XMind

Brainstorming and Mindmapping!

Are you using Snow Leopard? XMind for Mac is ready for you.

Recently, there have been some conversation about XMind tips with other mind mapping experts, like Philippe Boukobza. One interesting tip is to work with Gmail, Google Docs, Twitter, and etc in XMind. It uses XMind inside browser, and hyperlink. Plus the Taskinfo and Gantt View feature, we can implement David Allen’s Getting Things Done™ methodology more easily in XMind.
At beginning, we can easily drag-and-drop or add the hyperlink to a topic. Here we introduce below applications: Gmail, Google Docs, and Twitter. Because these are necessary tools in our work. Gmail is used to contact with customers. Google Docs is used to share the files inside. And Twitter is a great tool to communicate with some friends and XMind users.

Here were some screenshots and usages:
Twitter.com: I’m a heavy twitter user. Here, I can search some useful information, communicate with my friends who I never see before, accept suggestions from XMind users, and etc. All these information can let my plan or summary rich.

Gmail: Gmail is a powerful tool. By using Tasks and labels, we can organize work easily. At most time, I will map the plan and list tasks in XMind with more information(end date, priority, process). Here, we can read, write emails, and add detailed tasks soon.

Google Docs: What I do is to add my Google Docs account to a special topic. Of course, we can add an individual Google Docs file URL to a topic. Then we can edit the files and collaborate with others.

We believe this tip can enhance our productivity. Are you just using this?

As more and more people, businesses, and organizations are using Mind Mapping tools(or visual thinking) to do brainstorming, meeting record, organize idea, plan the project, do presentation and etc, we find that mind map should play an important role in communicating with each other. Now, Sharing XMind Maps with multiple people is easy. Instead of sending mail to everyone, you can simply share with the world via XMind Share.
As an example, we are planing to introduce XMind software to peoples. Of course, we use mind map. So we draw a mind map, format the topics, insert images, then click “upload” button in XMind toolbar, and upload it to XMind Share.
Then this map is at: Mind Mapping With XMind. Sharing this link, people can read this map online soon and easily.

BTW, we can also use the Embed Code in the map page to show this map in our blog. Just paste that embed code into blog, and visitors can see that map here:

Now, when people read your blog or get that map’s link, they can view this map and get all information soon. It’s that easy.

This feature is public sharing. XMind Pro subscribers has another advanced feature, private sharing. They can select “Private” option while uploading map. And, the “private map” will be only seen by the people who get the owner’s invitation. Private and easy sharing are easy too.

This week, I had the opportunity to have a very nice conversation with Wallace Tait, a great Management Consultant, an expert in Visual thinking, mind mapping area. We talked about using visual thinking, mind mapping, XMind, and more. Below are part of what Wallace Tait’s say:

If your thoughts, feeling and actions are all firing together like three engine cylinders, then you get combustion, and this combustion produces results
Results are what people want, and the results are what gives people motivational movement to achieve more and more
Using a Mind map app such as XMind is an ideal tool to visualize your hopes, aspirations, wants and needs.
Have you ever seen someone using a Mind map for the first time? What they often produce, is a outward expression of their inward (subconscious) self.
Mind maps are very powerful motivational graphics, when used in the right manner, they give very tangible results
Data is made up of words and numbers, and when we humans aggregate (group) them, Data then becomes Information, and when Information is contextualized, it then becomes Knowledge, and if you use knowledge appropriately, it produces results that change everyone’s outlook on life
XMind can and does do this by the graphical nature of the mapping formats.

XMind Portable version makes visual thinking portable and freely!

XMind Portable is an individual zip file.  No more installations. No more registration. Just download and unzip it.  Then, you possess the complete features-rich XMind.

Save your download time for different operating systems. XMind Portable contains 4 operating system versions(XMind for Mac, XMind for Windows, XMind for Linux 32-bit, and XMind for Linux 64-bit) for you choose. Plus every version has 5 languages(English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German, and Japanese).

Without worrying about working on other computers. XMind Portable can be put into USB disk. Then simply plug this USB in and you have XMind available for you. If you save your work or other personal mind maps in this USB, your work and life will be portable too.

If you are interested, please click and download XMind Portable.

XMind Pro, with more powerful features than XMind, has portable version too. Please select and download it at XMind Pro Download page.

Remaining questions about Portable? Let’s keep this dialog here and leave your comments! Oh, and if you have ideas leave them too!

SourceForge.net has announced the winners of the SourceForge.net Community Choice Awards and XMind 3 is one big winner too. Nominated 4 of the 12 categories,  XMind won Best Project for Academia.

We would like to thank our developers, designer, site admins, our forum moderators, our translators, our millions of users worldwide, our fans, our friends, our families, SourceForge.net (for hosting our downloads and organizing the awards), Eclipse(for supplying so powerful tool),  everyone we have worked with in the past and everyone we will work with in the future.

This would not have been possible without everyone who helped, so you all deserve thanks and a round of applause. You should be proud of what we’ve done together. Just wait till everyone sees what we accomplish next!

Welcome to our blog! Mind mapping software is quickly growing in importance, not only as a tool to capture and organize your ideas, but also to organize projects, gather and present information, collaborate at a whole new level, and much more.

After 3 years, XMind has grown to be one of the most important mind mapping software tools. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll explore this best tool, and other mind mapping related things. Welcome aboard!