internal mindmap client?

[wordmuse]

I'm an avid user of the Freemind (well - it's cousin, Freeplane) mindmapping software.

I'm wondering if - hoping that - there might be a way to have items that use the Freemind/Freeplane apps in a way similar to how we have items that use MS Office apps.

Thus I could see my mindmaps within a URP context.

My standard disclaimer applies re difficulty and usefulness to others.

But if it is possible, that would be sweet.

- Bal

[quant]

I recall I tried that long time ago, there is a flash freemind viewer which could work from IE and therefore also internally in UR, so something like
http://www.wikimindmap.org/viewmap.php?wiki=en.wikipedia.org&topic=Richard_Smalley

But you cannot drag drop, etc ... so I ended up frustrated like with all other mind mapping managers I tried to intergrate or link with UR.
Sigh, why we cannot have alternative view of Data Explorer pane? :( I guees we cannot have everything ...

[wordmuse]

Perhaps a matter of perspective can help. :)

For me, I distinguish between core needs (hoisting, for instance) and nice-to-haves (in this case, embedded mindmapping). Obviously, each of us would have variations in what we would consider core versus nice, though there is surely a lot of overlap.

I think the priorities in Kinook's road map are pretty good.

And - given that everyone, even a genie like Kinook :), has constraints, it's hard for me to get even mildly annoyed about nice-to-haves.

-------------------------

Also - it sounds to me like you're interested in using mindmaps as a navigation tool for URP. I hadn't really thought in those terms, though I can see the sense of it.

I was simply thinking in terms of being able to have my mindmaps easily accessed in my project folders, instead of having to leave URP to get at them.

[quant]

I undestand.

The problem with 90% of mind maps, at least from my point of view, is that they don't alow mutliple parents, and they are static, they don't update display when there an important info added. They are basically tree structures, which most of the PIMs have anyway. The only difference is that the main topic is usually in the middle, instead of top left. Nothing else. I don't need MindManager or Freemind for that. I have item Maps and then all subitems of Maps are Root items of the mind map which when hoisted provides 99% of the features that 90% of the mindmanagers offer, with the addded benefit that everything is in UR, can be interlinked with other mind maps or rest of the data in UR.

Then there is another level on mind managers, like the brain and those using the touchgraph plugin like connectedtext and mindraider, (maybe also flying logic could be added to this category). They alow multiple parents and also update the display to show the closest items and reorganize them automatically. Because UR allows multiple parents, UR data explorer doesn't do the justice to the underlying structure that UR is capable to create, because it can only display simple tree structure. Therefore it would be great if Data Explorer could display the "full picture", which could then be used as a mind map inside excellent PIM. Best of both worlds.

[$bill]

quant...I am in complete agreement with your analysis. I have abandoned the mapping software except sometime for presenting information to others. I use a white board for any "visual thinking" and integrate the output into UR where it is vastly more useful to me.

Prior to coming to UR, I was a heavy user of The Brain and I currently frequent the Visual Thesaurus (thinkmap SDK). I too miss the "full picture" that a visual data explorer could add to UR. I appreciate the clarity of your post.

[quant]

this is how I want to navigate my data!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2d312_dXEs

[armsys]

Originally posted by quant
The problem with 90% of mind maps, at least from my point of view, is that they don't alow mutliple parents, and they are static, they don't update display when there an important info added. They are basically tree structures, which most of the PIMs have anyway. The only difference is that the main topic is usually in the middle, instead of top left. Nothing else. I don't need MindManager or Freemind for that. I have item Maps and then all subitems of Maps are Root items of the mind map which when hoisted provides 99% of the features that 90% of the mindmanagers offer, with the addded benefit that everything is in UR, can be interlinked with other mind maps or rest of the data in UR. I've been an ardent user of MindManager since 2003. You may be intrigued by latest features offered by MindManager 9.
For multiple parents, you can always use relations and floating topic(s) to circumvent the restriction.
It's a structural restriction. MindManager's design is based on outline. That may explain why a child can't have multiple parents.
Nonetheless, the combination of UR and MindManager can offer you the most powerful productivity tool available today. Correct me if I'm wrong.
In essence, all mindmaps can offer is a general visual concept and relationships between topics (aka info items in UR). All UR can offer is the data/contents. One complements another.
The marriage of UR and MindManager is easy by cross-hyperlinks. Every info item/folder in UR can be linked to topics in MindManager and vice versa.
Armstrong

[quant]

Originally posted by armsys
I've been an ardent user of MindManager since 2003. You may be intrigued by latest features offered by MindManager 9.
For multiple parents, you can always use relations and floating topic(s) to circumvent the restriction.
It's a structural restriction. MindManager's design is based on outline. That may explain why a child can't have multiple parents.
Nonetheless, the combination of UR and MindManager can offer you the most powerful productivity tool available today. Correct me if I'm wrong.
In essence, all mindmaps can offer is a general visual concept and relationships between topics (aka info items in UR). All UR can offer is the data/contents. One complements another.
You say that MM complements UR. In what sense? How is this
http://mindsystems.cachefly.net/screenshots/mm9/mm9_4_l.png
different from the following?

[armsys]

Originally posted by quant
You say that MM complements UR. In what sense? How is this...
Hi Quant,
Thanks for your generous effort in creating a UR for visual comparison.
Indeed, at the end of day, you're absolutely correct.
Again appreciate your advice.
Armstrong

[wordmuse]

Originally posted by quant
this is how I want to navigate my data!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2d312_dXEs

That is one sleek program, but I'm afraid I'd be more distracted than I am even now! :)

I wonder what kind of machine you'd need to make it run huge databases with that visualization at the speed shown in the video.

It clearly has some intriguing dimensions, perhaps the most significant for me is to see the SIZE and dimensions of the data at a glance with the ability to zoom in on whatever I find visually interesting. As long as visually interesting matches truly interesting and/or important, that could be very good indeed.

- Bal

[TimP]

What people call mindmaps generally aren't mindmaps - they're network diagrams. Mindmapping is a technique for brainstorming that few people use properly, the result of which is a network diagram to share with others.

With UR's ability to handle multiple parents per child, network diagrams as an alternate view to the tree would be very useful. Further, make them viewable in a web browser with a selected list of attributes displayed with each node and another list popping up with a click.

I don't know about floating, 3D views though. Fun indeed, but controlling the visual overload would take practice.

[wordmuse]

Just for clarification...

When I began this thread, I was not hoping that I could use a mindmap to navigate around URP. I was looking to be able to have URP enable something like Freemind or Freeplane as a client so that I could work with my mindmaps within URP. That would let me have my mindmaps and supporting documents inside a URP folder, and to examine/modify my mindmaps without having to launch Freeplane externally.

Having a network diagram in addition to (but not replacing) the tree pane is a separate idea that I also think worthy of consideration. But that is NOT the idea I wanted to suggest here.

- Bal