MindView 6 from Matchware- Solid Upgrade

When I heard that Matchware was releasing MindView 6, I was excited to find out its new feature set and how it would help me to do my work. For the past several years I have been using MindView 5 to craft my very structured consulting reports that I deliver to the schools that I work with. Over the years I have developed some templates that really have helped me to communicate ideas in a very clear fashion. One of the chief reasons that I go back to MindView time and time again is because I have always found that MindView has some of the best Microsoft Office integration when exporting mind maps to Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

The timing of the release for MindView 6 could not have been any better for me since I needed to complete a Request for a Proposal (RFP) for an assistive technology grant that the state was offering. I decided that I would test out the capabilities of this version by using MindView 6 to write up the proposal and estimate the costs for the proposed project. MindView 6 has a much cleaner look and

now adheres to the user interface conventions set forth by Microsoft. Users of previous versions will feel right at home using MindView 6 since the Ribbon structure has not been changed. When I am developing an RFP, I really like the ability to brainstorm ideas and what better way to do but in a mind map. Using MindView 6, I can get all my ideas down quickly and then begin to organize my ideas and activities. Moving ideas around MindView 6 is fast and intuitive and the interface shows you exactly where your idea will land-no guess work here. Once I had roughed out my ideas I was able to attach notes to my activities which would become the body of my RFP. The interface of MindView 6 to create notes feels as if you are in a mini version of Word, complete with a full array of formatting tools at your disposal.

One of the requirements of any grant is to spell out the costs and this is an area that you would not normally think of using a mind map for but in the case of MindView 6 you would be wrong. MindView 6 has powerful calculation features which enables the user to create formulas that automatically update throughout the mind map. The ability to see your costs roll up on any activity in

the mind map works really well and it lets you do what if's in real time. Using the SUM feature you can easily roll up cost for a particular activity and see the impact it has on the overall estimate for the grant. In MindView 6, like it's predecessor, there is a Calculation panel that lets you create items, cost and formulas. Once you get the hang of it you will find this a handy feature when you need to work with numbers inside your mind map. With the release of MindView 6 you can now enter and edit

numbers directly on the item itself without the need to go into the Calculation Panel which saved me and inordinate amount of time. It is now easier then ever to set currency defaults-which saved me some time as well. While there were certainly a large number of improvements and features in MindView 6 most users will find them to be very subtle and well integrated into the application without feeling overwhelmed by feature creep. Once I had entered all my costs into the mind map I was able to export the financials into a well formatted Excel report that I could attach to the RFP. Hopefully, if I am successful and receive the grant I will be able to monitor the activities in the project management side of this application.


All in all my experience with MindView 6 was very positive in future posts, I will highlight some of the features that would make this an ideal tool for students.

I want to thank the folks at MatchWare for providing me a copy of MindVirew 6 so that I could do the review.

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From ConceptDraw MINDMAP 7 to Evernote- Seamless!

With each passing day, I am finding that Evernote is becoming a bigger part of my workflow and it is exciting to see how developers of other applications are taking advantage of this. Just today CS Odessa released an update to ConceptDraw MINDMAP 7 that seamlessly allows you to upload your mind maps to Evernote with a click of a button. If you have the Evernote application installed on your computer the upload takes place in the background and within seconds your outline and mind map are transferred to Evernote. For those of you who don't have the Evernote application, you can send your mind maps via an email client that you have installed on your computer. Since the Evernote application is free, I would highly recommend that you install it on your computer so that you can have this seamless experience uploading your mind maps to Evernote from within ConceptDraw MINDMAP 7. Watch the video below to see the Evernote options that are built-in to ConceptDraw MINDMAP 7.

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Inspiration Maps for the iPad- Simply Brilliant!

If you follow my blog then you know that just how important using mind mapping and graphic organizers is to me. I can remember seeing a demo of Inspiration 2.0 for the first time at an educational technology conference some time ago, and when I watched the view change from graphic organizer to outline view with a click of the mouse if was a real epiphany. From time on I was a changed man, and have been using Inspiration ever since, in the work that I do with students with learning disabilities. It is always really exciting for me to work with teachers and watch them as I demonstrate how to use Inspiration in the classroom. As soon as I teach them the basics you could see the lights go on as they are thinking of all the ways they could use it in the classroom. As schools begin to transition to a "post PC" world it was great that late last spring that Inspiration announced the release of Inspiration Maps for the iPad. Inspiration Maps brings the best of what Inspiration has to offer to the iPad with an extremely easy to use interface. Using Inspiration Maps day in and day out with students, I am always amazed how quickly they catch on and can jump right into the program. The folks at Inspiration did a wonderful job of translating their excellent program to the iPad without sacrificing what the program does best.

