A note graph view that shows how your ideas connect

A note graph view shows your notes as dots and the links between them as lines, so you can see the shape of what you know. Barside's version is the Note map. It has its own place in the sidebar, it builds itself from the [[ links you write, and it runs on your own computer. Barside is a free desktop app for Windows, Linux and Mac, with no account needed.

This guide explains what the map shows, how to move around it, and how to grow a library whose map is worth looking at.

What the note graph view shows

The note map turns your links into a picture:

• Dots are notes. Each dot takes its note's color, which is the workspace's color unless you gave the note its own in Note options. One project's notes are easy to pick out.
• Lines are links. A line joins two notes when one links to the other with [[. Linking the same note twice from one note still draws one line. See linked notes and backlinks for how links work.
• Bigger dots mean more links. A note's dot grows with its number of links, so the hubs of your library stand out at a glance.
• Names where they help. On a map of 60 notes or fewer, every dot shows its title. On bigger maps, titles show for notes with three or more links, and for the rest when you zoom in, point at a note or find it.
• Counts at the top. The header says how many notes and links are on the map, such as 11 notes · 12 links.

How to open and read the note map

1. Click Note map in the sidebar. From anywhere, you can also open the search bar (Alt+Shift+Space in any app, Ctrl+K in Barside), type map and choose Note map.
2. Give the map a moment to settle. Notes spread out, linked notes pull together, and the view fits the whole map in the window.
3. Point at a note. Its links light up, the rest of the map fades, and a hint says Click to open · Drag to move.
4. Click a dot to open that note.
5. Scroll to zoom toward the pointer, or use the Zoom in, Zoom out and Fit map buttons. Drag the empty background to move around.
6. Drag a dot to pull it, and the notes linked to it, somewhere clearer.

The map works from the keyboard too. Press Tab to move from dot to dot. Each note lights up its links as it gets focus, and Enter or Space opens it. Screen readers hear each note's title and its number of links.

Why the map looks the way it does

The note map lays itself out with a few simple forces:

• Every dot pushes the others away, so notes do not pile up.
• Every link pulls its two notes together, like a spring.
• A gentle pull toward the middle keeps the whole map in view.

So the shape means something. A tight cluster is a group of notes that link to each other a lot. A note between two clusters is a bridge between two topics. A dot out on its own has few links. When you drag a dot, the notes linked to it follow, and the map settles again when you let go.

Filter the map: one workspace, a search, or every note

Three controls sit above the map:

• The workspace menu. All workspaces shows everything. Pick one workspace to see only its notes and the links between them, which is the best view of a single project or client.
• Find a note… Type part of a title. Matching dots stay bright and show their names, and everything else fades, so one note is easy to spot in a crowded map.
• Show all notes. By default the map shows only notes with at least one link, in or out. Show all notes adds your unlinked notes as loose dots, which is the quickest way to find notes with no links at all. Linked notes only switches back.

Build a map worth looking at

A graph view is only as good as the links behind it. These habits make the map useful quickly:

• Link while you write. When a note mentions a person, project or idea that has its own note, type [[ and link it. It takes a second and adds a line.
• Make hub notes on purpose. A note per project, client or topic gives links a place to meet, and it becomes one of the big dots.
• Start from templates that link. The Project brief template has a Links section ready for the notes that belong to the project. See note templates and repeating notes.
• Link meetings to people and decisions. Meeting notes that point to a person's note and to decision notes turn the map into a record of who decided what. With a connected calendar, you can make a meeting note from any event.
• Bring your old links. When you import notes from Notion, Evernote and Obsidian, links between the imported notes come along, so an imported library shows its structure on day one.

What people use the note map for

• Finding hubs. The biggest dots are the notes everything else leans on: often a project brief, a key client or a core idea. Keep those notes tidy.
• Finding orphans. With Show all notes, loose dots are notes with no links in or out. Link them, merge them, or let them go.
• Reviewing a project. Filter the map to the project's workspace before a review and see how research, meetings and decisions connect.
• Exploring research. In a library of small linked notes, clusters show the topics you have written about most, and thin spots show gaps worth filling.
• Learning an imported library. After an import from Obsidian, the map shows the vault's structure right away, including notes you forgot you had.

A five-minute map review

Once a week, or at the end of a project, the map makes a quick tidy-up easy:

1. Open Note map and pick the workspace you are working in.
2. Choose Show all notes and look for loose dots. Open each one and link it where it belongs, or delete it if you no longer need it.
3. Point at the biggest dots. Are they the notes you expect at the center? A stray note that became a hub may deserve a clearer title.
4. Type a topic in Find a note… and see which notes light up. The ones you expected but do not see are links waiting to be made.
5. Switch back to All workspaces to see how this part of your work connects to the rest.

It pairs well with the Weekly review template, which gives the week a note of its own to link from.

Large libraries

The note map is built for big libraries as well as small ones:

• Up to 800 notes at once. When more notes qualify, the map shows the 800 most linked and says so: Showing the 800 most linked notes. Choose a workspace to see the rest.
• A map that stays recognizable. Each note starts from the same spot every time, so the map looks the same when you come back to it, and notes keep their places while you change filters.
• Moves are for now. Dragging a dot gives you a clearer view in the moment. The map does not remember where you put it the next time it opens.

Details and limits

• Note links only. The map draws [[ links between notes. Web links and bookmarks add no lines, and neither do tags from imported notes, which Barside keeps as text.
• Lines without arrows. A line means one of the two notes links to the other. To see which, open a note and read Linked from under it.
• One map, kept simple. There is no separate local graph with a depth setting, and no custom color groups. Pointing at a note shows its links, and workspace colors do the grouping.
• Modes. Default Mode, Writer Mode and Reader Mode show the note map in the sidebar. Team Mode and Creator Mode keep it on the More tab, Custom Mode shows it if you pick it, and the search bar always finds it. See app modes.
• Systems. The note map works the same on Windows 10 and 11, on Linux and on Mac.

Privacy

The note map is drawn on your computer from the notes stored there. No part of your notes or links is uploaded to draw it, and it works with no internet connection. Read how tasks, templates, links and the note map stay on your computer.

How it compares

Obsidian's graph view offers more controls: a local graph around the open note with a depth slider, color groups built from searches, arrows, and forces you can tune. Barside's note map keeps to the essentials: dots, lines, workspace colors, a search, a workspace filter and a switch for unlinked notes. What Barside adds is everything around the map, because your tasks, reading, meetings, recordings and drawings live in the same notes the map connects.

Compare the two apps in the Obsidian alternative guide, or see where Barside fits among the best second brain apps and the best note-taking apps. If you care most about keeping your data on your own computer, read about the best local-first apps.

Works well with