While Canvas view is great for exploring and organizing, sometimes you need to see your ideas in a linear format. Document View presents your ideas as a linear document, making it easier to read threads of thought and prepare presentations.
Tip: Canvas View is still where most creative work happens. Document View is positioned to support reading and sense-making by representing ideas in this familiar threaded document format.
Switching to Document View
The view toggle in the header lets you switch between Canvas and Document views.
Document View showing ideas in linear format
In Document View, your ideas appear as a vertical list, making it easy to read through them like a document.
What Document View Shows
Document View can display your ideas in several ways, depending on what you have selected on the canvas:
All Ideas
By default, Document View shows all ideas from the current page, ordered chronologically (newest first or oldest first).
Connected Ideas (Thread)
If you select a node on the canvas before switching to Document View, you’ll see a threaded view showing that idea and all ideas connected to it. This follows the chain of connections to build a narrative.
Selected Ideas
If you multi-select several nodes on the canvas, Document View shows just those selected ideas in order.
Document View showing one selected idea and the “thread” it’s part of
For any idea in Document View, you can easily go back to where it is on Canvas View by clicking on the “View on canvas” button in the bottom-right corner.
Cluster Contents
If you select a cluster, Document View shows all the ideas contained within that cluster.
Document View showing one selected cluster
Filtered View
If you have type filters active, Document View shows only ideas matching those filters.
Document View showing only claims and questions on the canvas
Document View controls
The Document View header provides controls for how your ideas are displayed:
The dropdown shows allows you to switch to other documents including saved ones.
Keeping a Document to Build a Story
A Story is a saved arrangement of ideas that creates a narrative. While the default document view is generated automatically, stories let you curate and customize the sequence of ideas.
Creating a Story
To create a story:
- Set up your document with the ideas you want
- Click Keep (or the save button)
- Give your story a name and optional description
- The story is saved and can be loaded later
The Keep button to save a story
What Stories Remember
A saved story stores:
- Which ideas are included
- The order of ideas
- Any annotations you’ve added
- The story name and description
Loading a Story
Saved stories appear in a dropdown in Document View. Select a story to load it and see the ideas in that saved order.
Editing Stories
Once you’ve created a story, you can edit it to refine your narrative.
Editing a story
Reordering Ideas
Drag ideas up or down in the list to change their order. This lets you arrange the narrative flow.
Adding Annotations
Annotations are text notes you can add between ideas. Use them to:
- Introduce sections
- Explain transitions between ideas
- Add commentary or context
- Create headers for different parts of your narrative
To add an annotation:
- Hover between two ideas in the story
- Click the + Add text button that appears
- Type your annotation text
Removing Ideas from a Story
To remove an idea from a story without deleting it from the canvas:
- Hover over the idea in the document
- Click the × or remove button
- The idea is removed from the story but remains on your canvas
Telling Stories
Stories are powerful for transforming scattered ideas into coherent narratives. Here are some ways to use them:
Building an Argument
Create a story that moves from questions (Wonder) to evidence (Ground) to conclusions (Synthesis). Add annotations to guide the reader through your reasoning.
Presenting Your Thinking
Use stories to prepare presentations. The linear format makes it easy to walk through ideas in order. Export your story as Markdown for use in other tools.
Documenting a Process
Create a chronological story showing how your thinking evolved over time. This is useful for reflection and sharing your learning journey.
Tip: You can have multiple stories in the same space, each presenting a different narrative with the same set of ideas.
Exporting Documents
Document View lets you export your ideas in various formats:
- Markdown - For use in other writing tools
- Plain Text - Simple text format
- Copy to Clipboard - Quick sharing
This makes it easy to take your organized thinking and use it elsewhere.
This could be telling your saved stories in front of your class or use your stories as the basis for writing a course paper.
Navigating Between Views
Document View and Canvas View work together:
Canvas to Document
Select ideas on the canvas, then switch to Document View to see them in sequence.
Document to Canvas
Click on any idea in Document View to locate it on the canvas. This helps you find the spatial context of an idea.
Switching back to Canvas view
Recap
In this section, you learned about Document View:
Document View Basics
- Switch between Canvas and Document using the header toggle
- Document View shows ideas in a linear, readable format
- What you see depends on your canvas selection and filters
Stories
- Save a document as a Story to preserve the arrangement
- Reorder ideas and add annotations to craft your narrative
- Multiple stories can exist in the same space
Storytelling
- Use stories to build arguments and presentations
- Navigate between Document and Canvas views
- Export your documents in various formats
Congratulations! You’ve completed Part 2 of the Wonderbits tutorial. You now know how to organize your thinking using advanced node types, clusters, pages, views, and document mode. In Part 3, you’ll learn about collaboration - working with others in shared spaces.