How to format links in Word doc for import to Mindmanager?
how do I format a word doc so that links (whether to external/internet or internal to the doc) are assigned to the correct topic, sub-topic, note, etc?
In the attached docx the assigned headings all import to MM correctly. The 2 links, however, always appear in the central topic and not within the topic/subtopic they're aligned with in the doc.
Is there a way to make them align, either with a heading-type or style assignment?
Thanks in advance.
Update: if I use Word style Normal or List Paragraph, the link will align with the topic it's beneath in the Word doc, but it's a Note in the imported map, and not a clickable link. I can get by with this, but would prefer it be an actual, clickable link, with or without a browser icon preceding it.
The problem with MindManager not recognising "standalone" hyperlinks as such and instead treating them as normal text on import has been around for a while. To some extent Word contributes to this, because even if you apply a hyperlink style to a URL and save the file it somehow ends up defaulting to Normal style when the document is re-opened (though the hyperlink still works). As MindManager's only guide as to where things should go in terms of the map hierarchy when a document is imported is the document's paragraph styles, the hyperlink ends up in the topic notes.
The styles that MindManager applied to Word documents on export used to be an undocumented way of dealing with this problem and, indeed, provided a lot more control generally to the way a map was structured when a document was imported. Up until MM21 all exported documents had these styles applied to them; these all had the prefix "MM" and used to be a source of annoyance because they looked identical to the equivalent Word styles but were in effect a separate hierarchy.
However they were very useful when importing a Word document because MindManager would recognise them and put the MM-formatted paragraphs exactly where they were meant to go. As well as "round tripping" exported Word documents back to MindManager, you could apply the styles to any other Word document. They could be used for example to import a list of tasks with start and due dates which MindManager would then turn into task attributes.
By far the most useful of these MindManager styles was MM Hyperlink, which is the one you have used in this document, because when applied to the relevant paragraph in Word it would appear as a hyperlink correctly attached to the preceding topic in the imported map. Unfortunately, with the major changes to Word export and import introduced in MM 21, this was intentionally or otherwise broken. While you can still apply the MM styles to an export document by not selecting a Word template, these styles no longer work in the same way. They are still recognised correctly, but now get attached to the central topic in the map.
Hopefully this is a bug and will be corrected at some point, but as this is an undocumented feature I'm not holding my breath. I think a better solution would be to introduce a proper Word document import process, like the Excel Data Mapper. This works very well and you can use it to to properly map the location of a column containing hyperlinks under their parent topics.
A similar facility to guide the import of Word documents would be great. In the meantime I've tried quite a few things but sadly can't seem to find a workaround, so I'm looking for suggestions as well.
The problem with MindManager not recognising "standalone" hyperlinks as such and instead treating them as normal text on import has been around for a while. To some extent Word contributes to this, because even if you apply a hyperlink style to a URL and save the file it somehow ends up defaulting to Normal style when the document is re-opened (though the hyperlink still works). As MindManager's only guide as to where things should go in terms of the map hierarchy when a document is imported is the document's paragraph styles, the hyperlink ends up in the topic notes.
The styles that MindManager applied to Word documents on export used to be an undocumented way of dealing with this problem and, indeed, provided a lot more control generally to the way a map was structured when a document was imported. Up until MM21 all exported documents had these styles applied to them; these all had the prefix "MM" and used to be a source of annoyance because they looked identical to the equivalent Word styles but were in effect a separate hierarchy.
However they were very useful when importing a Word document because MindManager would recognise them and put the MM-formatted paragraphs exactly where they were meant to go. As well as "round tripping" exported Word documents back to MindManager, you could apply the styles to any other Word document. They could be used for example to import a list of tasks with start and due dates which MindManager would then turn into task attributes.
By far the most useful of these MindManager styles was MM Hyperlink, which is the one you have used in this document, because when applied to the relevant paragraph in Word it would appear as a hyperlink correctly attached to the preceding topic in the imported map. Unfortunately, with the major changes to Word export and import introduced in MM 21, this was intentionally or otherwise broken. While you can still apply the MM styles to an export document by not selecting a Word template, these styles no longer work in the same way. They are still recognised correctly, but now get attached to the central topic in the map.
Hopefully this is a bug and will be corrected at some point, but as this is an undocumented feature I'm not holding my breath. I think a better solution would be to introduce a proper Word document import process, like the Excel Data Mapper. This works very well and you can use it to to properly map the location of a column containing hyperlinks under their parent topics.
A similar facility to guide the import of Word documents would be great. In the meantime I've tried quite a few things but sadly can't seem to find a workaround, so I'm looking for suggestions as well.
Hi Chris,
I'm pleased to report that this issue has been resolved in MindManager for Windows version 23. As the release notes comment:
Pasting links into MindManager is now automated. When a link is copied to the clipboard and then pasted into a topic in MindManager, it will automatically be interpreted as a topic link. This makes it easier to link to external resources or other topics within MindManager maps. If a paragraph of text contains one or more links, MindManager will also automatically recognize them and add it as a topic link or links. This can be a useful way to quickly add multiple links to your map without having to manually add each one.
This means that, for example, the sample document you posted in your original query is now imported properly, with the hyperlinks appearing correctly as hyperlinks under the correct topics. In other words, you no longer have to resort to the workaround I described in one of my earlier comments of using MindManager Word paragraph styles which are recognised by MM on import. However, this method is still useful if you want to import other task and topic information and not just headings, paragraphs and hyperlinks.
Hi Chris,
I'm pleased to report that this issue has been resolved in MindManager for Windows version 23. As the release notes comment:
Pasting links into MindManager is now automated. When a link is copied to the clipboard and then pasted into a topic in MindManager, it will automatically be interpreted as a topic link. This makes it easier to link to external resources or other topics within MindManager maps. If a paragraph of text contains one or more links, MindManager will also automatically recognize them and add it as a topic link or links. This can be a useful way to quickly add multiple links to your map without having to manually add each one.
This means that, for example, the sample document you posted in your original query is now imported properly, with the hyperlinks appearing correctly as hyperlinks under the correct topics. In other words, you no longer have to resort to the workaround I described in one of my earlier comments of using MindManager Word paragraph styles which are recognised by MM on import. However, this method is still useful if you want to import other task and topic information and not just headings, paragraphs and hyperlinks.
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