iMindMap from ThinkBuzan is one of the most innovative mind mapping software programs available today. By now, you’ve probably heard about the organic way that it enables you to create mind maps – much like creating a hand drawn visual map. You may also know that iMindMap was developed by the organization that bears the name of the inventor of mind mapping, Tony Buzan.
But what you may not know is that, under the hood, iMindMap has some very powerful and unique capabilities. Here are 8 of them:
1. Organic and speed modes: iMindMap offers the best of both worlds – a unique organic look and feel that gets you closer to the experience of creating hand-drawn mind maps than any other mind mapping program. At the same time, it offers a “speed mode,” which enables you to record your ideas quickly. In this mode, iMindMap draws and arranges your map topics for you, so you can focus on typing.
2. Presentation view: iMindMap’s well-designed presentation mode smoothly animates your maps so that they grow branch by branch, organically – ideal for capturing the attention of your audience. The program also offers a helpful “presenter” view: You as the presenter can see your notes and a simple menu bar for controlling your presentation, while your audience only sees your mind map.
3. Floating topics: These are ideal for doing a “brain dump” of your ideas; the Alt-T keyboard command can be used to quickly add them to your mind maps. Then, when you’re ready to structure your thoughts, simply drag and drop these floating topics to existing branches of your mind map.
4. Focus in and out: When you focus in on a selected branch, the program hides the rest of your map and treats the selected branch as a new central idea, with the child branches now turning into main branches. This enables you to focus your attention on completing that section of your mind map, without any unnecessary distractions. This is one of my favorite capabilities of mind mapping software (I have ADD tendencies), and I’m pleased to report that iMindMap is one of the programs that offers it.
5. Exceptional import and export capabilities: Most mind mapping programs enable you to import and export with a handful of other programs. But only iMindMap enables you to work with Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, Adobe Illustrator and with outline-based programs via the OPML (outline processor markup language) standard.
6. Freehand branches: If you’re utilizing iMindMap on a tablet PC or whiteboard, you can add branches with complex, hand-drawn shapes to your mind maps. This gives you creative freedom that most other programs don’t offer.
7. Audio notes: iMindMap’s audio note capability allows you to record your voice and then attach it to a map branch. Instead of having to type the details of your ideas into topic notes, you can record an audio clip and continue adding content to your mind map. Audio notes are also useful in group brainstorming sessions. In addition, they can be exported as .wav files so that you can use them outside of the program, share them with others or even send them to be transcribed.
8. Screen capture tool: With this capability, you can take a “snapshot” of a section of your mind map and share it with colleagues or friends, without having to go through the exporting process. You can instantly capture part or all of your map and paste it as an image into other applications, such as Microsoft Word. That makes it ideal for embellishing your reports and business plans.
To learn more about iMindMap and what it can do for you, please click here.
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