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思维导图工具

我们人类的大脑充斥这各种思想。除非我们组织它们，否者我们很难关注重要的事情。组织和收集才智是一项富有挑战性的工作，因此头脑风暴法自然而然的被归纳出来。

试想当前的办公程序例如word和ppt，它们只提供了一种展示我们已经推理出思想（例如：有价值的想法），

并没有提供一种方法来有效的收集想法。一种新的快速增长的一类叫做思维导图工具正式为了解决这个问题。

正如名字所表达的，这些工具被特别的设计，目的是为了快速以图和层次链接的方式记下我们的思想，

并为闪现在我们脑中的看此无结构的灵感和想法规序。

对于linux下思维导图工具，下面介绍了FreeMind和XMind.

Free Mind

让我们探索一个这样的工具FreeMind。这个工程以及迁移到sourceForge，一个提供开源项目托管的大型网站。这个工具第一眼看上去可能有点吓人，因为左侧那个有一列图标的长长的工具条，其实它们仅仅是信息标示，而不是功能。

点新建按钮或者选择菜单File>new开始。一个椭圆出现在屏幕中央。名字为NewMindmap。点击它把状态转换为可编辑的文本域。这是根节点，思想的中心点。例如，编辑为2008年，并且假设我们将要在着一年试用一个叫做ubuntu操作系统。

请插入或者右键选择新建字节点。把这个字节点命名为ubuntu。再次插入一个子节点写上标题“Searchthe internet for installationguide.”在其他操作成型前保存map。可以使用图标修饰原始的map节点，右键ubuntu节点选择icon>linux.同样地，可以用旗帜修饰它的字节点用来突出显示。

除了icons外，还其他的视觉辅助可以map看起来更有意思的是物理样式。选中最后一个节点，按enter添加一个兄弟节点，命名为“aska friend for Live CD” 并且右键选择它的物理格式为Needs Action。注意现在这个节点是红色标志显示了它的不同。

Mindmapping并不是一次性的行为。它可以被用作跟踪一个进程的基本工具。

例如，这一周末，你找时间在你从互联网下载了一些ubuntu安装教程，这些教程你要在接下来的一周参考。简单地，找到map的相关节点，右键选择Insert>Hyperlink.快捷键出现在标题的旁边，可以方便访问。选择一个文件和注解这个节点将显示一个红色的箭头。移动鼠标到这个节点，将会在状态栏显示文件名称和位置。因为这是一个超链接，因此它提供一个方便访问组织好思想的方法。

 

XMind

XMind是一款同样开源且跨平台的思维导图软件，XMind在功能上一点也不逊色于FreeMind，某些方面，XMind甚至更加具有优势。XMind支持中文简繁体。

 

XMind 的特点是具有多种结构样式，不只Map 一种，还包括 Org、Tree、LogicChart、Fishbone 等等。同时，在XMind 中，除了可以灵活的定制节点外观、插入图标外，还有多种样式和主题可以选择。

优点：开源、跨平台、支持Eclipse，包括了一个大家共享导向图的平台。

一个示例图，感謝作者。

 

Mind MappingTools

 

 

By hassam

 

Our minds arefull of thoughts. And unless we organise them, it is difficult tofocus on important matters. This also becomes a challenge whencollective intelligence has to be gathered or exercises, such as whenbrainstorming sessions are to be conducted.

 

Though thecurrent office applications like Word processors and presentationtools provide a way to demonstrate already processed ideas (that is,meaningful thoughts), they do not provide ways to effectively gatherideas. This is where a new and rapidly growing genre of softwarecalled Mind Mapping tools enters.

 

As the namesuggests, these tools are specifically designed for the purpose ofjotting down thoughts in form of a map with hierarchical links tocreate order out of apparently unstructured thoughts and ideashovering in our minds.

 

Free Mind

FreeMind is a premier freemind-mapping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map)software written in Java. The recent development has hopefully turnedit into high productivity tool. We are proud that the operation andnavigation of FreeMind is faster than that of MindManager because ofone-click "fold / unfold" and "follow link"operations.

So you want to write a completely newmetaphysics? Why don't you use FreeMind? You have atool at hand that remarkably resembles the tray slips of RobertPirsig, described in his sequel to Zen and the Art of MotorcycleMaintenance called Lila. Do you want to refactoryour essays in a similar way you would refactorsoftware? Or do you want to keep personal knowledge base,which is easy to manage? Why don't you try FreeMind? Do you want toprioritize, know where you are,where you've been and where you are heading, asStephen Covey would advise you? Have you tried FreeMind to keep trackof all the things that are needed for that?

 

Let us exploreone such tool called Free Mind for Windows. A one-time Project of theMonth over Source Forge, this is a site offering a huge collection ofopen-source software. This tool can look a little intimidating atfirst as it presents a left side bar with a list of icons - which arejust for info marking, not for functionality.

 

Start withpressing the New button on toolbar or File > New. An oval shapeappears in the middle of the screen with a caption New Mindmap. Clickit to covert the shape to editable text field. This is the root node,that is, the focal thought point. Call it Year 2008 for example, andassume we want to try a new operating system Ubuntu this year.

 

Press Insert oruse r-click to select New Child Node. Name this child node as Ubuntu.Press Insert again to add a note with caption "Search theinternet for installation guide." Save the map before otheroperations could be formed. Making use of icons to visually guidethis very primitive map, r-click the Ubuntu node and select Icon >Linux. Similarly, place the icon of Flag on its sub-node to show anoutstanding item.

 

 

 

For furtheremphasis, node appearance can be modified to one's wishes with theoptions of colours, background and edges. Continue to transfer allthe outstanding tasks from your mind onto the visual map this way,making use of indicative icons for quick reference. If at any timeyou feel overwhelmed by the size of the structure, use the plus andminus buttons at the top to fold or unfold levels, so that focus canbe retained at higher levels or at minute details as and whenrequired.

 

At times, therecould be some relationship among the nodes other than parent-child orsibling. For example, searching for an online reference resource andasking your colleague for a report on the same subject can be twodistinct sibling nodes under Project Report node. However, assumethat you have to verify the contents of colleague's report from yourown internet reference material. Such links can be captured byselecting both the nodes and selecting Insert > Graphical Linkwhich draws an arrow from first to the second selected node.

 

When the mindmap expands and requires scrolling, graphical links can be veryuseful. There is also an option to create hyperlinks between thenodes themselves using the Insert menu. This comes in handy to jumpinstantly from one node to another when two nodes share some commoninformation under different parent nodes.

 

Obviously, thismap mechanism is of little use if all we could capture in our nodesis its name and links. Thankfully, there is an option of notes.Select a node, go to menu Insert and select Note. From now on,selecting this particular node will result in notes area at thebottom of the screen. Make sure to move your mouse to this areawithout hovering over any other node otherwise notes area willdisappear.

 

Now we discuss amind mapping tool for Ubuntu, called View Your Mind. It also startswith a root node in the middle. Adding an icon is fairly easy as allit takes is a click at the toolbar at the top, and multiple icons canbe added as well. Addition of notes is simple using View > ShowNotes Editor that opens a separate window and adds a clickable iconinside the node. The export option is something to be noted here asit allows XML as well as TXT or image.

 

A question mayarise here though: how is mind mapping different from note takingwhich has grown in popularity as a new kind of software. The foremostdifference is orientation. Notes do not display a cohesive picturewith graphical layout. Furthermore, in mind mapping, different mapscan be created for different projects or assignments.

 

Tools such asmind mappers are only as good as the users use and implement them.