select hyperlink you have to fill in the link into the text field (don’t forget to press Return after you entered the link). If you choose to create a file link, a new window will open that allows to select a file on your system.

To remove a link, select the relevant text and uncheck the “Enable as hyperlink” checkbox.

Hints:
- When enabling “Smart Link Detection” in the application preferences, the application will try to automatically detect links when entering text in the node title.
- It can be difficult to enter the edit mode when the entire node is enabled as a link. In this case double click the branch below the text or use the Option+Return keyboard shortcut.