> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://helpdesk.smaply.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://helpdesk.smaply.app/journey-maps/lanes/how-to-use-freeform-lanes.md). # How to use freeform lanes A freeform lane turns a lane into an open canvas. Cards sit wherever you drop them instead of snapping to the column grid, and they stay exactly there when columns are added or removed elsewhere on the map.

A freeform lane at the top of a journey map. Four cards joined by connector arrows sit off the column grid, an image card acts as a backdrop with two text cards overlaid on it as callouts, and a pale green card sits behind a cluster of three cards as a grouping zone. The flow lane below shows the column dividers the freeform lane does not have. — A freeform lane: cards placed off the grid, joined by connectors

{% hint style="info" icon="tag" %} Freeform lanes are available on the **Repository** plan and above. {% endhint %} To add a freeform lane, use the **+ Add lane** picker and choose **Freeform** under **ADVANCED LANES**, the same way you add any other lane. A new freeform lane arrives with a small starter example, two cards reading **Start** and **End** joined by a connector, that you can edit or replace. See [How to add and manage lanes](/journey-maps/lanes/how-to-add-and-manage-lanes.md) for the full add and manage flow.

A newly added freeform lane at the top of a journey map. Its header shows a Templates link and the hint Hold ⌘ CMD to add cards, and the canvas holds two cards, Start and End, joined by a connector arrow. — A new freeform lane, with its starter example

The lane's three-dot menu works like any other lane's, with one exception: a freeform lane has no **Duplicate lane below**. To get a second copy, use **Copy lane** and then **Paste lane below**. *** #### How to start from a freeform lane template The quickest way to a useful freeform lane is to start from a template instead of placing every card yourself. Click **Templates** in the lane header to open **Freeform lane templates**, which offers four ready-made diagram layouts: **Concept hierarchy**, **Mind map**, **Affinity map**, and **Root cause (Fishbone diagram)**. Pick the one closest to what you're mapping, then relabel the cards.

The Freeform lane templates dialog, showing four layout thumbnails: Concept hierarchy, Mind map, Affinity map, and Root cause (Fishbone diagram), each with a one-line description underneath. — Freeform lane templates

*** #### How to add and position cards on a freeform canvas A freeform lane has no **+ Add card** button. Adding a card uses a modifier key instead. {% stepper %} {% step %} **Hold Cmd and click where you want the card** Hold **Cmd** (Mac) or **Ctrl** (Windows) and click any spot on the canvas. The card picker opens at the point you clicked. The lane header shows the reminder **Hold ⌘ CMD to add cards**.

A freeform lane with the card picker open at the point on the canvas that was Command-clicked. The picker offers Text as the Enter quick-select, then BASIC CARDS with Image, Stage, Icons, and Slider, and ADVANCED CARDS with Embed, Planning, and Metric, the list continuing past the bottom of the frame. — Cmd-click opens the card picker at that spot

{% endstep %} {% step %} **Pick a card type** A freeform lane holds every card type, and **Text** is the default, so press Enter to take it. The new card lands with its top-left corner exactly where you clicked. {% endstep %} {% endstepper %} To move a card afterwards, drag it. Nothing snaps and no column highlights, so it stays where you release it. If dragging selects the card's text instead of moving the card, click away from it first to leave edit mode. To change a card's width, drag its right edge. Freeform cards take any width, which is also why **Expand** and **Shrink** are greyed out in the card menu: there are no columns to span. Height follows the content, so a text card grows as you type and an image card scales to keep its proportions. Editing card content, colours, tags, personas, and comments works the same as anywhere else on the map. See [How to add and edit cards](/journey-maps/cards/how-to-add-and-edit-cards.md) for the shared card mechanics. *** #### How to connect cards in a freeform lane Cards in a freeform lane connect with the same arrows as a flow lane. Click a card to show its four attach points, one at the middle of each edge, then drag from an attach point onto another card and release. Connectors stay inside the one lane, and inside it they run from any edge to any edge in any direction.

A selected card in a freeform lane, reading Automated check, showing four blue connector attach points at the middle of its top, bottom, left, and right edges, with the card toolbar above it. — Click a card to show its four connector attach points

For the full connector walkthrough, including how to re-route and remove one, see [How to use flow lanes](/journey-maps/lanes/how-to-use-flow-lanes.md). *** #### How to layer and group cards by overlapping them Cards on a freeform canvas can overlap, which gives you two layouts the grid can't. Both are built from ordinary cards. An image card works as a backdrop with text cards laid over it as callouts, which is how you annotate a screenshot, a photo of a whiteboard, or a piece of research. See [How to use image cards](/journey-maps/cards/how-to-use-image-cards.md) for getting a picture into the card.

