Rafiul Hasan
Looking for a way to create a mind map in Excel? You have landed in the right place. Although Excel allows a user to create charts and sparklines for better visualization of the data, it doesn’t contain any tool directly for creating a mind map from some data. But don’t worry at all. There are ways to create a mind map using Excel features. In this article, I will show you how to create a mind map from data in Excel.
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What Is Mind Map?
A mind map is basically a special type of diagram arranged in order of rank on the basis of a concept. It helps to analyze data and organize them in a structured way on the basis of a central concept.
The main concept of a mind map is covered by a group of sub-concepts and each sub-concept may have branches of its own. Altogether this map will represent an overall idea.
2 Common Ways to Create Mind Map from Data in Excel
In this section, you will find 2 practical ways to create a mind map from data in Excel. I will demonstrate them one by one here. Let’s check them now!
1. Create Mind Map with SmartArt Feature
Let’s say, we have got a dataset of the steps needed for Online Content Writing.
We want to make a mind map using the dataset needed for content writing. We can perform this task with a special feature of Excel: SmartArt. It is one of the smart options for creating a mind map. There are several layouts for SmartArt in Excel: List, Process, Cycle, Relationship, Matric, etc. In order to create a mind map with this feature, proceed with the following steps.
📌 Steps:
- First of all, go to the Insert tab> click the Illustration option> select SmartArt from the options.
- Then, a box with the title Choose a SmartArt Graphic will appear.
- Here, you will find different types of shapes for making a mind map.
- Now, select any type of Graphic as per your need and choice. I have selected the Radial Cycle graphic for my data. Click OK.
- Now, the Radial Cycle graphic format and a box for the field of the visual format named Type your text here will appear.
- Here, if you click on the .[Text] field on the box, the field will be increased. You will see that in the graphic format.
- After that, type the text from which you want to form a mind map. The main field will denote the center and the sub-field will denote the components of the mind map.
2. Create Mind Map Manually by Using Shapes
You can create a mind map manually as per your choice. For this purpose, you have to use different shapes and arrange them in a decent way. For creating a mind map manually by using shapes. follow the steps below.
📌 Steps:
- Firstly, go to the Insert tab> click the Illustration option> select Shapes from the options.
- Then, a list of different shapes will appear. Select a shape.
- After that, the cursor will be changed to an icon like a plus (+) sign. Drag the icon on the sheet over a certain area where you want to drop the shape.
- The following GIF will show the procedure.
- Now, drop as many shapes as you need as per your data and arrange them in a way to create a mind map.
- After that, double-click on each of the shapes and enter the text. And your mind map will be ready.
Read More: How to Do Data Mapping in Excel (5 Handy Ways)
Customize Mind Map
You can also customize the shapes of the mind map you have created. Just click on any of the shapes and a tab named Shape Format will appear on the ribbon.
- Go to the tab and you will find two groups of options: Shape Styles and WordArt Styles. Under the Shape Styles group, there are options like Shape Fill, Shape Outline, and Shape Effects. And Under the WordArt Styles group, there are options like Text Fill, Text Outline, Text Effects.
- Here, you can choose your corresponding fill, outline, effect, and customize your mind map.
Things to Remember
- Create a mind map manually when you have enough time in your hand.
- Choose the Relationship style for the SmartArt feature when you are not sure which graphic you should use for creating a mind map.
Conclusion
In this article, I have tried to show you some methods to create mind map from data in Excel. Hope you find the article helpful. If you have better techniques, questions, or feedback regarding this article, please don’t forget to share them in the comment box. For more queries, kindly visit our website ExcelDemy. Thanks for keeping in touch.
Happy Excel!
