Recommendations for mind mapping other than MindNode

It’s not exactly what you’re looking for, but check this out - User Guide - MindNode

Maybe Freeform could work?

@Bmosbacker: I used to be all in on OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle. I was especially fond of OmniOutliner, but I drifted away as the downgraded the notes: I found it really useful for long-form writing and planning up until that moment. OmniGraffle is an amazing app, but is it infinite canvas? (I suppose one could set up a poster-sized canvas on which to work.)

@DannyR … Freeform isn’t quite there yet for me, but I am keeping an eye on it.

@webwalrus … I’ve used MindNode’s connections function in the past, but it always feels like a second-class link.

I, too, have been a heavy user and a big fan of OO. However, I going to try something new and a “bit out there.” With the new folding headings feature in Apple Notes, I will try using AN to outline more extensive presentations and then use the Open in Pages feature to finish the article or presentation. Except for a book project (in Scrivener), I use Pages for nearly all of my writing. The Open in Pages from AN works well because the headings in AN are translated to headings in Pages. And, the block quote format in Notes is translated to a quote paragraph in Pages.

This may not, and probably will not, work well, but I lose nothing by giving it a shot. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I often have to make diagrams, and I also face the issue of two (or more) parents into one child. I do not know of an automatic way of doing this (by which I mean the click to make a branch), but I do use some more manual methods. The main thing I need is that as nodes are moved, the connections are not lost.

Simplemind Pro is my mind mapping tool (no subscription). They have a sort of way to do this (it maybe other mind map software has this as well). It involves shifting a branch, as seen in the gif for their help site. You can fiddle with arrows and colors etc.

giphy

You can also use a connector arrow manually.
image

I also use Cmap. Designed for concept maps, it is as ugly as sin but is surprisingly effective.
image. One can quickly develop quite complicated maps.

Other have mentioned Scapple - which I love

The other one I use is figjam - the lite version of figma. It is quite a manual process, but it does create sticky connections.

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If you want to go completely mad, there is Kumu - but that maybe over the top

If anyone has any other ideas I would also love to hear them.

EDIT: Of course there is freeform

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I’m now using Obsidian Canvas. It allows for infinite mind maps, and some of mine are getting pretty big without any apparent performance issues. It allows for free placement and multiple connections per node which I like.

There is a plugin which allows (slightly imperfectly) more conventional organisation and auto-layout. I don’t use it.

I’m am using the Advanced Canvas plugin which allows for additional shapes, connectors, border styles and so on.

Overall, from what I can recall, it’s closest to Scapple.

If you use Obsidian more generally there’s the additional bonus of being able to embed notes in the canvas.

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I also use SimpleMind Pro. For those interested, the developers released an update in June. You can see the new features here:

CMap looks remarkably similar to Scapple. If you’ve used both, can you comment on the differences?

SimpleMind Pro really pretty damn good.
All platforms, syncs quickly and flawlessly.
Converts iThoughts maps, has a lot of overlapping features with the dearly departed iThoughts and a number of new features.

Really happy with it. Could no longer stand the kindergarten sweetness of MindNode

Great that you found an app that fits your needs. Would you like to share what aspects of MindNode are too “sweet”? Default themes, stickers,… Thank you

This is an impressive app, and with its layout options, it looks like it’s actually aware that mind maps are networks and not simply trees (which are a particular kind of network). I’ve downloaded it and played with it. It’s not really clear to me why multiple parents for a node is so difficult.

I’m going to add that I discovered SimpleMind’s Achilles’ heel: its export options. You can export a mind map as a PDF or as a PDF.

MindNode, whatever it’s other limitations, offers quite a few more options:

I began sketching out the specifications for a full network-oriented note-taking app and it looked a lot like VoodooPad and Obsidian with MindNode as the frontend. I am not an app developer, so if anyone can take care of that for me…

FTR, I looked at XMind, it is a damn impressive app, but it’s $60 annual subscription is a bit steep for me at this point in my exploration.

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I’m on my phone now, so I’m not sure what this looks like on the Mac, but if I select open in, I have many more options.

Ah, that’s because those are over in Export Mind Map! I chose Export Outline — because I was thinking textually? You are correct. More options are available!

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On the Desktop version as well

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It would be fantastic if you could arrange that to be built. Do ping me when it’s ready.

:slight_smile:

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SimpleMind Pro great app.

The only good Mind Mapping program I used was Headcase. It made Windows almost worth using. Sadly Headcase is not longer being developed and never made it to Macs anyway. (Headcase was infinitely better than the Buzan company’s own tool.)

Can SimpleMind export as Markdown? Or failing that, does Marked read SimpleMind files?

Not directly into Markdown, which is a shame. However, if I want to convert it into Markdown, I export it as a *.opml file and then use Zavala Outliner to convert it into Markdown.

Marked will open the opml file that comes straight out of Simplemind. Of course, that OPML file can be imported into almost any Mindmap app to produce the visual map.