Web of Facts is like a digital bulletin board where you can pin items (people, places, things) and draw lines between them to show how they're connected.
Think of it as a visual way to organize information that shows relationships — who knows whom, what's stored where, how things depend on each other.
What Can You Use It For?
👨👩👧👦 Family Trees
Show who is related to whom, across generations
✈️ Travel Planning
Connect destinations, hotels, flights, and activities
🏠 Home Inventory
Track what's in each room for insurance or moving
👥 Team Organization
Show who reports to whom and how teams connect
🖥️ IT Networks
Document servers, devices, and how they connect
📋 Project Planning
Track what depends on what and who's responsible
Quick Reference Card
Print this or keep it handy while learning!
Common Actions
Add something new
Click "Add Entity" or double-click empty space
Connect two things
Hold Shift and drag from one to another
Edit something
Click on it → edit in the panel on the right
Delete something
Click to select, then press Delete
Move something
Click and drag it to a new spot
Zoom in/out
Use your mouse scroll wheel
Move the view
Click and drag on empty space
Find something
Type in the search box at top
Save your work
It saves automatically! Click "Sync" for backup
Keyboard Shortcuts
Key
What It Does
?
Show all keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl/Cmd + Z
Undo last action
Ctrl/Cmd + Y
Redo last undone action
Ctrl/Cmd + S
Save/Sync to server
Ctrl/Cmd + F
Focus on search box
Ctrl/Cmd + A
Select all items
Delete or Backspace
Remove selected item(s)
Escape
Clear selection, close panel, clear search
Shift + Click
Add/remove item from selection
Shift + Drag
Draw a connection between items
D
Toggle dark mode
Scroll Wheel
Zoom in and out
Core Concepts
There are just three main ideas to understand:
⬤ Entities (Your Items)
An entity is anything you want to track — a person, place, thing, or idea. Each one appears as a colored shape on your canvas.
A relationship is a line connecting two entities, showing how they relate to each other.
Examples: "is married to", "located in", "reports to", "depends on"
📁 Projects (Workspaces)
A project is a complete workspace for one topic. Keep separate projects for different purposes.
Examples: "Smith Family Tree", "2024 Europe Trip", "Home Inventory"
💡 Tip
Think of entities as sticky notes and relationships as the strings connecting them on a bulletin board.
Creating Your First Project
Log in to your account
(Or create one if you're new — it only takes a minute)
Click "New Project"
You'll see this button on your Projects page
Choose a template
Pick one that matches what you want to track:
General Purpose — flexible for anything
Network/IT — for computers and infrastructure
Home Inventory — for tracking possessions
Travel Planner — for trip planning
Capability Map — for business capabilities and applications
Genealogy — for family trees and ancestry
Org Chart — for organizational hierarchies and reporting lines
Name your project
Use something descriptive like "Smith Family Tree" or "Living Room Inventory"
Choose who can see it
Private — only you
Organization — your team members
Public — anyone with the link
Click "Create"
Your project opens and you're ready to start!
Adding Items (Entities)
The Quick Way: Double-Click
Double-click anywhere on the empty canvas
Select the type from the dropdown (Person, Place, etc.)
Fill in the details — fields with a red * are required
Click "Save" — your item appears on the canvas!
Alternative: Use the Button
Click the "Add Entity" button in the sidebar, then follow steps 2-4 above.
Right-Click Method
Right-click anywhere on the canvas and choose "Add Entity Here".
💡 Tip: Cloning
Need to add several similar items? Right-click an existing one and choose "Clone" to make a copy, then just edit the differences.
Connecting Items (Relationships)
The Quick Way: Shift + Drag
Hold the Shift key
Click on the first item and drag to the second item
Release — a form appears
Select the relationship type (e.g., "is parent of", "located in")
Click "Save"
Alternative: Use the Button
Click "Add Relationship" in the sidebar
Click the first item (where the connection starts)
Click the second item (where it ends)
Select the type and click "Save"
📝 Note
Relationships have a direction — there's a "from" and a "to". The arrow shows which way it goes. "John → is parent of → Mary" means John is Mary's parent.
Getting Around the Canvas
To Do This...
Do This
Zoom in/out
Scroll with your mouse wheel
Move the view around
Click and drag on empty space
See everything at once
Click "Fit to View" button
Find a specific item
Type in the search box — matches highlight in yellow
Clear search
Press Escape or click the X
Select multiple items
Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each one
💡 Tip: Lost Items?
If you can't see your items, click "Fit to View" — it will zoom out and center everything on screen.
Undoing Mistakes
Made a mistake? No problem! Web of Facts keeps track of your recent actions.
