This is a post in process
XMind is my favorite mind mapping sotware for two main reasons...
- It's free software. I'm not at all a "techie", but the arguments I've heard from free-software people and mainly intuition (I know some of those people and my gut says, "yes, those ones are right") convince me. I had tried FreeMind before, but didn't success using it. One day I gave a presentation about mind mapping and urban transformation and had the luck to meet Feel there. Some days later he introduced me to XMind and, delighted with it, I left Mind Manager behind.
- It offers an easy way to upload an download mind maps. You can take a look at some of the ones I did lately and download them here.
I'll say that even it has a "PRO" paid version, I use the standard one.
Having used it for around a year and having used other mind mapping softwares, there are some points I wish XMind accomplihed,... or (maybe it was me who didn't use it properly) I wish I learnt to use better...
Here is my list:
1. GIVE MY IMAGES BACK, PLEASE!
Common and biggest trouble with XMind. You work hard fulling the branches with images, which is a key for good mind mapping, and suddenly, all of them disappear. No clue about ther reason. One day I researched a bit about it and saw that it is a common problem...
2. KEEPING TRACK OF THE IMAGES?
It would be wonderful if when we are typing any word, the program suggested to insert images that have before been used to represent this word. For example, we type PEOPLE and the images we've used before for this word are offrered to select and click for embedding.
3. EDIT-FIND
4. INTEGRATION...
MAILS to MIND MAP
5. INTERNET: MIND MEISTER has a very good quality. Anybody can browse throughout the MM (expanding and closing branches). Watch it here.
6. PASTING text divided in paragraphs as separate NOTES. I know no software with this command. It would be very useful for translations from text to mind map. You copy the text divided by paragraphs, you paste it as Notes of brother-branches and you select a key-word to name each branch.
7. CALL-OUT topics, paste as callout,...
8. PASTING an external image
9. PASTE INTO THE NOTES: Also useful for other SWs. I wish a possibility to paste directly in the NOTES of a set of branches. Example: I select from any other program 7 phrases. I copy-paste them to XMind, but I want them to go straight into the NOTE part of the branches, so as I can then define the key word that expresses the idea and write it over the branch.
10. FORMAT-COPY and PASTE (the "brush" icon of other programs)
Best wishes from Bilbao,
Eleder
BM31_ BILBAO: Mind Mapping-Open Space Technology-Creativity
