When it comes to mind mapping, you better make sure that your software is not eating you alive. Mind mapping can be a great way of tackling tasks and making notes clear and simple. But do you know what makes a mind mapping software powerful?
Mind mapping software is one of the best ways to boost your productivity and to generate new ideas, solve problems and boost your creativity. These tools allow you to brainstorm in an interesting and engaging way. They provide a clear and visual way to store and share information, and can help you in completing any task from planning a trip or making a business plan to creating training programs or learning a new skill.
MINDMASTER
MindMaster is a versatile, user-friendly, and professional mind mapping tool. Available on multiple platforms, including PC, tablet, mobile, and web, you can create mind maps and access them from each platform. With this excellent collaborative mind mapping tool, working with teammates has never been easier.
Compendium
Compendium is a free and open source mind mapping software that CogNexus developed for making large scale mind map structures. This software supports both individual and group workspace. The latest version of Compendium is 1.7.1. Right from launching Compendium to completing a mind map, the user interface of this software is easy and interactive. It is available for free under GNU lesser general public license (LGPL).
Features:
- Create mind maps in collaboration with team members with the option to editing each other’s input
- Drag and drop documents and websites into a map
- Users can label the connections between concepts to illustrate links
- Display links between everyone’s ideas in group projects through dialogue maps
- Establish a link between idea and information
- Create different types of nodes (topic box) by dragging the icon from the toolbar
- Overlay a map on top of the image and add graphics and notes
- Scribble pad to scribble on the workspace
- Add comments, notes, annotations to the nodes
Freeplane
It is a free and open-source application to a mind map that analyzes the information, creates the script, applies formulas and structures out the node format. It features: Simple script invocation, Simple Hotkey Assignment, Add-ons (packaged scripts), Format Panel, Formulas, Node formats, Attributes Panel.
Pricing: Subscription
FreeMind
FreeMind is a free open source mind mapping software for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It is a featured software designed to let you represent your ideas and thoughts in the form of mind maps. This software can be used for the creation of both simple as well complex mind maps. The tools to generate mind maps are quite straightforward and easy to use. Hence, you wouldn’t face any problem using this software. Let’s see what are the main highlights of this software.
Main Features:
- To draw a mind map representing your ideas, you can insert topics as Parent Node, Child Node, Sibling Node, Encrypted Node (password protected topic), Cloud, etc. You can link nodes or topics with graphical link.
- Each node can be depicted with a particular icon such as question, important, priority, traffic lights, phone, list, email, etc. These icons are present within this software.
- It provides Layout View and HTML Code View to edit a topic/ node.
- You can enter simple text, hyperlinks, images, and other types of content to your mind maps.
- It provides an Import option which lets you add a directory structure, MindManager X5 maps, linked branches, etc., to the current map.
- The mind map and its content can be formatted using options like font formatting, node shape (bubble or fork), node color, node background color, edge color, blinking node, etc.
- You also get various easy navigation features in it, like Move to Root, Node Up, Node Down, Unfold All, Fold All, etc.
- It lets you export created mind maps in a good number of formats including HTML, XHTML, OpenOffice Writer document, PNG, JPEG, PDF, SVG, TWiki, Java Applet, Flash, etc.
- You can also encrypt an entire mind map to prevent any unauthorized access to it.
- This software has a multi-tab interface. So, you can work on multiple mind maps at once in it.
Additional Features:
Some handy tools to manage complex mind map diagrams are also provided in it, such as Split Nodes, Join Nodes, Change Root Node, Sort Children, Share Map, Join Map, Attribute Manager, Assign Attributes, etc.
FreeMind is one of the best open source mind mapping software. It also acts as a proper knowledge base software which lets you store interconnected knowledge items in the form of mind maps. Although it contains lots of features and tools, it is quite easy to use too.
XMIND
XMind: The Most Popular Mind Mapping Software on The Planet. XMind is the most professional and popular mind mapping tool. Millions of people use XMind to clarify thinking, manage complex information, run brainstorming and get work organized.
Wisemapping
Wisemapping is a free and open source mind mapping software that can be used by individuals, professionals, businesses, and educators to make embeddable mind maps. It can be installed on your local servers, and its license is completely free. It is a Java-based software that provides both private and public workspace. Users can have their own mind maps and the shared maps with teams separately. It supports Windows, Linux, Mac (Open source version) and can also be accessed online ( in its cloud version).
Features:
- Topic creator and editor
- Team collaboration on mind maps is allowed. Simultaneously you and your team can work on a single workspace.
- Export in PDF, SVG, and other image formats
- Drag and drop functionality for inserting images, icons, etc. to your map from the desktop
- Recover map history to see all previous changes
- Customize text size, formats and background style
- Add and expand branches radially in various formats
- Add color to the topic boxes
- Add borders and color borders
- Add icons, emojis to the map to make it more engaging
Semantik
Semantik is a mind-mapping application for KDE to create documents, reports, presentations. It can be used to edit flat trees, tables, text, pictures and convert into flat documents like presentations or reports. The interface is easy to use. This tool allows adding text/attachments for each item, add diagrams, support pictures, generate several documents – LaTex reports, LaTex slides, OpenOffice.org documents, HTML and plain text.
Pricing: Free
Docear
Docear is yet another free open source mind mapping software for Windows, Linux, and Mac. It is basically an academic literature management software using which you can organize scholarly work. This software can be used as a reference management software as you can store and organize documents related to your studies in one place.
Main Features:
- You can create encrypted mind maps using it.
- You can import a folder structure, branch, MindManager X5 map, etc., which you want to add to your current map.
- It lets you created customized mind map diagrams with various node styles (floating node, topic, subtopic, important, root, note, summary, etc.), node types (child, sibling, etc.), encrypted nodes, attributes, links (link file, hyperlink, link node, etc.), etc.
- You can add images to nodes, insert inline attributes, add various icons, add cloud, etc.
- To customize appearance of added content, it provides font formatting options, edge style, edge width, edge color, cloud color, etc. An Automatic Layout option is also provided in it.
- Multiple navigation features are also provided to easily go through a complex mind map, such as Goto options, Fold all, Unfold all, Follow link, etc.
- A lot of Mind Map viewing features are available in this software including Presentation Mode, Fullscreen Mode, Outline View, Center Selected Node, etc.
- It lets you export a mind map in formats of HTML, JPG, XML, Flash, Java Applet, Latex book, PDF, SVG, etc.
Additional Features:
- In it, you can even add a monitoring folder to import its files and documents. In case of PDF documents, you get handy options like import annotations, import bookmarks, etc.
- It contains various search & filters options to find out specific data in a mind map.
- It provides a Time Management Feature to manage time and tasks.
- It contains an inbuilt Calendar, a reference section, and a Project Explorer to easily manage data.
- It supports various Add-Ons which you can install to enhance its functionality when needed.
Docear is basically a knowledge base software which lets you organize your academic data, references, and general ideas in the form of mind maps.
Conclusion:
Mind Map is a type of graphic representation, which is used to visually communicate diagrammatically. In addition, it also helps the user organize his ideas and thoughts. In these types of software special focus is given to link parts together effectively so that there is no confusion in any part of the mind map.