Denrael

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have been testing XMind out as an alternative to Mind Manager by MindJet. I’ve been a very happy MindJet customer for years on the windows platform. Recently, two things have occurred to make me rethink my Mind Mapping software.

1. Mindjet has moved to a policy of tighter and tighter integration with Microsoft Office. Even in my best times, I’ve never been an office fan. In doing so, the program lost many of the features which made it very fast and intuitive for rapid stream of thought mind mapping. At least for me.
2. I’ve become bi. No, not sexually, but I now use both a Macintosh as my platform of choice and a Windows XP laptop as a requirement for work. Mindjet’s implementation on Macintosh has been half-hearted at best. I wanted a similar experience on both platforms.

Of lesser importance is that I have been getting quite a bit of attention with my mind mapping from business associates. This is great. The more I can use mind maps as a communication method, the more productive I become and the easier my life is. At the current cost however, Mind Manager has priced itself out of the realm of something I can easily recommend to associates.

Enter XMind. I found this a few weeks back and have been using it extensively for generating my mind maps. Does it support the same tight integration as Mind Manager? No, It is, however, very fast, intuitive, and generates great maps. It offers a like feature set on both Windows and Macintosh. It’s Open Source and actively supported. It has a great fan base.

XMind allows nesting maps, easy sharing of maps, attractive results, and did I mention Open Source?

There is also an XMind Pro with additional features. So far, I have not needed any of them as the base package has met every requirement I’ve made of it. In the Pro package, you can:

• Map complex ideas and related subtopics — XMind Pro 3 allows for mapping information on screen exactly as it’s mapped in your mind.
• Stay focused, while doing the detail work — XMind Pro 3 allows topic points to become the main points of their own maps to quickly get into the nitty gritty, without losing sight of the overall focus.
• Share with the group — XMind Pro 3 maps can be set to public or private and hosted for online viewing. Check out some publicly hosted maps to see how it all works.
• Keep a time table — XMind Pro 3 Gantt view organizes tasks related to the project. Simply drop and drag any task and order it by priority and start and stop time.
• Create dynamic presentations — easily incorporate images and hyperlinks into XMind’s stylish one-click presentation mode.

The Pro version sells on a subsription basis for a reasonable $49/year.

I don’t regret my time spent with Mind Manager at all. On Windows, it remains an excellent choice, especially if you require Microsoft Office Integration. However, that being said, if you are at all intrigued by mind mapping, give XMind a try.