When you first open Inspiration Maps you are greeted with a Starter screen that lets you pick a graphic organizer from an assortment of templates that gets you into the process very quickly. Users of Inspiration will find many of their favorite templates still available on the iPad that are ideal of Social Studies, English, and Science. Many of the students that I work with find the touch interface to be easy to navigate and within minutes feel very comfortable using the program. Once students are introduced to RapidFire, it is incredible to see how quickly they can use Inspiration Maps as a brainstorming tool or for a pre-writing. Adding sentences to the Note card is a great way for students to get their ideas down. Showing students how to flip to the Outline View is always so much fun, and to watch the expressions on their faces is priceless. Having the the ability to have students move, organize and sequence their ideas in the Outline view is incredibly powerful as they write.

Of all the features the one that students really enjoy taking advantage of is bring in pictures from the camera and Camera Roll. Unlike Inspiration for the computer, Inspiration Maps does not ship with a library of pictures so in order to make your maps more visual, you can bring in pictures from your iPad to personalize your work. One tip that I learned awhile ago is that it is easy to copy pictures from Google Images into your Camera Roll, by simply holding your finger down on an image until the dialog pops up to that says Save Photo. Once you do that you will find the picture in the Camera Roll that can then be used with Inspiration Maps. If you know it advance that your students will be working a particular project and will need some specific pictures you can load them ahead of time using Google images so that your students can then simply select them from the camera Roll.

Sharing your Inspiration Maps is really easy and the program gives you lots of ways to do this. You can open up the maps in other programs when you are done which is a good option when you want to continue the writing process. I often have students send their Inspiration Maps outline to Pages which works really well. Inspiration Maps supports emailing your maps as an Inspiration Maps document or a PDF and from the Outline view it supports emailing the outline as text. Inspiration has done an excellent job of integrating Dropbox into the app which makes it easy to integrate it with your workflow if you are using Inspiration on a Mac or PC. By upgrading your desktop version of Inspiration to version 9.1, the latest build you can access your Inspiration Maps from your Dropbox account and continue working on it. Likewise, you can Export your Inspiration maps from your Mac or PC and open them with Inspiration Maps on your iPad.

Overall, you will find Inspiration Maps a joy to use and one that will benefit your students as they write, brainstorm, or think through academic content. The interface is very intuitive and the developers really devised the program and took into account the fact that the students would be interacting through touch. To this end Inspiration has accomplished a lot in providing educators with a robust and wonderful program to use in the classroom. So for me the tradition continues, as more and more of the students that I work with move to the iPad, is great to be able to recommend a program that I have relied upon for my entire career and that is Inspiration. Inspiration has a Lite version that you can trial for free which is well worth it-but once you begin to use it and see the value, you will want to upgrade to the full version which gives you great templates and better exporting features.

Tip: If you have Speak Selection turned on in Accessibility, your students can select any text in Inspiration Maps and have the iPad read it to them using the built-in  text to speech.

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Matchware Releases MindView 5

Without a lot of fanfare Matchware has recently released MindView 5, one of the leading mind mapping tools in the marketplace. Matchware, taking the lead from its customers, spent a great deal of time improving on the feature set of MindView in this current release. MindView 4 users will feel right at home using the latest version, knowing that the core of the product didn't change all that much. While some of the changes are rather subtle, make no mistake about it, they add a great deal of value to the existing application. While I intend to do a more in-depth review of the recent release, I want to highlight a couple of features which make the latest release of MindView 5 a great tool for students and those with disabilities.

Matchware over the years has made inroads with their mind mapping products to schools and has always had a keen interest in meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities. It is not everyday that a company considers incorporating the principles of Universal Design and Matchware should be applauded for including text to speech support, audio notes and a high contrast design for viewing the mind map on the screen. MindView 5 gives students access to wide array of views that can quickly be changed. Students can easily go from a mind map to an outline or to a timeline with a click of the mouse making it easy to visualize the information in many different ways.

Matchware has included a new feature in MindView 5 that lets users search the WorldCat catalog and insert a citation right within the mind map. The WorldCat catalog has million of entries and is a great tool for searching for articles that can be used for doing a research paper. Once you have used the WorldCat catalog and entered a citation you can then export your mind map and have MindView 5 automatically format your bibliography into one of the many standard outputs; notably APA, Chicago, MLA, Harvard, and ISO690. Having access to the WorldCat catalog right within MindView 5 really plays to the strength of MindView and its exceptional ability when exporting formatted Microsoft Word documents. I for one have come to rely on MindView to create RFP's and structured documents when I am delivering my proposals. When exporting MindView 5 mind maps to Word, the structure of the output is really exceptional and giving the end user the ability to navigate the document with the clickable table of contents works really well. When I prepare my proposals with MindView I often get great comments and my readers are impressed by how succinct and to the point my proposals are.

