What is mind mapping?

Mind mapping is a visual note-taking technique where a central idea sits at the centre of the page and related concepts radiate outward as labelled branches, mirroring how the brain naturally associates information.

How do I create a mind map from a PDF?

Drop the PDF onto Marvex Studio's canvas, choose your AI provider (Claude, GPT, or Gemini), and the AI extracts every concept and relationship as a draggable, editable mind map in about 60 seconds.

Is Marvex Studio good for students?

Yes — and it's free for educational use during the founders' round. Most early users are PhD candidates, medical students, and law-school readers who use it to compress dense reading lists.

Are my mind maps private?

Yes. By default every map lives in your browser's local storage — no account, no upload, no tracking. You can opt in to back up to Google Drive, Dropbox, or Zotero with a single click.

Does Marvex Studio work offline?

Yes — the core editing experience is local-first. AI features need a network call to your chosen provider. The desktop app caches everything for full offline reading and editing.

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Basics

Create your first mind map

From blank canvas to a finished mind map in under five minutes.

4 min read 6 steps

Every mind-map in this app starts from a single central map element. In this walk-through you'll create a new map, add branches, customise their shape and colour, and save it — all using just a few keyboard shortcuts. By the end you'll know every move you need to run Marvex Studio day-to-day.

01
Step 1 — Open the Studio
Click the Marvex Studio button in the left sidebar, or press ⌘/Ctrl + N to create a brand new map. The canvas fills the screen and your cursor is already on the central map element, waiting for you to rename it.
02
Step 2 — Rename the centre map element
Double-click the map element to enter edit mode, type your topic, and press Enter. Short, punchy titles beat long sentences — this is the root of your tree so treat it like a chapter heading.
03
Step 3 — Add child branches
Press Tab to spawn a new child under the selected map element, or Enter to add a sibling. Hold Shift + Enter to add a sibling above. Keep going until your first ring of ideas is in place.
04
Step 4 — Style with right-click
Right-click any map element to open the context menu. Pick a shape (rectangle, ellipse, diamond, hexagon, cloud, star, pill), a fill colour from the palette, or switch to a bolder stroke. The cosmic presets match the rest of the app beautifully.
05
Step 5 — Pan, zoom, focus
Hold Space + drag to pan the canvas. Scroll or pinch to zoom. Press F to frame the selected map element. Press ? at any time to open the full keyboard cheat-sheet.
06
Step 6 — Save & share
There's no save button — every change auto-saves locally the instant you make it. Click Share in the top bar to copy a read-only link, or use the Cloud Save toolbar button to push to Google Drive, Dropbox, or Zotero (Pro).

Pro tip: the Cmd/Ctrl + Z undo history holds 50 steps. You can experiment fearlessly.

Create your first mind map

Step 1 — Open the Studio

Step 2 — Rename the centre map element

Step 3 — Add child branches

Step 4 — Style with right-click

Step 5 — Pan, zoom, focus

Step 6 — Save & share