MindView 7.2

MindView can help you organize and present ideas by creating mind maps. An application like this one comes in quite handy for brainstorming sessions, project management and presentations. Since it may take a while to master all its features, it is a good idea to start by opening the accompanying sample or downloading some others from the developer's site.

The application's interface is quite intuitive considering the availability of so many features. Fortunately, it supports various views: Mind Map, Top-Down View, left right view, outline view, timeline view and Gantt view. What is more, it even allows to use a split view to explore your mind map and Gantt chart at the same time. A mind map can be created from a template, which could save some time and effort, as well as from scratch. In this regard, you can easily create your idea tree by adding new branches and sub-branches. There is even the possibility of linking various maps or creating a new map from a branch of the current project.

Mind View has the advantage of allowing to attach practically any kind of file, including documents, videos, sounds, text and hyperlinks, to any part of your tree. It is good that there is a huge multimedia library that contains more than 1500 different items, such as clipart, shapes and icons. A great advantage is that you can attach task data, which is highly convenient for project management. Likewise, the tool supports entering formulas and numbers and letting the application do the calculation automatically. Adding objects can be done by simple drag-and-drop operations and there is no limit to the number of items you can attach or embed.

Another advantage of MindView is that it supports exporting to other applications, particularly the Microsoft Office suite. Although the quality of the export is excellent if the target is Excel or Word, it is not so good in the case of PowerPoint. It is a shame that it cannot export to Visio as well.

In general, MindView is generally considered the best mind-mapping application, which, in my opinion, is well deserved. This product can have a great impact on your productivity, so do not miss this opportunity to try it. Unfortunately, its high price makes it more affordable for companies than individual users.