XMind

Brainstorming and Mindmapping!

People may already know the theme in XMind. Esp. the theme-extracting feature can extract all attribute settings of topics, relationships, lines, boundaries and etc.  This also means applying a theme to the map will modify all these elements in it. But what if we just want to change the relationship, topic, or boundary only? Here is the Style.

The style feature allows us to change topic, boundary or relationship separately. And more, we can design one special topic style, extract and rename it for future usage. Below will show you how to enjoy the Style

Apply Style

First, let’s see how to apply the topic style into the map,

1. Open the Style view from menu View – Styles
2. Select the target topic(s) in the map
3. Choose the preferred style in the Style view and double-click
4. Now, the selected topic(s) should have a new style.

We can also apply the corresponding style to boundary, relationship and sheet by the same steps. In fact, this feature is FREE.

Extract Style

In XMind, after designing the topic, boundary, relationship and sheet, we can extract these styles for future usage.  They will be listed in the Style view.  We can rename them and apply them to the others fast. Below are steps how to extract style from a topic,

1. Select the target topic in the map
2. Clicking Tool-Extract Style from the menu.
   
3. XMind will extract this topic style and save it in the Style view.
4. Click the name of this extracted style, we can rename it.
5. For deleting the extracted style, please select one and click “Delete”button.
6. The steps to extract styles of boundary, relationship and sheet are the same.

Have you tried to extract your own style and apply? Since we know how to extract and apply our own style, why not try to improve the efficiency?

This is an excellent post of elevating our performance by mind mapping software from Chuck Frey, a famous mind mapping blogger.

Mind mapping software is a powerful tool for savvy executives who want to improve their impact and effectiveness in their work. No software tool is better suited to help you think deeply about your work and to increase the value of your contributions to others in your organization.
Here are 16 powerful ways mind mapping software can help you to elevate your performance and make a bigger impact in your work (click on the image above for an expanded mind map showing all 16 benefits):

Productivity
1. Manage information overload and stay better organized
2. Reach clarity faster on complex business issues
3. Make better informed decisions
4. Plan projects and manage tasks easier

Analysis/ critical thinking
1. Analyze problems more thoroughly
2. See patterns and holes in information more readily
3. Play with ideas, possibilities and scenarios easily

 Creativity
1. Great tool for exploration and discovery
2. Be more of a “whole-brained” thinker – left and right sides – analytical AND creative
3. Capture ideas lurking at the periphery of your thinking
4. Mind mapping provides a visual guide to the connections between ideas
5. It bypasses the “inner critic” – you can easily do a brain dump and organize your thoughts later

Collaboration
1. Reach shared understandings of business issues in meetings
2. Get people more engaged in brainstorming sessions
3. It enhances the group’s ability to do systems-level thinking
4. It captures a “group memory” or history of what has been discussed in the meeting

I agree with Chuck Frey’s points for his complete and specific analysis. As a visualize thinker, I’ve seen the benefit that mind map has brought to the users. As professional mind mapping software, XMind has offered more opportunities for elevating our performance.
I often use XMind for managing fragmented information and making strategic thinking. Then, How do you use XMind for elevating your performance?

Here we introduce a short but great video. This video will help us to know XMind and Mind mapping better.

(This is a very good post about why we need visual thinking by Chuck Frey, a famous blogger in mind mapping and visual thinking area.)

Dan Roam, author of the visual mapping books The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas With Pictures and Blah, Blah, Blah: What To Do When Words Don’t Work, compares the process of visual thinking to carving a faceted diamond out of a rough piece of the crystalline substance. This is a very powerful analogy.

In their natural state, diamonds do not look like the beautiful, multi-faceted gemstones that are one of the world’s most valuable substances. Instead, they look like a lump of crystal. In much the same way, raw information must be carved and shaped to create something of meaning and value. Most people don’t know how to do this.

It takes an experienced diamond cutter to carve the stone and reveal the beautiful facets of the diamond. In much the same way, a visual thinker dissects a large pile of information, classifies it, organizes it and converts it into a cohesive visual presentation out of it that is thrilling to behold. Visual thinkers need to be skilled at systems-level thinking, able to recognize patterns and connections within the bits of information they have gathered, and a keen eye for separating valuable elements from the useless bits.

In both diamond cutting and visual thinking the primary process is one of simplification, cutting away that which is not of value and maximizing the presentation of the parts that remain Like a diamond, information has multiple facets; in a mind map, these are reflected as primary topics, each containing a depth of subtopics, much like the reflections and refractions within a fine diamond.

The final point of comparison between diamonds and visual mapping can be found in the worth of the raw material versus the finished product. Coal has little value. It’s basically carbon formed into a shale-like substance. But compressed under the proper heat and pressure conditions for millions of years and then chiseled and shaped by an experienced diamond cutter, it is transformed into something of incomparable value. In the same way, a visual mapper takes a pile of information and knowledge and transforms it into something of much greater value – a business decision, a plan or a multi-million dollar idea.

That’s the power and value of visual thinking.

After few years, XMind Share has been proved be a very good service. Without much advertise, now, there are 43,621 maps. And we pick out 3,094 featured maps, and 1,067 DailyMap. People share their mind maps, learn from others’ and understand how to benefit from mind map, and etc. We hear these kind stories every day.

During this period, we are glad to see that more and more people spend attention on mind map and mind mapping software, like Biggerplate, the website focusing on sharing mind map. On Biggerplate, there are more than 245,000 maps made by four mind mapping software. It also offers us an opportunity to learn from other tools.

