Mind mapping is a method of note taking, and brainstorming that makes use of both hemispheres of the brain. You can use pencil, pen, marker on sheets of paper to make your mind maps, but when you combine your computer with mind mapping you can truly free your mind.
I have used several mind mapping software products in my years. They all do the task admirably. Some are more whimsical and artistic than others. Some are actual databases mapping not only my mind, but the products of my mind in my computer. The one thing they all have in common is a price. Some are more dear than others. This is where free mind comes in.
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Freemind is an open source product with a free price tag. It is build in Java, and therefore can be run on all operating systems. It does the job very well. It even has the capability of stores notes about the nodes and even can have a long node.
All mind mapping software begins at the same point. This is the central idea and is usually represented as an oval with words of the central idea in it. Radiating out from it are child nodes with more specific ideas expounding on the central idea. Branching out from these child nodes are further ideas related to the child node. What makes Freemind so good is that each of the nodes can be collapsed, so that you see what you want to see, and then uncollapsed to show it again. You can set the color of each element to created a colorful mind map, or you can keep it simple with ovals and text.
The tab and enter key makes child and sibling nodes respectively. The arrow keys allows you to move through the web of the mind map without having to use the mouse. The right click menu brings up appropriate menus for whatever you right clicked on. The File does not store the graphics at all. Rather the file is an xml of your mind map. Meaning that you can use xml tools to get at the information in the map. There an assortment of icons and decorations that you can use to help organize your mind map even more.
This beginning means that you can have mind maps for all of your ideas and notes.
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