Trademarks
Trademarks and Credits

MatchWare, MatchWare Mediator, MatchWare OpenMind and MatchWare ScreenCorder are trademarks or registered trademarks of MatchWare A/S.

Mind Map, Mind Mapping, Mental Literacy and Radiant Thinking are registered trademarks of the Buzan Organisation.

Microsoft, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft FrontPage, Microsoft Windows, Windows Media Player, Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Netscape is a registered trademark of the Netscape Corporation.

Flash is a trademark of Macromedia, Inc.

Other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Special thanks to Marcia Daniels for creating the OpenMind curriculum-based templates.

Marcia Daniels is a science and technology teacher with 15 years of public and private school experience, currently teaching at Mill Springs Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.


MatchWare License Agreement

This program is copyrighted © 2002-2003 by MatchWare A/S. All rights reserved.

MatchWare and MatchWare OpenMind are trademarks or registered trademarks of MatchWare A/S. Mind Map, Mental Literacy and Radiant Thinking are registered trademarks of the Buzan Organisation. Other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Information given in this documentation can be changed and represents no obligation on MatchWare, its Publishers or Agents. This documentation is copyrighted © 2002-2003 by MatchWare. All rights reserved. This documentation is not to be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or transferred to an electronic media or machine sensible form without a written authorization from MatchWare or its Publishers.

IMPORTANT You should read the following MatchWare License Agreement (EULA) carefully. If you install, copy, download, or use this software product you agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. If you do not agree with the conditions, you are not entitled to install and use the software, and should immediately return the software package and all other material in this package along with proof of payment, to the authorized dealer from whom you obtained it for a full refund of the price you paid. Do not make any illegal copies.

MatchWare License Agreement

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Foreword

As you read about the nature and workings of your memory and about your brain's other major functions, you will realize the extraordinary extent of its capacity and potential. The Mind Map is a tool used to entice, delight, stimulate and challenge you. You will discover some astonishing facts about your brain and its function, and you will take the first major steps on the path to freedom of the mind.

WHAT IS A MIND MAP®?

A Mind Map is a highly effective way of getting information in and out of your brain - it's a creative and logical means of note-taking and note-making that literally 'maps out' your ideas.

All Mind Maps have some things in common. They have a natural organizational structure that radiates from the center and use lines, symbols, words, color and images according to simple, brain-friendly concepts. A Mind Map converts a long list of monotonous information into a colorful, memorable and highly organized diagram that works in line with your brain's natural way of doing things.

One simple way to understand a Mind Map is comparing it to a map of a city. The city center represents the main idea; the main roads leading from the center represent the key thoughts in your thinking process; the secondary roads or branches represent your secondary thoughts, and so on. Special images or shapes can represent landmarks of interest or particularly relevant ideas.

The Mind Map is the external mirror of your own radiant or natural thinking facilitated by a powerful graphic process, which provides the universal key to unlock the dynamic potential of the brain.

The five essential characteristics of a Mind Map:

•	The main idea, subject or focus is crystallized in a central image.

•	The main themes radiate from the central image as 'branches'.

•	The branches comprise a key image or key word drawn or printed on its associated line.

•	Topics of lesser importance are represented as 'twigs' of the relevant branch.

•	The branches form a connected nodal structure.

THE BRAIN'S NATURAL ARCHITECTURE AND FOUNDATION OF MIND MAPS

Radiant Thinking® - a clearer, more natural and more efficient way of using our brains

What happens in your brain when you taste a ripe pear, smell flowers, listen to music, watch a stream, touch a loved one, or simply reminisce? The answer is both simple and amazingly complex. Each bit of information entering your brain, every sensation, memory or thought, which incorporates every word, number, code, food, fragrance, line, color, image, beat, note and texture can be represented as a central sphere from which radiate tens, hundreds, thousands, even millions of hooks. Each hook represents an association, and each association has its own infinite array of links and connections. From this gigantic information processing ability and learning capacity derives the concept of Radiant Thinking of which the Mind Map is a manifestation. Your brain's Radiant Thinking pattern may thus be seen as a gigantic Branching Association Machine - a super bio computer with lines of thought radiating from a virtually infinite number of data nodes.