How to Undo
Click the Undo button in the sidebar, or
Press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac)
How to Redo
Click the Redo button in the sidebar, or
Press Ctrl+Y (or Cmd+Y on Mac)
You can undo up to 50 recent actions, including:
Creating entities and relationships
Editing properties
Deleting items
Moving entities on the canvas
Dark Mode
Prefer a darker interface? It's easy to switch!
How to Toggle Dark Mode
Click the moon/sun icon in the header, or
Press D on your keyboard
Your preference is automatically saved — next time you visit, you'll see your preferred theme.
Working with Multiple Items
Need to work with several items at once? Use multi-selection!
Selecting Multiple Items
What You Want
How To Do It
Add item to selection
Hold Shift and click the item
Select all items
Click "Select All" or press Ctrl+A
Clear selection
Click "Clear Selection" or press Escape
Bulk Actions
When you have multiple items selected, a toolbar appears with these options:
Delete — Remove all selected items at once
Export — Save selected items to a JSON file
💡 Tip
Bulk delete can be undone! If you accidentally delete multiple items, just press Ctrl+Z to bring them back.
Generating Reports
Create printable summaries and analysis of your project data.
How to Generate a Report
Open your project
Click the "Reports" button in the sidebar
Select a report type from the dropdown
The report generates automatically
Available Reports
Project Summary — Overview of your project
Type Distribution — Breakdown by entity type
Timeline Analysis — Items organized by date
Connection Analysis — Most/least connected items
Orphan Detection — Find unconnected items
Plus many more specific to your project template!
Printing and Exporting
Click "Print" to print or save as PDF
Click "Export" to download the data
Dashboard Overview
The Dashboard gives you a quick summary of all your projects at a glance.
What You'll See
Total Projects — How many projects you have
Total Entities — All items across all projects
Total Relationships — All connections across projects
Recent Activity — Projects modified this week
Recent Projects — Quick access to your 5 most recent projects
Collapsing the Dashboard
If you prefer more space for your project list, click "Hide" to collapse the dashboard. Click "Show" to expand it again. Your preference is remembered!
Saving Your Work
Good News: It's Automatic!
Your work saves to your browser every 2 seconds. You don't need to do anything — just work, and it's saved.
For Extra Safety: Sync to Server
Click the "Sync to Server" button to upload your work. This:
Creates a backup on the server
Lets you access your work from other devices
Shares your changes with collaborators
⚠️ Important
If you want others to see your changes, or you're switching to a different computer, always Sync first!
What If My Browser Crashes?
Don't worry! When you reopen your project, you'll be asked if you want to recover your auto-saved work. Just click "Yes" and everything will be restored.
Sharing with Others
Step 1: Set Project Visibility
Visibility
Who Can See It
Private
Only you (and people you specifically invite)
Organization
Everyone in your team/organization
Public
Anyone with the link (view only)
Step 2: Add Specific People (Optional)
Click "Manage Permissions" in the sidebar
Enter the person's email address
Choose their permission level:
Viewer — can look but not change anything
Editor — can make changes
Owner — full control (can delete, share with others)
Click "Grant Permission"
Import & Export
Exporting Your Data
Click "Export/Print" in the sidebar to see your options:
Format
Best For
Spreadsheet (.xlsx)
Opening in Excel, sharing data, making reports
Image (SVG)
Documents, presentations (stays sharp when resized)
Image (PNG)
Quick sharing, social media, email
Database file
Complete backup of everything
Importing from a Spreadsheet
Prepare your spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets with column headers matching the field names
Click "Import Spreadsheet" in the sidebar
Select your file
Review the preview — check what will be added or changed
Click "Apply Changes"
📝 Note
Column headers in your spreadsheet must exactly match field names. If import isn't working, double-check your headers.
Troubleshooting
"I can't find my project"
Check you're in the right organization (use the dropdown at top)
Make sure you're logged into the correct account
Try searching on the Projects page
"My changes aren't showing for my teammate"
Click "Sync to Server" to upload your changes
Ask your teammate to refresh their browser
Check they have at least Viewer permission
"I accidentally deleted something"
If you haven't synced yet, refresh the page — auto-save may have an earlier version
Contact support if critical data was lost after syncing
"The canvas looks empty"
Click "Fit to View" — items may be off-screen
Try zooming out with your scroll wheel
Clear the search box if you have a search active
"I can't edit the project"
Check your permission level (shown in the header)
You need Editor or Owner access to make changes
Contact the project owner to request edit access
Glossary
Term
What It Means
Entity
Any item in your project (person, place, thing, event)
Relationship
A connection between two entities
Project
A complete workspace containing related entities and relationships
Template
A pre-configured starting point with common entity types
