ABOUT IDEASONCANVAS

IdeasOnCanvas is an independent software company based in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Markus Müller-Simhofer in 2008 and specializes on designing intuitive and consumer friendly software for the iOS and Mac platform. Its flagship application is MindNode, an easy to use mind mapping application for Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

WHATS a MIND MAP

A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information. A mind map is hierarchical and shows relationships among pieces of the whole.^[1] It is often created around a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank page, to which associated representations of ideas such as images, words and parts of words are added. Major ideas are connected directly to the central concept, and other ideas branch out from those.

MindNode is one of the first mind mapping apps for Mac and iOS, and this version 5 is a huge update: a streamlined, more intuitive user interface, and the drag and drop support. There’s a lot more to this update as it has been rethought all the way and now may boast on being the leading mind-mapping application for Mac and IOS.

FEATURES

• NEW LAYOUT
  Adopted a more traditional app layout to improve discoverability.
  Important actions are now in the toolbar and no longer hidden away in the sidebar.
  Customize the toolbar to better suit your needs.
  A new left sidebar hosts the outline and the new theme picker.
• NEW DESIGN
  Many aspects of the user interface were updated to give the app a fresh new look and feel.
  All UI icons and stickers were updated in an all new style.
• TOP-DOWN-LAYOUT
  Grow your mind map from top to bottom, or bottom to top. Mix and match layouts on the same canvas.
• ORTHOGONAL BRANCHES
  Change line type from rounded to orthogonal to give them a more edgy look and feel.
• PERSONAL THEMES
  Create as many personal themes as you like, sync them to all your devices, and share them with other.
  New built-in themes make your mind maps even more beautiful.

IMPROVED OUTLINE

• Keep outline and inspector open at the same time
• Show notes inline
• Improved display of main nodes without subnodes
• Always show the entire node title, also when searching content
• Highlight all found results in the same node during search
• Resolves flickering text issue when entering text of a node that is shown in a search result

USER INTERFACE

Ever been confused with an application you felt being not properly designed? Well the new MindNode 5 will bring a fresh and clean interface having all buttons and menu’s placed in a logical way. No need to search for a wanted action through all possible buttons. No, this is where MinNode 5 excels. Like all applications it needs getting used too, but it is self-explaining really. Just try and see what happens or check the introduction video to see what is capable of. Even active links can be implemented to take you to a stored webpage or document.

Check the Preset Themes and pick your layout. And to add some visual enhancement to your mind map, icons are provided and images are simply added. Its fully Drag&Drop manageable.

The team at IdeasOnCanvas did a splendid job with their work on MindNode 5, because design-wise it feels like a whole new app. Creating a new mind map, use for opening Quick Entry mode. The Quick Entry option is a new feature: it lets you put your thoughts down in outline form, then when you’re done, it is automatically converted into a new mind map. Depending on what type of project or issue, this option is really helpful.

I would like to have clickable (active) places to expand a tree and go back again, when using for presentation. This would change it from static to full dynamic use at some point. It may be there, but I haven’t found it. This also applies to linked PDF files which could be opened and closed to make this more useful outside the basic idea.

Checkout the difference in the overall interface between version 4 and this latest version 5.
( picture macstories.net )

USING MINDNODE 5 on IOS

This part is not so easy to discuss as working with an application like this workable on a iPad but certainly not on a iPhone ! Well not for me anyway. This video is self-explaining and shows all possibilities on an iPad, which work fine in daily life. Then again I can’t even imagine working on anything lees then 27 “, how things change in life I wonder.

DRAG & DROP

The new MindNode 5 is dynamically build. Drag & Drop is one of the easy things its capable off. Choose your image by drag & drop OR choose it from the menubar. The ability to drag content from other apps and drop it into your mind map works fine. A mind map is a an endless canvas, and now that canvas doubles as a landing place for content from other apps. Insert the image for the project you’ve been mapping, just by dropping it in. Have some notes you want to keep close at hand? No problem. MindNode offers support for dropping images, text, and reminders. You can also drop an URL( link ), but only in text fields. A full support support to include the option to drop a URL anywhere, and add common files like PDFs would be a good improvement for future versions.

EXPORT OPTIONS

MindNode 5 has Export options available ( picture below ) which are sufficient

VERDICT

MindNode 5 is beautiful designed and is truly a wonderful mind mapping application. MindNode 5, has got plenty to show for. Dynamic behavior and full drag & drop. Quick Entry helps you start your personal mind map with increased flexibility. The export options are
fine but lacks the ability to save for ( steps ) presentations. This application is performing really well overall. It takes care of your creative skills, you only need to drag the nodes or branches to any spot you like. Bob’s your uncle…as they say. Visualization of your thoughts is what it does in a great way. If your looking for a mind map application try MindNode 5 and see if it fits your needs.

MindNode 5 is available on the iOS App Store as a free download, with a one-time In-App Purchase to unlock editing capabilities. The In-App Purchase is $14.99 for new users, or $9.99 for owners of MindNode 4. On the Mac, MindNode 5 is also a free download, and its In-App Purchase is $39.99 for new users, and $14.99 for owners of MindNode 2.