State-of-the-Art Research into the Left and Right Hemispheres

Almost the moment Mind Maps came into use another major piece of scientific research confirmed their validity as a brain-compatible thinking method. In California, Dr. Roger Sperry, who won a Nobel Prize for his research, confirmed that the evolutionarily latest part of the brain, the 'thinking cap' of the Cerebral Cortex, was divided into two major hemispheres, and those hemispheres performed a comprehensive range of intellectual tasks, called cortical skills. The tasks included: Logic, Rhythm, Lines, Color, Lists, Daydreaming, Numbers, Imagination, Word, Gestalt (seeing the whole picture). Sperry's own research confirmed that the more these activities were integrated, the more the brain's performance became co-operative, with each intellectual skill enhancing the performance of other intellectual areas. When you are Mind Mapping®, you are not only practicing and exercising the fundamental memory powers and information processing, you are also using your entire range of cortical skills.

The Mind Map is made even more powerful by the use of all the left and right brain-thinking tools, which enhance the clarity, structure and organization of your thinking. And because the Mind Map constructively uses the tools of Imagination, Association and Location, as well as the tools of the left and right brain, you can consider the Mind Map the ultimate thinking tool that incorporates all the significant and potent ways of thinking into its own structure.

The Power of Images

If the Radiant Thinking ability of the brain can be applied to the 'left cortical skill' of words, can the same power be applied to the 'right cortical skill' of imagination and images? In 1970 Scientific American magazine published Ralph Haber's research showing that individuals have a recognition accuracy of images between 85 and 95 percent. There is a well-known quote, 'A picture is worth a thousand words'. We associate and remember images because they make use of a massive range of your cortical skills, especially imagination. Images can be more evocative than words, more precise and potent in triggering a wide range of associations, thereby enhancing creative thinking and memory. These findings support the argument that the Mind Map is a uniquely appropriate tool. It not only uses images, it is an image.

What are the applications and advantages of Mind Maps?

Mind Maps can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance.

EDUCATION

Students of all ages have discovered the advantages of applying Mind Maps to their studies. Whether you are note-taking from a teacher, a book, a computer or a video, or note-making for an essay, a report, or a website, the simple, flexible collection of the key data facilitates the processes of learning, thinking, ordering, creating and remembering. Furthermore, all subjects areas and textbooks can be Mind Mapped.

Mind Maps are also brilliant route-maps for the memory, allowing you to organize facts and thoughts in such a way that your brain's natural way of working is engaged right from the start. Traditional note-taking methods:

•	obscure the key words and information

•	are not easily memorable

•	waste time with the quantity of connecting words

•	are not using all the cortical skills, and so do not creatively stimulate the brain

Mind Maps on the other hand:

•	assist with the brain's ability to concentrate

•	allow the essence of the material to become evident

•	make visually apparent the relative order of information

•	make connections between ideas easy to see

•	boost our confidence in our ability to learn

And so Mind Maps keep the 'love of learning' alive.

BUSINESS

It is easy to see how placing any word/image in the center of a page, and then allowing the Radiant Thinking associations to occur, quickly generates a vast and unique collection of related ideas. As classical brainstorming provides a great diversity of ideas, each individual involved in creating a Mind Map becomes an extremely valuable part of the process. It is therefore the perfect tool for business people to share ideas and build-up information for a particular subject.

Mind Maps:

•	organize and clarify thinking about an idea

•	save time

•	generate new ideas

•	make fresh connections between ideas

•	concentrate and keep track of a topic

•	give a good overview

•	remember far more far better

•	make sharing ideas easier, faster and more fun

This means workers can operate far more effectively, generate more stimulating ideas and essentially, people become more effective in their jobs.

In summary, Mind Mapping® has a whole range of advantages that help make your life easier and more successful. The Mind Map helps you to gather more information, organize the information and gain immediate access to that information when you need it again.

COMPUTERS, MIND MAPS AND OPENMIND

The advent of the personal computer has caused a revolution in how we work and think. An endless number of tasks that were once carried out on paper can now be done with a PC, and the creation of Mind Maps is no exception. Features that make Mind Mapping on a computer so attractive are:

•	Information can be added as fast as you can type - and it is neat!

•	Editing all aspects of the Mind Map is easy, without having to re-do the whole Mind Map.

•	Clipart, digital images, audio and video clips can be inserted.

•	Colors can be added to words or branches to highlight associations.

•	Connections are shown with easily generated links or arrows.

•	A large Mind Map can be divided and linked to a new Mind Map file.

