Kumu
  • Getting started
    • Welcome
    • Kumu 101
    • First steps
    • Quick tips
    • Webinars
  • Overview
    • Kumu's architecture
    • Accounts and workspaces
    • Kumu.io and Kumu Enterprise
    • Billing
    • User interfaces
      • Dashboard
      • Settings
      • Map editor
      • View editors
      • Quick Actions
    • Collaborating and sharing
    • Actions and permissions
    • Security
    • Advanced Editor hub
      • @settings reference
      • @controls reference
      • Color reference
      • Property reference
      • Selector reference
  • DISCIPLINES
    • SNA / Network Mapping
    • Systems mapping
    • Systems Practice workbook
  • Guides
    • Activity feed
    • Add-ons
      • Disqus
    • Bridge
    • Cluster
    • Controls
      • Cluster control
      • Color-legend control
      • Filter control
      • Focus control
      • Image control
      • Label control
      • Showcase control
      • SNA-dashboard control
      • Tagged-timeline control
      • Text Control
      • Title Control
      • View toggle control
    • Decorations
      • Direct decorations
      • Data-driven decorations
      • Flags
      • Icons
      • Images
      • Label templates
      • Popovers
    • Default view settings
    • Export
    • Fields
      • Computed fields
    • Filter
    • Focus
    • Forking
    • Grids & Guides
    • Import
      • Structure your data for Kumu
      • Excel / CSV
      • Google Sheets
      • JSON / Blueprints
    • Imported views
    • Layouts
      • Fixed
      • Force-directed
      • Remove overlap
      • Scatter
      • Snap-to
    • Legends
    • Licensing
    • Lightbox
    • Loops
    • Metrics
    • Two-factor authentication
    • Pro workspaces
      • Archiving projects
      • Discussions
    • Partial views
    • Presentations
    • Profiles
      • Markdown
    • Project admin
    • Selectors
    • Shapes
    • Share and embed maps
    • Shortcuts
    • Showcase
    • Slugs
    • Table
    • Templates
      • Geo template
    • URLs
    • Views
    • Widgets
  • About Kumu
    • What is Kumu?
    • How does it work?
    • Where can I get help?
  • Enterprise
    • About enterprise
    • Getting started with VMWare
    • Upgrading
    • Configuration
    • Creating user accounts
    • SSH Access
    • Single sign-on
    • Backing up enterprise data
    • Restoring enterprise data
    • Command line utilities
    • Changelog
  • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Does Kumu have a public API?
    • Does Kumu make use of AI?
    • How do I add annotations?
    • How do I add anchors to my map description?
    • How do I add arrows to my connections?
    • How do I add documents to profiles?
    • How do I add more than one element with the same label?
    • How do I add text dropdowns to my map overview?
    • How do I adjust arrow size?
    • How do I avoid duplicating data?
    • How do I change connection curvature?
    • How do I change font color?
    • How do I change font size?
    • How do I change the default for currency fields?
    • How do I change the length or strength of connections?
    • How do I change the order of control options?
    • How do I change the position of my element labels?
    • How do I cite Kumu?
    • How do I collapse duplicate connections?
    • How do I copy a map to another project?
    • How do I control label size while scaling element size?
    • How do I control text wrapping?
    • How do I convert a project from private to public?
    • How do I convert a project from public to private?
    • How do I create dynamic on/off toggles for my map?
    • How do I customize link text in popovers?
    • How do I customize the order of my legend?
    • How do I delete a project, map, or view?
    • How do I delete data from my project?
    • How do I downgrade my subscription?
    • How do I edit virtual elements?
    • How do I get rid of duplicates?
    • How do I hide elements without connections?
    • How do I hide images from the map but keep them in the profile?
    • How do I hide labels on my map?
    • How do I hide the settings button?
    • How do I keep elements from moving?
    • How do I list an element's connections in its profile?
    • How do I make elements transparent?
    • How do I make sense of my receipt?
    • How do I open a sub-system when clicking on an element?
    • How do I remove the Opposite entry from my legend?
    • How do I remove unneeded controls?
    • How do I remove unwanted legend entries?
    • How do I rename my map/view?
    • How do I restructure my adjacency matrix?
    • How do I save my changes in Kumu?
    • How do I select options by default in my control?
    • How do I set a minimum or maximum zoom level for my map?
    • How do I show the Settings button?
    • How do I size elements based on number of connections?
    • How do I transfer a project?
    • How do I update my credit card information?
    • How much data can my Kumu project handle?
    • How do my readers switch between maps and views?
    • My data won't import. What can I do?
    • My Kumu embed is not working. What can I do?
    • My map disappeared. How do I bring it back?
    • My PDF won't export. What can I do?
    • What pricing plans does Kumu have?
    • Where can I find my invoices?
    • Where can I find example Kumu projects?
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  • What are the main use cases for Kumu?
  • What are the key differences between accounts and workspaces?
  • Once I have an account, how do I get started with my first project?
  • Where can I go to learn more about Kumu?
  • Where can I go for help (or to show off my awesome work)?

