Limited Autosave for Mindmup on Google Drive
We’ve restored limited autosave functionality in Mindmup for Google Drive. This makes it easier to work on a map when a single user is editing.
Why Autosave Is Limited
Before July 2018, Mindmup used the Google Drive Realtime API, which allowed safe, real-time collaboration on files stored in Drive. Google removed this API for third-party apps, including Mindmup.
As a result, maps saved as Google Drive files no longer support fully automatic saving or real-time collaboration.
Turning Autosave On
Mindmup for Google Drive now supports limited autosaving for single-user editing.
To enable it:
- Open the map.
- Select File › Turn on Autosave from the main menu.
Autosave sends changes to Google Drive periodically, currently about once per minute. Saving happens in the background, so you can keep working while it runs.
While saving, you’ll see a thin blue progress bar. Once it finishes, the app header will confirm that all changes are saved.
Turning Autosave Off
Autosave is set per map. You can enable it for some maps and keep others manually saved.
To turn it off for a map:
- Select File › Turn off Autosave from the main menu.
Important Limitations
Autosave is only safe for single-user work. Do not enable it if multiple people need to edit the same map at the same time.
Mindmup checks for remote changes periodically and can handle many common conflict scenarios, but this is not a full replacement for real-time collaboration. If remote changes are detected, you’ll be prompted to merge content and save the map again to Google Drive.
Recommended Option for Collaboration
If you need near-instant updates from multiple locations or want to collaborate on editing a map, we strongly recommend moving the map to Mindmup storage instead of Google Drive.
Learn More
For more details about changes related to Google Drive support, see the FAQ on Google Drive API deprecation. If you need help, contact us at contact@mindmup.com.