Combine maps by importing ideas

If you are running multiple activities or want to bring ideas from several maps into one place, you can use the Import ideas feature to copy ideas from one map into another.

This is useful when you want to combine outputs from different groups, breakout rooms, workshops, or repeated sessions into a single map for review and discussion.

Before you import ideas

How ideas are imported depends on whether the maps have the same format and setup.

Combining maps with the same format and style

If the maps have the same setup, GroupMap can preserve the format and structure when importing ideas.

For example, if you created three two-column maps and want to combine them into one two-column map, you can import ideas from each map into the new map.

The ideas will be added to the matching columns, preserving the structure of the original maps.

This works best when the source and destination maps have:

The same map type
The same layout or structure
Matching columns, lists, regions, or sections
Matching idea fields, if you want field information to carry across

Combining maps with different formats or styles

You can still import ideas from one map into another when the map types are different. However, the original structure may not be preserved.

For example, if you import ideas from a mind map into a two-column map, the ideas may be added to the first column rather than being placed into matching sections.

This happens because different map types use different structures. GroupMap may not be able to match branches, columns, lists, or regions between different map formats.

After importing, you can review the ideas and move them into the correct column, region, or section as needed.

To import ideas from another map

Go to your map.
Navigate to the Brainstorm process step. Click the Brainstorm step.
Click on Brainstorm to open the drop-down menu.

4. Select Import ideas…

5. In the Import dialog box, locate the map you wish to import ideas from.

You can adjust where the imported ideas are to be positioned.

Click IMPORT.

You can repeat this process to import ideas from multiple maps into the same destination map.

Importing ideas with descriptions and fields

If you are importing ideas with descriptions, text fields, or select fields, set up those exact fields in the destination map before importing.

The field names need to match exactly so GroupMap can map the imported information to the correct fields.