So if you like, give MindView 5 a try by clicking here for a free 30 day Trial

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CS Odessa Launches Skype Integration for ConceptDraw MINDMAP v7

CS Odessa has really been on a roll lately releasing new and innovative solutions to ConceptDraw MINDMap V 7. Two weeks ago they released a solution that allows anyone who has an Evernote account to quickly upload  ConceptDraw MINDMap V 7 maps to the cloud. Evernote is unique service and one that I have been using for years. A basic Evernote account is free and is accessible from just about any device that is connected to the web. Students who need a digital hub will find Evernote to be invaluable. Now with the capability to add your  ConceptDraw MINDMap maps to Evernote, all the more reason to use the tool for note-taking, brainstorming and for  studying.

As if this wasn't enough CS Odessa just today launched the Remote Presentation for Skype Solution that enables teams to present their information with  ConceptDraw MINDMap V 7 over the web utilizing Skype. I had a chance to try it out today with Olin Reams, Sales & Marketing Director at CS Odessa and it worked like a charm. Once Olin started the session I was able to view the  ConceptDraw MINDMap  and listen to him over Skype. The process was very straight forward and the solution adds considerable value to teams that need to present information and ideas. Once the session was over, I had the shared map on my local computer complete with all the embedded files. As a viewer I was also able to hover over notes to access them and once the session was over I could easily save the mind  map complete with the embedded Word and Excel files. The Remote Presentation for Skype Solution adds considerable value to  ConceptDraw MINDMap V 7. and demonstrates that CS Odessa is taking a practical approach to adding features that make sense and are cost effective for their user base. It is really exciting to see how their solution plug-in architecture has developed- who knows what will coming down the pike-but I for one can't wait to see the next one! So if I have piqued your curiosity then go to CS Odessa and download a trial version of  ConceptDraw MINDMap.

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XMind Integrates Websummarizer Technology

It is really exciting to see how companies can work together to bring their technologies to the marketplace. XMind has been working closely with Context Discovery to bring summarization tools to their mind mapping application. I have to give credit to XMind for thinking outside of the box and giving prospective users the ability to quickly summarize information right from within XMind Pro. The integration is seamless and now this new feature gives users the opportunity to summarize key words as well as websites based on the URL. The Websummarizer plug-in is tightly integrated into XMind and delivers fast and efficient summaries of information sitting in Wikipedia. Websummarizer can be used with the following languages: English, French, German, and Spanish. I have created a short video to show you how XMind has integrated the Websummarizer into their mind mapping application. Your feedback and comments are welcome.

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ConceptDraw Mindmap- Great Tweeting Tool

One of my favorite features in ConceptDraw Mindmap is the ability to plan out my tweets for Twitter. Using a simple mind map, I can structure the map by the week and add my tweets. When I'm ready to send the tweets it is as easy as going to the toolbar and pressing the Tweet button. Using ConceptDraw Minmap I can get a perspective on my tweets, and better yet it even shortens attached URL's. If you are planning a tweet campaign you should really take a look at ConceptDraw Mindmap to help you strategize and deliver your tweets. ConceptDraw Mindmap gives you the option of tweeting the topic, map or screen which is a nice touch. The only thing I would like to see developed in ConceptDraw Mindmap is a feature by which you could set each of the tweets to be sent on a specific date and time. Happy tweeting with ConceptDraw Mindmap.

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Are You Thinking About a Mindmapping Conference?

It has been a number of years since I had initiated putting together a mind mapping conference here in New Jersey, and today I was talking to my good friend and visual mapper Wallace Tait about the possibility of setting up a mind mapping conference so that we convene and share ideas. With the economy in its current state we need to bring innovation and ideas to the work that we do whether it is in the public or private sectors. What better way to  kick-start this year then by planning to convene interested participants who want to explore how we can put mind mapping to use in the work that we do.

I have spoken to Wallace about the idea for an Unconference -whereby we pick a time and place and build the agenda the day of the conference based on your needs. This model has worked really well in the educational marketplace and is one that could work well for us. At the Unconference we could learn about new and innovative ways that people are using mind mapping in the work that they do, whether it is academic, personal, or business related. In this spirit, it would be great to have some corporate sponsorship that could take care of some of the expenses and be a host for the day. I for one think that a mind mapping conference is long overdue and hope that some of the leading companies in this arena will find value in this idea and step up to the plate to make this a reality. I know that Wallace and I are willing to put the time in to see that it happens. If you are interested in making this a reality please feel free to contact me.  All the best and Happy Mind Mapping!

