Organising complex issues can be frustrating when you’re presented with a blank document in Word. Mindjet Mindmanager 6 helps organise your thoughts in a visual way. With a wide array of export options, the mind maps can be quickly sent to other Microsoft Office applications.
The most striking benefit of using Mindmanager to create a mind map is that it makes remembering the contents of the document far easier, while the ability to move sections of the map around makes it a good way to plan large documents.
What is a mind map?
A mind map consists of the central theme surrounded by topics. In Mindmanager Pro 6, the sub-topics can be collapsed and expanded to make reading the map easier. It can also reorganise the map and change the zoom to fit the whole design with a simple click. Furthermore, items in the map can be linked – useful if certain information straddles topics.
These topics can be formatted and given markers to signify completed tasks or, if they’re not completed, how urgent they are. To make the whole picture more visually appealing, you can add borders to topics. You also get a range of pictures and backgrounds to spice things up.
In addition to the supplied templates, there are several different ways to create a map. You can either add topics to a map and then include sub-topics or, alternatively, use the brainstorming mode. In this mode, all the different topics are put in first. The groups are then added and, finally, each topic is assigned to a specific group.
Creating a map is one thing, but the content is wasted if it cannot be viewed quickly and easily by others. Thankfully, Mindmanager is able to share information with nearly every member of the Microsoft Office family as well as PDFs and web pages. When exporting to Word, any changes made to the document can then be sent back directly to Mindmanager.
Note taking
One obvious use of Mindmanager is taking notes during meetings. There are also many ways of using the information in the map when the meeting ends, such as sending topics to Microsoft Outlook ready for e-mailing. Able to export topics to Microsoft Project, Mindmanager Pro 6 can also be used for project-management tasks.
Another useful feature is the web export tool. Rather than just creating a simple HTML file of the text in the map, it includes the full map as an image with links to the relevant text; perfect if you want to quickly publish your map on the Web. Tablet PC owners are not forgotten, either. A special pen mode offers gestures for the most common actions.
Mindmanager Pro 6 is a great way to help organise thoughts and meeting notes. Its ability to send the information to other applications makes it an efficient business tool. There are cheaper mind-mapping applications available, but none of them can integrate into existing work patterns as well as Mindmanager.
Price €329
System requirements 700Mhz processor * 256Mb RAM * 150Mb hard disk * Office 2000/XP/2003 required for certain features
Verdict
Pros: Great for organising thoughts; range of export options
Cons: Requires Office for certain features; expensive
Overall
An excellent but expensive way to organise thoughts, plan projects and record meetings
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