An image card used as a backdrop in a freeform lane, with two white text cards overlaid on top of it as callouts reading No progress shown and Which ID counts? — An image backdrop with text cards as callouts

One wide card in a pale accent colour with the **Light background** style, sitting behind a cluster, reads as a labelled zone. The card's own text becomes the group label.

A wide pale green card labelled Verification steps sitting behind three white text cards reading ID document, Selfie check, and Proof of address, so the group reads as one labelled zone. — A pale card behind a cluster, read as a labelled zone

{% hint style="warning" %} #### **Important: The card you add first sits in front** Stacking follows the order the cards were added, and you can't change it afterwards. There is no bring to front or send to back, and dragging a card doesn't restack it. So build these layouts back to front: add the callouts before the backdrop image, and the cluster before the grouping card. A card that ends up completely covered by a later one can't be clicked at all. {% endhint %}

Two overlapping cards in a freeform lane. The later-added card, Manual review, sits behind the earlier Automated check card, and its text is clipped where the two overlap. — The later-added card sits behind the earlier one

*** #### How to make a freeform lane taller A freeform lane is as wide as the map, and it grows downward when the diagram needs more room. Hover the strip along the lane's bottom edge until a blue line appears across the full width of the lane, then drag that line down.

The bottom of a freeform lane with a solid blue line drawn across the full width of the lane, revealed by hovering the strip at the lane's bottom edge. The flow lane header sits directly below it. — Hover the lane's bottom edge to reveal the blue resize line

*** #### Why freeform cards stay put when columns change Freeform cards belong to the canvas, not to a column, and the lane shows it: a freeform lane draws no column dividers inside it while its neighbours do. Add a column anywhere on the map and every freeform card keeps its exact position, while cards in grid and flow lanes reflow to follow the new structure.

A journey map with a freeform lane above a flow lane. The freeform lane holds an off-grid flow of four cards, an image backdrop with callouts, and a pale grouping zone. In the flow lane below, the card Approved sits in the second column. — Before: Approved sits in the flow lane's second column

The same journey map after a column is added. Every card in the freeform lane is in exactly the same place, while in the flow lane below the card Approved has moved one column to the right. — After adding a column: the freeform cards have not moved, and Approved has shifted one column right

Deleting a column doesn't move freeform cards either, and it doesn't delete the ones sitting over it. For the column controls themselves, see [How to add and manage columns](/journey-maps/lanes/how-to-add-and-manage-columns.md). {% hint style="warning" %} #### **Important: A card's position carries no meaning for the columns** Because freeform cards never reflow, a card sitting above a column has no relationship to that step. Don't read the columns underneath a freeform lane as labels for what's above them, and don't rely on horizontal position to say which step a card belongs to. Use a connector or the card's own text instead. {% endhint %} *** #### Freeform lanes vs flow lanes Freeform and flow lanes both connect cards with arrows. The difference is structure: a flow lane keeps the column grid, and a freeform lane drops it. * **Freeform lane** - an open canvas where cards stay exactly where you place them. Best for whiteboard-style diagrams that don't follow the journey's steps. * **Flow lane** - a grid of swimlanes and columns where cards align to steps and reflow when you add a column. Best for service blueprints and process flows tied to the journey. | | **Freeform lane** | **Flow lane** | | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Best for** | Whiteboard-style diagrams, off-grid layouts | Service blueprints and process flows tied to journey steps | | **Card placement** | Anywhere on the canvas, and it stays there | Snaps to a swimlane and column, and reflows when columns change | | **Card width** | Any width, no snapping | Snaps to column boundaries | | **Column grid?** | No | Yes | | **Swimlanes and lines of interaction?** | No | Yes | | **Connector arrows?** | Yes | Yes | *** #### Related topics

Title	Description	Target
How to use flow lanes	The grid-based sibling with swimlanes and columns, where connected cards follow the journey's steps.	/pages/qMJDhOYEVQ0ekNH9KpPU
How to add and manage lanes	Add a freeform lane, reorder it, recolour it, or delete it, alongside every other lane type.	/pages/cEW7pumNPGKdJ65EEAz7
How to add and edit cards	Add cards to a freeform lane and manage their tags, personas, and comments.	/pages/DI00pTOdaJmOwltHKgIa
How to add and manage columns	Add, remove, and reorganise the columns that freeform cards deliberately ignore.	/pages/WNBA1RdaCt3rMhxOcLHD
How to use grid lanes	The row-and-column lane a freeform lane drops the grid from, for tables, channels, and matrices.	/pages/lZD6w7ZNrPaXH8F0kQNn

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