One of my favorite features of modern mind mapping software is the ability to “focus in” on one branch of your mind map, which causes the rest of it to disappear from view and enables you to focus on fully developing that topic and its subtopics. Once you’re done building it out, you can easily “focus out” and view your entire mind map once again.

Inspiration Software was the first to offer this functionality many years ago, and I quickly became a fan of it because I have some ADD tendencies and I tend to get easily distracted (Oh, look! A butterfly!). Since Inspiration pioneered this feature, at least 5 other programs have added it to their capabilities.

I think that “focus in” is so important to the production of high-quality mind maps that I produced a 10-minute video for Mind Mapping Insider members that explains how to use it in the following 6 programs:

• Inspiration 9
• MindManager 8
• XMind
• MindView 3 Business Edition
• MindGenius 3
• Visual Mind 10

Each program is a bit unique in the way it has implemented focus in/focus out. I cover these differences, and also highlight what makes each one unique. If you use one of these mind mapping programs and haven’t discovered this functionality, then I strongly urge you to check out this new video!

If you haven’t invested in mind mapping software yet, then focus in/focus out is a capability you ought to look for in the programs you’re considering. Yes, it’s that important.

If you’d like to access this video, you need to be a member of the Mind Mapping Insider program. As I pointed out in a recent post, it’s a small investment that can make a BIG impact on your effectiveness.

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