If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

At the end of November I posted an article on how to use mind mapping to help develop your presentations.  The example I showed used a piece of software called  MindManager.   In this post I want to discuss my first thoughts on FreeMind, a free Open Source mind mapping application.

 I have been a mind mapper since the mid ’80’s and to be frank, I don’t know how I would have survived without this powerful technique however, mind mapping on paper does have it’s downsides.  

• Unless you have really need handwriting (who does these days?) It’s difficult for anyone else to read your maps
• If you want to revise a hand drawn map, you need to re draw it all, wasting time we feel we rarely have.
• If you want to share your maps with anyone electronically, you need to scan them in as image files.

What we really needed was software that would allow us to retain the creative, organic map development process whilst adding in the ability to edit, drag and drop, recolour, email etc.     Thankfully a program called MindManager came a long that allowed us to do all that and over the years it has been refined and improved until it is a powerful, feature rich productivity tool that allows us to integrate our maps with multiple MS Office Applications.   The problem is that such sophistication comes with a hefty price tag these days. MindManager 7, the latest incarnation costs between £49 of the Lite version and £199 for the bells and whistles Pro version.

Thankfully there are other alternatives out there and one of them at least is free!   I’m talking about FreeMind, a Java based application that can be downloaded from the net.  Now when one of my readers suggested that I take a look at FreeMind, frankly I was sceptical.   I vaguely remembered trying it when it first appeared and, used to the power and flexibility of MindManager, being mightily disappointed with the new pretender.  

Still, never one to turn down a challenge, I brushed aside my prejudices and took another look and I have to say, after spending a little time becoming familiar with the inevitably different control layout and somewhat quirky terminology, I’m quite impressed with this little freebie.

As you can see from the attached image,  One can do quite a lot with FreeMind.  As well as creating basic “radiant thought” maps, you can change the branch colours and branch thickness’s, add icons and images, hide sub branches and create hyperlinks!.   And that’s just the features I’ve been able to discover in a few minutes playing.

So in conclusion, whilst FreeMind doesn’t have the elegance or power of MindManager, it does  offer a lot for free and you can even import Mind Manager Maps into FreeMind too.  So if you are interested in this powerful technique, take a look at FreeMind - it’s a nice little programme to get you started and for many, it may be all you’ll ever need.

P.s. if you are a Mind Manager user and you want training on how to get the most of MindManager 7, I suggest you contact my friend Andew who offers 1:1 online tutorials