Most note apps treat notes as isolated documents. You write something, file it somewhere, and hope you can find it later. MonoJot's Map panel takes a different approach: it makes the relationships between notes as visible as the notes themselves.

This article explains how the Map panel works, what it shows, and how to use it to navigate and build a connected set of notes.

Opening the Map panel

The Map panel is one of MonoJot's four side panels, alongside Info, Writing Insights, and Today. To open it, click the map icon in the panel toolbar on the right edge of the screen, or use the command palette (Cmd K / Ctrl K) and search for Map.

The panel shows information about the currently open note. Switch to a different note and the Map updates automatically.

The foundation of the Map is the note link — a reference from one note to another, written using double-bracket syntax:

See also [[Project brief]] and the notes from [[Kickoff meeting 14 May]].

To create a link, type [[ anywhere in the editor. A picker appears showing notes that match what you type next. Select one from the list or finish typing and press Enter. The resulting link is clickable in rendered view and takes you directly to the referenced note.

Tip
Note links work even if the target note doesn't exist yet. MonoJot will offer to create it when you click the link. This lets you sketch out a structure before filling in the content.

What the Map panel shows

Open the Map panel with any note active and you'll see four sections:

Outgoing links

Every [[Note Title]] link in the current note appears here. Click any entry to jump to that note. If a linked note doesn't exist yet, it shows with a dashed outline and a "Create note" prompt.

Backlinks

This is the more powerful half. Backlinks are other notes that link to this one. MonoJot scans your entire library and surfaces any note that contains [[Current Note Title]]. You didn't have to do anything to create this list — it builds itself as you write.

Backlinks are how you discover unexpected connections. A note you wrote three months ago might link to something you just wrote today.

Tags

Every #tag used in the current note is listed here, with the number of other notes that share that tag. Clicking a tag filters the library to show all notes with that tag.

Mentions

Every @mention in the current note appears in this section. Like tags, clicking a mention filters the library to show all notes that reference that person or project.

The Map panel isn't just a display — it's a navigation tool. Every item in each section is a link:

  • Click an outgoing link to open the linked note.
  • Click a backlink to open the note that references this one.
  • Click a tag or mention to filter the library.

Combined with the library panel on the left, the Map gives you two ways to move through your notes: by time and title (the library), or by relationship (the Map).

Building a useful note network

The Map becomes more useful the more you use it. A few practices that help:

Link liberally in daily notes

Daily notes are a natural place to reference ongoing projects, recurring meetings, and people. Every link you add there builds out the backlink list on the other end — so a project note gradually accumulates a list of every day you thought about it.

Use consistent tags

Tags are only useful if you use them consistently. Decide on a small set of tags that reflect how you think — by project, by status, by type — and stick to them. The Map's tag section then becomes a reliable filter rather than a list of one-off labels.

Don't worry about the structure upfront

Unlike a folder system, the Map doesn't require you to decide where a note belongs before you write it. Write first, link as you go, and the structure emerges naturally from the connections you make.

Note
The Map panel is read-only — it reflects what's in your notes, not the other way around. To add a connection, edit the note itself.

Keyboard shortcuts

Working with the Map panel is faster with the keyboard:

  • Cmd K / Ctrl K — open the command palette and search for any note or action
  • [[ — trigger the note-link picker while in the editor
  • Alt ← / Alt → — navigate back and forward through your note history

The Map panel rewards a writing habit. The more notes you write and link, the more useful it becomes — not because it imposes a structure, but because it surfaces the structure that already exists in how you think.