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Using Websummarizer to Summarize Information

I have been a big fan of Wikisummarizer and have watched the evolution of this service from Context Discovery. Just this past week Context Discovery released their new service Websummarizer which lets anyone summarize the content of a web page. I took the liberty of using Websummarizer to summarize my last post so that you can see how powerful this tool is. Because of some of the constraints of Blogger it is hard to view the contents of the nodes-but to see for yourself and try out Websummarizer click here. I am very interested in learning how you might use Websummarizer in the work that you do?

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Using Mindmaping Tools in the Writing Process

Over the years I have written countless articles about how I use mind mapping in the work that I do, but one of the areas which may be overlooked is in the writing process. As part of my consulting business I am often asked to write project proposals for new work as well as status updates on projects that I may be working on. While man of us may be inclined to open up Microsoft Word and start writing, I have always found it easier to structure my thoughts using mind mapping software.

As part of the process, having the ability to brainstorm what I am going to include is a natural using mind mapping software. Having the ability to move my ideas around the mind map helps me to organize my ideas and structure the content that I will include in my final report. Once I have completed the brainstorming phase, I move the ideas around the map until I am satisfied with the content. Next, I begin to attach notes to my topics to flesh out my ideas. The notes will serve as the content for my report once I have exported the mind map into a Word document. After adding notes to each of the ideas in my mind map, I am now ready to utilize the export feature to Microsoft Word- which quickly generates a structured proposal or status report. Many of the leading mind mapping applications allow you to export directly to a PDF file format. I prefer to first export the report to a Microsoft Word document first so that I can make any final edits and changes before converting it to a PDF file.

Utilizing mind mapping tools to help generate and structure the report gives my proposals and project updates a unique look and feel that sets me apart from other consultants. The cover sheet of my report includes the mind map along with a table of contents which allows the reader to easily navigate to a specific page in the proposal. Once my report is in Microsoft Word, I generally convert it to a PDF file for my client which ends the process. I might add, that for my final touch, I have been using Adobe Acrobat SendNow service to send my finished proposals which gives me the added feature of being able to track that it was received. So if you are looking for a way to help structure your writing then reexamine how you can use mind mapping software for this purpose- you will be glad you did.

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NoteControl - Taking Charge of Your Resources

With information coming at us at a frantic pace it is no wonder that we can quickly become overwhelmed. This is especially true for students who have a need to curate their notes and sources when writing research articles. Life was a lot easier for me when I was in school, there were simply books and journals, that I used to cite my works. Today students are faced with the myriad of Internet sources, books, journals, podcasts, and multimedia to keep account of when doing research. In this light, Matchware, recently released a new product NoteControl aimed at students to help them collect, collate, and sort notes when doing a written research paper. The coup de grace is the ability of NoteControl to output a perfectly formatted bibliography in many accepted and recognized formats (ie APA, MLA, Harvard to name a few.).

The premise of the program is quite simple-you create a notebook and then use the space to capture all of your notes which can include: Text, Picture, Sound, and Web notes. NoteControl allows the user to create a Folder structure to organize your notes and it is easy to move Notes that you capture from one folder to the next. For example, if you want to create a citation for text from a web site, you can simply go to the web site and highlight the text you want to use and then Click on the Text Note icon. This will bring up a note card with the text automatically included- you can change the name of the note card and once you click the Accept button your noted will be stored along with the source.You can use the same technique to capture graphics from websites or store needed  files (Word, PDF's) for your research project. If your computer has a microphone it is easy to store audio notes in your notebooks from within NoteControl.

Matchware has teamed up with WorldCat to enable users of NoteControl to access their large database of resources and collections from libraries around the world. Students are able within NoteControl to search the WorldCat database and have the citation automatically filled out with all of the necessary information for a properly formatted entry. If you have all of the information for a citation you can also manually add a citation to your research Notebook. Students will find the WorldCat tool a very handy tool to use for doing research and will find it even easier when it is time to generate the bibliography.

