Your choice of mind mapping software

Posted by Wes Perdue
Oct 20, 2006 at 12:34 AM

Derek -

>For those who know little or nothing about “mind mapping” (moi, for example), I
>found the comparison at http://www.cul.co.uk/software/istruct.htm to be a useful
>start.

Thanks for the link. I read their review of MindManager Pro 6 and decided I to re-evaluate it. I’ve been fiddling with NovaMind and VisiMap the past few days, thinking I need to finally settle on a visual mind-mapping tool, but I’m probably just looking for another CRIMP fix.

I tend to use Brainstorm or ActionOutline for brainstorming, so I come from the text-oriented POV.

I evaluated Inspiration in the past, both on the desktop and on the Palm, but ran into bugs and annoying quirks.

NovaMind’s maps are indeed quite visually pleasing.

VisiMap does seem a more complete program, and it does have the ability to toggle between outline view and map view, which is nice. I have one complaint so far: it doesn’t use anti-aliasing when drawing lines on the screen, and I find the jaggies distracting.

Which brings me to MindManager. It seems to fit me better than any other mind mapping tool I’ve evaluated. The keystrokes for adding nodes to the map are intuitive: enter for a sibling and insert for a child - just like AO, which I’ve been using forever. It creates beautiful maps. I may end up purchasing it this time.

- Wes