Developers of mind mapping apps have been someone slow to support Dropbox so far, but I expect that to change in the next few years, as tablets continue to grow in popularity. Here is a summary of those that currently support it and those that don’t:

Support Dropbox

• MindNode
• iThoughts HD – yes, and also web server, Mobile.me, WebDAV
• Mindo – yes, and also Box.net, wi-fi, iTunes and Picasa (image of mind map)

Don’t support Dropbox

• iMindMap HD – e-mail only
• MindMeister for iPad – share via MindMeister online and e-mail only
• SimpleMind – share via proprietary server, e-mail, cellular network and wi-fi
• Maptini (formerly CrowdMap) – only via the developer’s proprietary map sharing service
• Popplet – PDF only
• IdeaMapper – PNG and e-mail map image only
• MindCreator – image, freemind, PDF (via e-mail) only
• Total Recall – e-mail image, mind map or PDF
• Idea Sketch – image, photos, Facebook
• MyThoughtsBook – e-mail only
• Iditia – only exports to Google Docs

Some of these are newer mind mapping apps that I haven’t even talked about on this blog yet. Watch for more details on them in the weeks and months ahead.

• You can create new nodes directly on the canvas. I presume this means you can do so without having to click on a toolbar icon.
• You will be able to freely position nodes on the canvas. I think this is essential. I’ve played with several iPhone and iPod Touch mapping applications that don’t enable this, and it feels like I’m mapping with one arm tied behind my back!
• Full cut, copy and paste support (this is, after all, an iPhone 3.0 compatible application).
• Multiple main nodes – this is a capability we haven’t seen before on this platform – very interesting!
• Export maps from MindNode (touch) to the native MindNode file format.
• Export as a FreeMind document, OPML (formatted) outline, text outline and PNG image format via email.
• Import maps from MindNode Pro to the iPhone/iPod Touch version; Marcus reports that this will be restricted to documents with less than 100 nodes initially.

It will be interesting to see how this application evolves. I need to contact Marcus to see if I can get in on the private beta test – but first I need to solve the issues I’ve been having upgrading my iPod Touch to version 3.0!

Improved zooming: MindNode Pro now supports zooming from 10% to 400%, and supports zooming with multi-touch trackpads and mouse wheels. Also new are “fit map screen” and “fit selection” commands. In addition, the zoom factor button in the program’s interface has been redesigned to look and behave similar to the pop-up buttons in Apple’s iWork suite.

Filled nodes: Map topics (or nodes) can now be drawn filled in with a  border. In addition, you can now change the background color of filled nodes.

Multi-touch support: MindNode Pro now supports several two- and three-finger trackpad gestures to control scrolling and other functions.

Improved link support: The program’s handling of links is much improved in this version. In addition to hyperlinks and file links, MindNode Pro now supports e-mail links. Also, the handling of links has been improved to resemble the way that Apple handles them in the iWork applications. In addition, file links can now link to folders (in addition to individual files).

Marcus has also made numerous other improvements and fixes to MindNode Pro version 1.1. This update is a free download to current users of the program. Please see the version 1.1 upgrade page for all the details. You can also follow Marcus on Twitter for all of the latest updates to his program.