After you have collected your notes and resources NoteControl really shines when it is time to export all of your notes and create your bibliography. With one click of the mouse NoteControl lets you export your source listing, notes and bibliography directly to Word. NoteControl will export your notes and bibliography to any one of several formats including APA, Chicago, and MLA styles. The bibliography is perfectly formatted saving you the time an effort to manually recreate it once your paper is completed. You will find NoteControl an easy to use tool that is ideal for high school and college students who are writing research papers. As students begin to utilize more and more Internet resources they will find NoteControl and ideal tool to take charge and organize their resources for use in their papers. For those students who have access to MindView 4 and want to see their notes and resources in a mind map you can export them directly from NoteControl. Overall, NoteControl is an easy to use program that delivers on its promise to provide students a way to organize, sort and curate notes for research papers and projects. A one year subscription to NoteControl is prices at $49 dollars and at this time is only available for computers running Windows OS. There is a trial version of NoteControl available for student to try out which I would highly suggest. At $49 dollars for a year, NoteControl is good value and another tool that you should have your students take a look at to help tame the paper tiger when it comes time to write that research paper. It would be great if Matchware could add Text to Speech (TTS) supports within NoteControl for students that benefit from this type of support. NoteControl also allows students to work on collaborative projects across the web which adds value to this fine product. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

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MatchWare Launches MindView 4 Mac, Mind Mapping Software for OS X Lion

Today MatchWare (http://www.matchware.com) announces the release of MindView 4 Mac, a professional mind mapping software ideal for optimizing brainstorming sessions, creating visually driven presentations and displaying project plans in an easy-to-overview timeline. Thomas Henriksen, MatchWare’s Product Manager, explains, “Our user feedback was very clear, Mac customers want a professional mind mapping tool to visually overview ideas and improve communication, collaboration and innovation. MindView 4 Mac provides the professional feature set to drive productivity through seamless integration with Microsoft Office and a cutting-edge presentation mode that ensures brainstorming, organizing and presenting ideas has never been easier.”

The enhanced Microsoft Office integration and ready-to-use templates enable users to effortlessly export their mind maps as professionally formatted Microsoft® Word documents and PowerPoint presentations. With 7 dynamic viewing options including a timeline, new map styles, and innovative presentation options, MindView 4 Mac continues to take mind mapping to the next level. Additional new features include a new formatting toolbar, the ability to record audio commentary as a sound note and attach the file to a mind map branch, open MindView 4 for PC files and the option to export a mind map as a PDF.

MindView 4 Mac’s new presentation mode displays information one branch at a time, enabling users to deliver dynamic, interactive presentations directly from the mind map. Focus mode empowers users to zoom-in on specific areas of the map, allowing participants a clear view of the specific information presented. MindView 4 Mac enables users to customize the placement of branch pictures; further enhancing the capability to provide clear, visual displays to improve the understanding of complex topics.
“I have tested MindView 4 Mac on OS X Lion and the new Presentation Mode and Focus Mode are extremely helpful when presenting my mind maps during meetings. I like the fact that the Focus Mode lets me zoom in automatically on branches in a non-linear way so people in the back of the room easily can see and contribute to brainstorming sessions,” says Frans Merrild, C.E.O of Tell-It Online.

MindView’s unique Timeline view delivers a powerful, visual overview to improve any project planning process and enhance the study of historical and future events. By adding dates or times to the mind map branches, users can simply switch to the Timeline view to instantly display information on a horizontal time axis.

MindView 4 dramatically improves the ability of professionals to capture and share information in one click from a mind map to Microsoft Office, a timeline, a PDF document or a HTML website. Mac users now have a professional productivity tool for turning ideas into action plans.
MindView 4 Mac is available for purchase at http://www.MatchWare.com and the Mac App Store for the upgrade price of 149 USD or 249 USD for a single user license. For more information about MindView, visit http://www.MatchWare.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Contact us for multi-user and educational discounts.

About MindView
MatchWare MindView is professional mind mapping software that allows you to optimize brainstorming sessions and present ideas visually. MindView's mind mapping capabilities provide an effective way to organize and develop ideas, outline reports, and streamline decision making. MindView’s visual hierarchy and professionally designed export templates convert your mind map into a polished presentation with the click of a mouse. Brainstorm topics, storyboard presentations and enhance meeting discussions. Attach pictures and videos, take notes or add hyperlinks – everything will be included in your export.

About MatchWare
Founded in 1992, MatchWare is a leader in intuitive Mind Mapping and multimedia authoring tools for enhancing individuals’ ability to create, visualize, manage and distribute information. The company’s award-winning software packages, MindView, Mediator, and ScreenCorder, offer highly intuitive user interfaces and powerful features at affordable prices. Headquartered in Denmark, MatchWare has subsidiaries in the UK, the USA, Germany, France and Sweden.

• MatchWare, MindView, MatchWare Mediator, MatchWare ScreenCorder are trademarks or registered trademarks of MatchWare A/S. All other trademarks and registered trademarks used in this document are the property of their respective companies.

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Mindjet MindManager 2012 Professional for Windows!

