TabTree ← Learn TabTree

Module 5 · Level 2 · 10 min

Bring in what you already have

The question that actually decides whether someone switches tools is never “is it nicer?”. It is “do my ten years of files still open?”

What comes in, and how

FormatHowWhat you get
.xmindDrag the file onto the appThe map, branches and notes
MarkdownDrag, or pasteHeadings and lists become the tree
OPMLDragThe outline, level for level
CSV, TSV, ExcelImport as rows, in the sheet viewOne row per line, columns kept
A Trello exportDragLists become columns, cards become cards
.tabtreeOpen a .tabtree — or import… in the libraryA map from a colleague, or from your own folder

None of this asks for an account, an upload or a conversion service. The file is read in your browser and never leaves your machine.

Paste first, tidy after

The library carries a box most people walk past: Turn your mess into a map. Meeting notes, an answer from an AI, an email thread — paste it, say what you are looking for, and it comes back laid out, with the real to-dos already marked as tasks.

It is the fastest way to start from something you already wrote rather than from a blank node, and it pairs with the views: paste the notes, then press Kanban to see what the meeting actually committed you to.

Coming from XMind specifically

There is a page for exactly that: drop a .xmind file into the browser and watch it open, before you decide anything. Worth sending to someone who is still paying a subscription and assumes leaving means losing.

Do the boring check first. Import your three most complicated old maps, not your three prettiest. If the awkward ones survive, everything else will.

Your turn

Find the oldest map you still care about, open it here, and publish it as a link.

Going from a file you could barely open to an address you can send to anyone, in two minutes, is the whole argument for the switch — made on your own material rather than on a demo.