Board Basics

Redline's investigation boards provide an infinite canvas for organizing and connecting information. This guide covers the fundamentals of working with boards.

Creating a Board

1. Launch Redline
2. Click New Board in the sidebar or press Cmd/Ctrl + N
3. Enter a name for your board
4. Start adding nodes!

Board Limit

Personal licenses are limited to 5 boards. Pro and Enterprise licenses have unlimited boards.

Canvas Navigation

Panning

• Mouse: Click and drag on empty canvas space
• Trackpad: Two-finger scroll
• Keyboard: Arrow keys

Zooming

• Mouse wheel: Scroll to zoom in/out
• Trackpad: Pinch to zoom
• Keyboard: Cmd/Ctrl + + / -
• Fit to View: Cmd/Ctrl + 1

Quick Navigation

• Reset View: Cmd/Ctrl + 0
• Fit All Nodes: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + 1

Adding Nodes

There are several ways to add nodes to your board:

Quick Add (Double-click)

1. Double-click anywhere on the canvas
2. Select a node type from the menu
3. Fill in the node details

Drag from Toolbar

1. Click the node type in the left toolbar
2. Drag onto the canvas
3. Release to place the node

AI Assistant

Ask the AI assistant to create nodes:

"Create an actor node for Elon Musk"

The AI will search for information and create enriched nodes automatically.

Paste URLs

1. Copy a URL to your clipboard
2. Click on the canvas and press Cmd/Ctrl + V
3. Redline automatically creates the appropriate node type:
   • Social media URLs become Social nodes
   • News articles become Newsfeed nodes
   • Other URLs become Embed nodes with OpenGraph previews

Working with Nodes

Selecting Nodes

• Single node: Click on the node
• Multiple nodes: Hold Shift and click, or drag a selection box
• Select all: Cmd/Ctrl + A

Moving Nodes

• Click and drag a selected node
• Move multiple nodes by selecting them first, then dragging

Editing Nodes

• Double-click a node to open the editor
• Make changes in the Context Panel on the right
• Changes save automatically

Deleting Nodes

• Select the node(s)
• Press Delete or Backspace
• Or right-click and select "Delete"

Creating Connections

Connections show relationships between nodes.

Drawing Connections

1. Hover over a node to see connection handles
2. Drag from a handle to another node
3. Release to create the connection

Connection Types

Right-click a connection to change its type:

• Related - General relationship
• Caused - Causal relationship
• Led to - Sequential relationship
• Contradicts - Conflicting information
• Supports - Supporting evidence
• Member of - Membership relationship

Editing Connections

• Click on a connection line to select it
• Add a label in the Context Panel
• Delete with Delete key

Organizing with Regions

Regions are visual containers for grouping nodes.

Creating Regions

1. Select multiple nodes you want to group
2. Right-click and select "Create Region"
3. Name your region

Region Features

• Drag the region to move all contained nodes
• Resize by dragging the edges
• Collapse/expand to hide details
• Color-code for visual organization

Using Narratives

Narratives group related nodes into storylines. Unlike regions, narratives are logical groupings that don't require visual proximity.

Creating Narratives

1. Select nodes to include
2. Right-click and select "Create Narrative"
3. Or ask the AI: "Create a narrative about the Ukraine conflict"

Narrative Features

• Auto-Summary: AI generates executive summaries
• Relevance Levels: Core, Major, Related, Peripheral
• Narrative Links: Connect related narratives (supports, contradicts, precedes, etc.)
• Status Tracking: Active, Dormant, Resolved, Archived

See Node Types for more details.

Timeline View

Events with dates appear in the Timeline View.

Opening Timeline

• Click the Timeline icon in the toolbar
• Or press Cmd/Ctrl + T

Timeline Navigation

• Scroll horizontally to move through time
• Click on an event to select it on the canvas
• Use zoom controls to adjust the time scale

Timeline Filters

• Show/hide specific node types
• Filter by narrative
• Filter by date range

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Action	Shortcut
Search Nodes	/
Delete Selected	Delete or Backspace
Undo	Cmd/Ctrl + Z
Redo	Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Z
Cancel/Close	Escape

Quick Create Nodes

Press these keys while on the canvas to quickly create a node at the cursor:

Key	Node Type
N	Note
E	Event
P	Prediction
A	Actor
O	Organization
L	Location
D	Document
M	Media
W	Newsfeed
S	Social
R	RSS Feed
B	Embed
G	Region

Board Settings

Access board settings by clicking the gear icon in the board header:

• Rename Board - Change the board name
• Export Board - Export as JSON for backup
• Board Stats - View node counts and statistics
• Delete Board - Permanently delete the board

Tips for Effective Investigations

1. Start with key entities - Create Actor and Organization nodes for the main subjects
2. Use the AI - Let it research and create nodes; you focus on analysis
3. Connect early - Draw connections as you discover relationships
4. Create narratives - Group related findings into storylines
5. Use regions - Visually organize clusters of related nodes
6. Add predictions - Track hypotheses and verify them over time
7. Subscribe to feeds - Monitor RSS feeds for new developments