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  1. Getting started

Kumu 101

PreviousWelcomeNextFirst steps

Last updated 1 month ago

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Kumu can be used in many different ways and for many different types of projects, but there's definitely a shared set of skills you need to know to get started with Kumu.

To make sure you have a solid foundation of knowledge to build on, you can use this list of questions to guide you through all of the core Kumu concepts:

In the past, we've run live webinars to work through each of these questions. You can check out a live recording of a Kumu 101 webinar below, or, if you would rather get the answers in writing, keep reading!

What are the main use cases for Kumu?

Kumu aims to help make sense of our messy world, specifically through system mapping and network mapping.

Those two disciplines include many different kinds of visuals: causal loop diagrams, stock-and-flow diagrams, stakeholder maps, actor maps…you get the idea! Each of these visuals has it’s own unique characteristics, but at their core, all of them consist of shapes connected by lines.

But compelling maps aren’t just shapes and lines—a great map takes multiple layers of complicated information, sculpts them into a story, and ultimately allows an audience of readers to extract valuable insights, even if the readers have never seen a system map or network map before.

So—whether you’re mapping systems, networks, causal loops, or stakeholders—as long as you’re goal is to make sense of complexity, Kumu would love to help!

What are the key differences between accounts and workspaces?

Each person who wants to edit any Kumu projects needs an account. An account is free to create, and it allows you to log into Kumu and access all of your projects, and projects that you’ve been given access to.

With your account, you also get a Basic workspace. In Kumu, workspaces are like folders, where you organize related projects. Your Basic workspace is a great place to keep personal projects.

If you have projects that multiple people need to collaborate on, you can create a Pro workspace (or upgrade your initial Basic workspace to Pro), and invite your collaborators to join the workspace.

In the Kumu 101 recording, you'll hear me refer to "personal accounts" and "organizations". We renamed "organizations" to "workspaces", but their features and functionality did not change.

Once I have an account, how do I get started with my first project?

Where can I go to learn more about Kumu?

To help you learn more about Kumu, we've put together some great resources. First and foremost is this documentation website, where you can find guides on everything there is to know about Kumu.

Where can I go for help (or to show off my awesome work)?

For more info on the differences between accounts and workspaces, be sure to check out our and .

Awesome, you’ve signed up for an account! From there, I recommend working through our guide, which goes through everything you need to know to hit the ground running.

You can also subscribe to and check out the . In those two spaces, we talk and write not only about Kumu and its features, but also about systems thinking, network science, other products we build at Kumu, and the big ideas that inspire us.

If you get stuck and need advice, feel free to email us at . We're always happy to help. And if you have awesome work to share or showcase, we’d love to see it as well!

pricing page
our full guide on workspaces
First Steps
our blog, In Too Deep
In Too Deep podcast
support@kumu.io
What are the main use cases for Kumu?
What are the key difference between accounts and workspaces?
Once I have an account, how do I get started with my first project?
Where can I go to learn more about Kumu?
If I get stuck, where can I go for help?