Recently, Biggerplate releases an important feature, GROUP, which is very useful. The members can round up maps those relate to our area of interest as a GROUP, then introduce it to others. Of course, we have a XMind official Group on it too. It will offer a different experience from XMind Share. Worth to try!

Now, we want to share some frequently asked questions after releasing XMind v3.2 and v3.2.1.

Q: How to benefit from XMind Share?

A: XMind Share is the service to store and share the mind maps online. Public Sharing will let the whole world know your works. Unlisted Sharing can store your maps and share with a group of people easily by distributing that map’s URL. Private Sharing will protect your works. Without your invitation, no people can see that them, even they have the URL.
At present, XMind Share is just a Sharing service. It does not have the features like online-edit or version-control.

Q: I have paid the money, where is my Subscription Codes?

A: Now, XMind Ltd is using Paypal and SWReg as the payment gateway to collect money.  And once your payment is finished, XMind server will send out the purchased Subscription Codes with the instruction immediately.

• For using Paypal, the code(s) will be sent to the Primary email in your Paypal Account.
• For using SWReg, the code(s) will be sent to the email you filled during the payment process.

If you do not see this email, please also have a check about the spam folder.

Q: I want to submit the bug, or suggestions, what should I do?

A: Thank you very much. You’re welcomed to do this kind things. From these reports, XMind knows how to improve itself, and why to do (to repay your support!).

You can directly send emails to support@xmind.net.

• For submitting bugs, please use “submit XMind bugs” as the email Subject
• For sharing your amazing ideas, please use “XMind Suggestions” as the Subject

September 15, 2010 — — XMind Ltd today announced the new XMind, packed with great new features including New TaskInfo view, Home Map setting, Overview View, French language support, Spanish language support, Office 2010 support on Windows, Unlisted Sharing, Fit Map and Brand new Gallery — all combined in this most powerful XMind.

This new version also features up to the most stable XMind and brings hundreds of improvements and fixed bugs.

Download the best XMind now

Good news! Before June 30th, you can have XMind Pro Subscription Code with 10% discount, which is $44.10 per year only. To enjoy this, please use the coupon code “PRO10OFF” with the below steps:

1. Visit http://www.xmind.net/pro/buy/
2. Click “Buy Now” button on this page,
3. Select the “Quantity“, and your “Currency“,
4. Click “I have a coupon code”, and paste the coupon code PRO10OFF into the coupon code field,
5. Scroll down the page and click “Continue” button,
6. You are forwarded to the payment page powered by Paypal,
7. Finish your payment and wait the browser back to the ThankYou page of XMind.net.

That’s all. Now, you will receive an email sent to your paypal account email by xmind system. That email includes:

• Your subscription code(s).
• How to use your subscription code(s).
• Some necessary things about xmind you should know.

Still have questions? Leave your comments or contact us.

P.S. If you can not see that Paypal button on the purchase page, please send the USD44.10 or EUR36.00 or GBP33.10 or JPY4410.00 directly to XMind paypal account,  paypal@xmind.net.
While paying the money, please leave your email in the notes, then we can send the code to you in time.

Here, we would like to share 2010 Calendar with you. Hope it can be your great Personal Management tool in 2010.

Click and download here.

One of our best friends, an XMind Pro daily user from South Africa, reminds that XMind not only can organize our ideas but all our work as well, for example, manage all your files in Project Management.

This friend told us that, most of time, he was drowned in numerous files, notes, spreadsheets, quotes, web links. Until one day, he found XMind can be used to manage all these files. Most people just think of mind maps as a way of organizing sparkles or ideas. However, XMind, as a mind mapping software, indeed, can help us as a great files management tool.

One significant way is to use the attachment. It’s very handy. We can directly drag and drop any required files into XMind as a subtopic of the exiting topic, or a floating topic. Double-click will open these attachments.  Fast and simple. But this may not be the best solution. Because:
XMind will save a copy file. Then, after editing them in XMind, the original version in your local computer will not be updated.
After inserting many files, esp. file with big size, your XMind file will become bigger. And it will use more time to open, save and close.

So here is the second way, Hyperlink, a better solution. You can build a hyperlink between any topic and any a local file/folder. It’s very simple.

Select a topic, Click “Ctrl+H” or hyperlink icon on toolbar, Select file, and here choose the file/folder and link type, “Absolute or Relative”. That’s all. And with one simple click, we can view and edit these linked files/folders in XMind directly.

BTW, if you usually move XMind files in your computer, such as from “D driver” to “E driver”, it’s better to use Absolute link. It can works after moving it. Note that this absolute links will be invalid if being moved to another computer.

If using Relative link, please do not change the relative position between XMind file and the linked files/folders. Then, you can bring them together, and work with this linked files anywhere. For example, if they are in one same folder, the links will work no matter where this folder is. This is very useful for working on airplane, doing presentation to clients, and etc.

Then all the files in the map present themselves to us. We can navigate the files within the map, organize and arrange them by changing the structure, color, line shape, and even use label, boundary, and theme.

With XMind, time will be saved, meanwhile, both ideas and files will be well organized.

P.S. here, we want to share another usage from a Chinese daily user. Hope this is useful.
He told us that they have many files (they are not allowed to save in other computers.) in their LAN server, and needed to link them in XMind. He hopes that the link in map will be available while he open linked files and show them to manager. He called us, because Absolute link and relative link neither worked.

After testing, we find Web link (select Web in Hyperlink dialog) is feasible. Instead of using “http://”, paste the target file position in to field, such as “\\venus\D\xmind-portable-3.1.1″, at last fill “\”+”file name”. Then inside their LAN, work goes fluently again.

Now, please enjoy our XMind Pro XMAS family package!