Mind Mapping Software Resources

The best collection of information and resources on visual mapping tools

Mind mapping software is uniquely suited to these needs. It's a whiteboard where you can do a mental "core dump" of your ideas, and then rearrange them as needed. It's an object-oriented environment, where you can attach nearly any kind of computer file to your maps and keep them just a mouse click away. Mind mapping software can also act as a powerful, flexible dashboard - a window on key business information, projects, resources and processes that can be tailored to match your work style.

This lens is designed to provide you with a convenient summary of mind mapping and visual diagramming resources, with a special focus on software-produced maps and the tools used to create them.

Latest News From the Mind Mapping Software Blog

The Mind Mapping Software Blog is your leading source for news, trends and resources related to visual mapping. It covers a variety of topics that are focused on the needs of users of mind mapping software.

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Tips & Strategies for Using Mind Mapping Software

Articles I've written that will help you get more out of your mind mapping software

NEW & NOTABLE

The 8 best ways to improve your mind maps

10 mistakes to avoid with mind mapping software

Manage meetings more effectively using mind mapping software

Using mind mapping software for life planning

Mind mapping software: A cure for information overload

5 top add-in programs for MindManager

3 benefits of visual mapping in meetings

Breakthrough productivity tips from a 'visual strategist'

MORE GREAT STRATEGIES

How to use mind mapping software for project management

The T.A.P. process for visual mapping

Funnel timeline: A visual approach to project planning

Visual Diagramming Adds Impact to Ideas

Tony Buzan reflects on the growth, evolution and future of Mind Mapping

Mind mapping software FAQs

Reviews of Mind Mapping Software

I have written reviews of many popular mind mapping software programs for my website, InnovationTools. Here's a list of the most recent ones:

NovaMind 4 Platinum offers cool new features, excellent ease of use

Visual Mind 9 opens new ground for collaboration with mind maps

OpenMind 2 Business Edition offers impressive mind mapping toolset, extraordinary ease of use

FreeMind open-source mind mapping app is capable, flexible

Inspiration 8 for Windows adds new functionality, numerous improvements

ConceptDraw MINDMAP Pro 4 offers expanded business capabilities

BrainMine Standard 2005: Designed to meet the needs of new mind mappers

ResultManager 2.0 is innovative tool for management of your actions and projects

E-books on Mind Mapping Software

Tips and strategies for selecting and using mind mapping software

Power Tools & Strategies for Mind Mapping Software - Second Edition

This expanded and updated e-book contains a wealth of tips, strategies and best practices that will help you to become a master mapper. New in this edition are 20 case histories, in which users of mind mapping software show you their maps, and explain why they created them and how they utilize them to manage their work. Powerful stuff!

The Mind Mapping Manifesto

Take command of your workload, generate more creative solutions, make better decisions and significantly increase your productivity with mind mapping software.

The Mind Mapping Power Pack

The Mind Mapping Power Pack is a set of e-books and video learning sessions that can help you to learn some fresh, new ways to utilize your visual mapping software.

Learn More About Mind Mapping & Mind Mapping Software

These websites contain the best background information and resources about paper and software-based visual mapping.

Mind Mapping Software Blog: My blog, which provides businesspeople with a focused collection of resources related to visual mapping - its applications, its benefits, and how you can use it to increase your productivity and creativity.
Mind Mapping Strategies: An excellent primer on using mind mapping in business!
The Mind Mapping Resource Center: This web page is a terrific compilation of articles, software reviews and links to all of the vendors of mind mapping software.
Wikipedia's Mind Map Page: This page explains what a mind map is, its origins, uses, guidelines and more.
Mind Mapping in 8 Easy Steps: If you're new to paper-based mind mapping, this article by Joyce Wycoff is a popular primer.
Buzan World: The website of the developer of mind mapping, Tony Buzan.
Mind Mapping for Marketers and Writers: Roger C. Parker shares some valuable tips and techniques for utilizing mind mapping software to help you organize your questions for interviews, your topics for nearly any type of writing project, maintain lists of media contacts and much more.
Guerrilla Marketing with mind maps: A brand new Squidoo lens by Roger C. Parker that explains how to handle 10 common marketing tasks efficiently using mind mapping software. These are great examples of mind mapping applications!
Mappio: This is a great repository of software-produced and hand-drawn mind maps - lots of inspiration here!

Free/Web-based Mind Mapping Tools

If you're looking to learn more about the possibilities of mind mapping software, but aren't ready to spend money on a software program, there are a growing number of free and web-based tools that you can try out now:

Freemind - This is an open-source software program that is quite capable. You can download it here, or read my review of it here.

Mindomo - Mindomo is a brand-new web-based mind mapping application that offers a lot of functionality in a very polished interface. Very impressive! Click here to read my blog post about it.

MindMeister - MindMeister is another impressive web-based mind mapping tool. Click here to read my review of it.

Comapping - Commapping is a web-based mapping tool that is designed to enable collaboration. Click here to read my most recent blog post about it.

Mind42 - Mind42, as its name implies (mindmapping "for two" - 42 - get it?), is focused on providing a collaborative environment for visual mapping. It offers some great functionality and a well-designed interface. Click here to read my blog post about it.

Wisemapping - Wisemapping is a web-based mapping tool that is currently in beta testing, and offers a number of nice features. Click here to read my blog post about it.

IdeaTree - IdeaTree is a new visual, team-based tool for capturing and structuring information and knowledge. It enables you to collect images, files, web pages and other bits of information into a visual map. Click here to read my blog post about it.