San Francisco – September 13, 2011 — Mindjet®, the company that improves how people work together, today announced the release of Mindjet MindManager® 2012 Professional for Windows®, the most powerful version of the world’s leading visual information software. MindManager 2012 is designed for today’s professionals who need to spark ideas and collaborate with their teams for more productive outcomes.

MindManager 2012 is the most significant release in the product’s history including real-time co-editing, enhanced information maps and new desktop interface, plus new brainstorming features that guide users to unleash their team’s creativity. The innovative feature directs teams to:

• Utilize predefined challenge questions to promote different ways of thinking about the subject
• Use inspiration cards to generate hundreds of fresh ideas
• Leverages MindManager’s powerful visual experience to refine concepts and plans

"MindManager 2012 has been designed to meet the needs of today’s professional who are constantly barraged with new opportunities and pressing business challenges,” said Blaine Mathieu, chief products officer, Mindjet. “The new guided brainstorming feature organizes an outpouring of ideas that can be quickly honed into real solutions for real business needs.”

In addition, MindManager 2012 integrates with Mindjet Connect®, Mindjet’s cloud-based service (see separate release) to provide open and full sharing of MindManager maps with anyone, anywhere, on any device.

“Through the Connect cloud-based service, MindManager 2012 customers can freely collaborate on maps with anyone,” said Mathieu. “The combination of MindManager 2012 and Connect is nothing short of the future of the collaboration for teams and businesses.”

MindManager 2012 is available on September 22nd for the upgrade price of $179 USD and $399 USD for new customers at http://www.mindjet.com/mindmanager-pricing.

For more information about MindManager 2012 visit the Mindjet blog athttp://blog.mindjet.com.

About Mindjet:

Two million individuals, small businesses and Fortune 1000® companies using Mindjet understand that working visually and collaboratively brings results. We set the standard in mind mapping and now our focus is to provide collaborative work management solutions that dramatically improve how people can work better together, accomplish goals more successfully and be more productive.

Forty-six of BusinessWeek®’s "World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies" rely on Mindjet to see the big picture – let us show you too

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MindManager 8 Released Today

It has been hard to contain myself over the last month, since I had a chance to beta test the latest version of MindManager 8 which will be released today. Built on the strong foundation of MindManager 7, version 8 breaks new ground with some really exciting features. MindManager 8 breaks new ground with the introduction of the Mindjet Player which now allows you to share and publish your maps with just about anyone. It is now easy with MindManager 8 to transforms your maps into fully interactive Adobe PDFs or Flash .SWF files. They can be shared with anyone, published to blogs and embedded in web pages. When you see this feature you too will be amazed how you can interact with your maps with nothing else but the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This is really going to change the way we publish and share our maps without the worry if the person on the other end has a copy of MindManager 8 installed on their computer. I can go on for days talking about this feature and look for a screencast about this in the coming days. In the same vein, Mindjet will be releasing a new version of MindManager Web which will allow you to access and collaborate on the web with your mind maps in a secure web workspace. Similar to Google Docs, you will now be able within any browser to open and co-edit your maps with other as you collaborate with clients on your projects. Using the same conventions to insert topics and format your maps you will be up and running using MindManager Web in no time and if you would like you can also access your maps with the desktop version of MindManager 8. Having both Mindjet Player and MindManager Web ensure that you and your clients can have access to your maps wherever you are.

One of the key design decisions that was made at Mindjet is clear once you start using MindManager 8; that is that you can work within MindManager 8 without having to leave the environment to view URL’s or for that matter viewing or editing Microsoft Office documents. That’s right now when you click on a URL it opens a Browser window right within MindManager 8- pretty cool. I’m sure you will agree-but it gets even better in that now when you click on a Microsoft Office document (Word, Excel, Project, PowerPoint) it opens in a window within MindManager 8 and can be viewed and edited. No need to have Word or Excel open- just edit and view within MindManager 8. For those of you have been using MindManager for awhile- I had always enjoyed using the Google search API which allowed me to do live searches within MindManager. Somehow along the way of new versions the API no longer worked- but now you can do live Google and Yahoo! searches can be directly inside a map, with mapped and editable search results that can be refreshed with one click, or automatically updated each time you open your map. MindManager 8 can also search Amazon, Facebook, MySpace, Microsoft Live Search, eBay, and StrikeIron. I’m confident that with this new ability that other 3^rd party developers will build new search parts that we can use with MindManager 8. MindManager has become an extremely important tool for project planning and in the latest version Mindjet has answered our call and really beefed up its task management capabilities. MindManager 8 now includes automated task management that provides instant summations of task start date, end dates, level of completion, and exception management. It is now easier than ever to set dependencies and watch how MindManager 8 is able to instantly calculate the dates when tasks are due- if a task falls behind schedule MindManager 8 will color code the task to visually show you where you need to focus. And last but not least, MindManager 8 can now incorporate real time information from spreadsheets and databases with the new Database Linker feature. MindManager 8 can now access data from MS Excel, Oracle, IBM DB2, MS SQL Server, MS Access, and MySQL. I’m sure you will agree that this is a very substantial upgrade and one that I’m really very excited about. To find out more information about MindManager 8 please click on the link.

