Practical tips
Everything you need to know about how to build and work with spatial tables
This page contains practical information for the following tasks:
Assigning vertical labels
Vertical labels serve as the foundation for hierarchical categorization within the app. A vertical label is always assigned to a shape and subsequently assigned to data items, such as sticky notes and text boxes, placed within the shape.
Nesting shapes with vertical labels within other shapes with vertical labels enables the interpretation of hierarchical relationships.
Assigning vertical labels is a straightforward process, provided that the following guidelines are observed:
Vertical labels are always positioned above the shape.
They can be placed anywhere along the top margin of the shape, as long as their center points are above the shape.
The label must be positioned in close proximity to the shape, with some margin optionally allowed. It is recommended to test the distance between them. Note of the text boxes in the example below will be intepreted correctly as vertical shapes.
Any font size can be used, as long as the above spacing requirements are satisfied.
Different font colors, bold and italicized fonts, and text backgrounds, as well as text highlighting, are allowed.
Assigning horizontal labels
Working with sticky note and text box data items
Sticky notes and text boxes serve as fundamental data types within Miro's spatial tables. Each sticky note is treated as a distinct data item, while a text box will be interpreted as such unless it is first interpreted as a label.
To be associated with a parent category, data items must be contained within its corresponding shape. It is important to note that data items are always associated exclusively with their immediate parent shape, and should not overlap the boundary of the shape. Always select a shape to see its true boundary and ensure proper alignment of data items.
Working with color tags
The definition of color tags requires the use of a specific vertical category label (e.g., Color tag). This label, along with its associated shape, functions similarly to a map legend, where the different color tag labels will be specified.
Each color tag label is described by a sticky note placed inside the associated shape. The text content of each sticky note represents the label, and the color of the sticky note corresponds to the tag color that will be associated with the label.
When defining a vertical label as a color tag legend label, it should be named with one of the following exact strings: "color tags", "colour tags", "Color tags", "Colour tags", "color legend", "colour legend", "Color legend", or "Colour legend".
Working with shape tags
To use shape tags, you need to define a vertical label category that will act as a legend for the shape tag labels. This category label and its associated shape define the area where shape tags and their corresponding labels will be placed.
Each individual shape tag is defined by placing the shape adjacent to the label that it is associated with.
The category label must have one of the following exact string names: "Shape tags", "Shape Tags", or "shape tags".
Assigning labels to sticky note clusters
A cluster of sticky notes is formed when two or more notes overlap in space. The overlap is determined by the shape of a selected sticky note, which is larger than the note visible on the board when unselected.
A cluster will only appear in the results table if it is labeled. To label a cluster, place a text box in close proximity to it. The label should not meet the criteria of a vertical or horizontal label.
Using line connectors
Line connectors allow you to establish direct parent-child relationships between data items, which can be sticky notes or shapes.
Simply select the Line Connector tool in the left Miro toolbar and draw a line starting from the parent item and ending at the child item. All types of line start and end connectors are supported.
Text box interpretation precedence
At times, a text box may fulfill the requirements for more than one label type, such as being both a cluster label and a horizontal label.
In such cases, the text box is intepreted in the following order of importance:
Vertical label
Horizontal label
Cluster label
Data item
A text box will only be interpreted as as a data item if it cannot be first interpreted as a vertical label, horizontal label, or cluster label. A text box will only be interpreted as a cluster label if it cannot be first interpreted as a vertical label or a horizontal label.
Last updated