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MindMeister 3 Rolls Out

I just received an email that MindMeister 3 has been released with a a large number of new features and tweaks to the user interface. Here is a list of the new features and changes in MindMeister 3:

• Task Management

  Many more features for easier task management in MindMeister, including start date and duration, email notifications, iCalendar feeds, WunderTasks and a task overview from all maps.

• Search and filter, better tags

  The new map search - you'll find it in your map list view - makes managing many maps a lot easier. You can search for titles and contents, and even use Find in maps (CTRL-F). Also, managing tags was enhanced with a new overflow dropdown.

• Resize ideas and wrap

  Overlong idea labels always created problems. In the new release you can now resize them via drag and drop, and your maps will also keep the wrappings when exported e.g. to PDF or as image.

• History View

  We completely revamped the version history to make viewing and replaying the collaborative changes of a mind map a useful and fun experience. Clicking on the coloured bullets starts "replay" mode. See also our tutorial video.

• WikiMaps

  You can now turn any public map into a WikiMap. This will make it editable for everybody (well, everybody who has a MindMeister account, to avoid spamming). Quite useful to gather input from many people at once!

• Import text files

  In addition to Freemind and MindManager^TM formats, you can now also import plain text files into MindMeister.

• Emailing attachments

  Geisesblitz Email now supports attachments which will be inserted as attachments to your ideas into MindMeister.

• Many more key shortcuts

  Our users say they love them, so we've added quite a few more for common operations. See a complete list.

• Other enhancements

  New user interface, revamped "My Account" section, Offline mode for Safari, recommendations in map view, new export dialog and options, better printing (via PDF), clone public maps, larger note previews and much more.

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Webspiration to Go Beta This Week

It is with a great deal of excitement that I announce that Inspiration will be releasing in a public beta Webspiration, their online visual thinking tool. (Webspiration will be available to the public this Wednesday for a free sign-up). I have had the privilege to work with Webspiration for the the last couple of months and have to say it was a truly wonderful experience. Inspiration, Inc has been able to take that same experience you have had when using the software on your desktop and translate it to that same experience within the browser. You will feel right at home once you log into Webspiration and all the familiar icons still adorn the web application. The major difference between the desktop application and Webspiration is that you are now able to invite others via an email to collaborate with you on your visual web. This is a very unique feature and one that will go a long way in the classroom, as you build collaborative activities. You will be glad to learn that you can upload your existing Inspiration graphic organizers to the web as well as download the ones you create from within Webspiration. Overall, Webspiration gives you all the power of the desktop version with the added benefits of collaboration, and being able to access your visual maps from any computer connected to the web. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

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Mead Map Updated

I just received word that Mead Map has been updated, and in addition to real time collaboration, auto zoom for easy navigation and other innovative features, the online tool can now incorporate attachments. Users can attach pdfs, jpgs, Microsoft office documents and other files to their Mead Maps. This enhancement improves group collaboration, allowing teammates to quickly store and update all project resources in one centralized location without juggling USB drives, disks or CDs. One of the things that I really enjoy about Mead Map is its ease of use and the ability to publish your maps to the web so easily. I had a chance to try out the new version of Mead Map and was able to incorporate my attachments without a hitch. Being able to incorporate attachments is a key feature for using visual maps as an information repository. Mead Map gives each subsrcriber1 gigabyte of online storage for your files. For a free 30-day trial go to www.meadmap.com

Here is an example of a Mead Map with an attachment:

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bCisive for Decision Making

Many of you may not know this about me, but in my previous life, I was a practicing school psychologist and worked with many students to help them develop better social problem solving and decision making skills. I even went on to write two parenting books on emotional intelligence and have been interested in this area for the better part of my professional career. As a practitioner, I would carefully break down the skills that the students needed to learn and I would often help them see the consequences for their actions by using flow charts or doing it them in Inspiration, a really fantastic concept mapping application. Trying to make the handouts and materials very visual and showing the students I worked with the decision making process was in the long run going to help them make better decisions.

The idea of visualizing the outcomes is very powerful and if I had some of the tools that I now have I know my work would have been that much easier. Regardless if you are a student or a business person we are always confronted with having to make literally hundreds of decisions each and everyday. Some of the decisions we make are made effortlessly without much deliberation, however there are always those few decisions that gnaw at us and force us to sit down, ponder, and evaluate. It is for the former, that having visual tools like bCisive can come in really handy. Before I talk about bCisive, I do want to thank Katherine Brandenberger from Austhink Software for providing me with a copy of bCisive, to review. Austhink Software promotes bCisive as a simple software application for business decision making and diagramming that goes beyond mind mapping. bCisive runs on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 2000.

bCisive has a very clean and pleasing interface to navigate and provides the user with the now familiar Ribbon interface. The Left panel provides the user with all of the symbols that can be used to build your decision tree, while the right panel provides you with the Text Panel. The Text Panel allows you to do Internet searches right within the application using Google and Wikipedia as well as searching for images using Flickr and Google. You can also use the Text Panel as a Scratch pad for your ideas or use it to attach Notes to an idea in your decision tree. Within the Text Panel you can also view a Summary of your decision making as well as an outline- which are two really powerful features. The user can also export the outline into a word processor for further editing or revision.

I decided to do a test run of bCisive working through a decision to take traditional courses or on-line courses for a Supervisor's Certificate. I started out building my decision tree by using the Basic Map template provided and dragging it into the middle of the screen. This provided me with a number of specific icons that I could now enter text into. I was now able to type my question as well as my options and the pro's and con's of each option. This was very straight forward and having the visuals laid out on the screen does make you go through the process more systematically documenting your thoughts and ideas. Once I worked through the process I was able to select my decision and code it using the decision icon. The process was very quick and straight forward. If I needed to have supporting materials, I could have attached files and URL links to my decision tree.

bCisive really shines when you are ready to share your decision processes with others. You can always Export your Outline to a text file to email to others or output your decision tree as an Image file (png, jpeg, bmp, tiff, and emf, and gif). One of the really exciting output features is being able to export your bCisive decision tree as a bMap Bundle. The bMap Bundle creates a zip file with all of your attachments and URL's and creates an html file with all accompanying media so that you can upload it to the web (Click here to view the bCisive map on the web) or share it with anyone who has access to a browser. Once you open up the bMap Bundle you can interact with your decision tree and look at the steps and process you took in coming to your decision. bCisive is a very specialized tool for all types of open ended decision making. It provides a very engaging environment in which to think about and clarify the options as well as the pro's and con's of your decisions in a very systematic fashion. I particularly liked the fact that the program automatically generated a summary of your decision. While I know this program is geared for business people, this could be an extremely invaluable tool for those professionals who work with students to help them look more carefully at the decisions they make and the consequences of their actions. Providing individuals with a structured visual approach to making better decisions is such and important support when students are in the process of having to decide on what to do. So if you have the chance, take a look at bCisive- there is a 30 day trial version available.

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Using aHa!Visual Web Export

I thought it would be a good idea to share with you information about the the IQ Visual Mapping Conference by using a mind map. What better way to convey information about the speakers and their bio's, then to export it to a mind map! In the process, I had the opportunity to use aHa!Visual Web Export which is a MindManager add-in from aHa!Coaching in the Netherlands. The aHa!Visual web export allows you to publish the results of a brainstorm or strategy session in the same visual map format the participants saw on their computers without the need for any other plug-in or viewers. Using a standard browser you can view your map complete with attachments and notes. I found using aHa!Visual Web Export to be be very easy and straight forward. Once aHa!Visual Web Export is installed you simply click on the Export tab and Select Export as Web Pages. (View the Process by Clicking here.) At this point you will see that you have a new export template call aHa!Visual Web Template. You simply select the aHa!Visual Web Export template, select where you want the output files to be stored and click OK. Once the process is complete you can view your map in your default browser. The mind map is interactive and you can click on the topics as well as the embedded documents and attachments to view the contents. To view it on the web just use your favorite FTP program to upload the files on your server and you are ready to go. After uploading the files I was able to view the map. I do wish that the mind map could appear bigger on the screen and that you could open and close the nodes as you would when using MindManager 7 application- but overall I was very satisfied with the ease of the the process and how aHa!Visual Web Export worked. This really was very easy to do! You can view the mind map on the web by clicking here.

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Twitter Acquires Summize

For all of your Twitter users you will be happy to hear that Twitter has acquired Summize a search engine which lets you search through Twitter for key words. I have been using it to track certain keywords that others are twittering about to keep up with the conversations. Try it and let me know what you think. I have found the Twitter Search engine to be very quick and returns very relevant twitter posts. Give it a try when you have the chance.

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