•	A Mind Map does not have to be limited to the boundaries of a printed page.

OpenMind™ is a Mind Mapping software tool that makes use of all of the features listed above, with the added dimension of Multimedia and Web distribution. It is a pleasure to see a software program that follows the Mind Map theory built into a great-looking interface. What I find fascinating about using OpenMind is that I can brainstorm an idea following the Mind Map theory, add text, pictures, sounds, even videos, and then distribute that Mind Map to Microsoft® Word, Mediator™ 7 Pro, or even make my own website. And all these choices are easy to use with professional results.

It is this ability to combine the Mind Map theory with the potential of multimedia and the web that make OpenMind such an attractive product to work with. I feel this combination provides a tremendously valuable tool for teachers and students to expand their educational horizons and also have fun doing it. I am particularly and personally proud of the effort and intelligence that has gone into OpenMind to make it comply with the Mind Map theory. Furthermore, I am extremely impressed by the way MatchWare® has applied Mind Map theory to the planning and structuring of multimedia and web resources. OpenMind is an educational tool of exceptional potential. The ultimate accolade I can give to any new product is that I use it.


Welcome

Welcome to MatchWare® OpenMind™, the perfect tool for educators, students and businesses who need to organize information! Easy to learn and easy to use, OpenMind is a highly effective way of brainstorming ideas visually, developing them and increasing the comprehension of complex concepts. Ideal for use by individuals, small teams or large groups, OpenMind generates illustrated Mind Maps® which you can use in presentations, study guides, web sites and more. With a comprehensive range of export options such as HTML, Mediator, PowerPoint and outlining in Word, OpenMind is an effective and versatile concept development tool.

Mind Maps are illustrated frameworks of organized, prioritized, linked ideas that develop or relate to a subject or concept.

OpenMind lets you think and learn visually by creating Mind Maps. Mind Maps have been demonstrated to increase organizational skills and creativity, to develop memory retention and deepen understanding of concepts (see the foreword for a more detailed description).

Not only is it proven that developing Mind Maps increase learning, thinking and memory skills, but the use of multimedia presentations (integrating pictures, videos, sounds and so on) also strongly enhances understanding and retention of information.

OpenMind has therefore been optimized for planning and storyboarding web sites and multimedia presentations, and includes extensive export options to other media, such as:

•	HTML - including pre-designed templates and simple web editing facilities. No coding or scripting needed!

•	Mediator - MatchWare's award winning multimedia authoring tool. Using Mediator, you can easily create interactive CD presentations and dynamic Flash™ and HTML pages. Combining OpenMind and Mediator is a powerful way to organize and create web sites and multimedia presentations.

Read more about exporting to Mediator and HTML in the section "Exporting to HTML and Mediator" below.

Achieving Curriculum Standards with OpenMind

National and state curriculum guidelines in every subject emphasize the importance of developing creative thinking and information management skills. These can be achieved in OpenMind through mind mapping, outlining and brainstorming. OpenMind's Mind Maps are highly effective guides that empower students to plan and organize their work, structure research or analyze complex topics. These important skills are critical for improving academic performance and for future success as business professionals.

Mind Map development improves the performance of students of every ability level. Research points to a significant increase in understanding and retention when oral discussions and presentations are supported and enhanced by visual and hands-on learning opportunities. It is critical in this "Age of Information" to train both learners and workers to extract, organize and prioritize the most important information from large quantities of written material. Mind Map development is ideal for individual, small team or large group activities.

OpenMind provides you with detailed curriculum-aligned templates for Language Arts, the Sciences, and Social Studies. These allow you to implement OpenMind easily in the classroom or at home. The templates can be copied, edited and customized, and then saved on your computer. These curriculum-friendly templates are supported by several hundred high quality clipart images that are created to match the templates.

OpenMind views

OpenMind allows you to develop your Mind Maps in three different views: Mind Map, Top Down and Left/Right, as shown above. You can switch back and forth between these views while creating your Mind Map. The Mind Map theory applies equally to all of them.

When creating a web site some people prefer to brainstorm in the Mind Map view, and then switch to the Left/Right view to get a better understanding of the hierarchy of the site. There are no set rules for using any particular view - which one you choose is a matter of personal preference.

Exporting to HTML and Mediator

OpenMind allows you to use your Mind Map in various different ways by exporting it to Mediator, HTML, PowerPoint, Word or RTF or by saving it as a picture. However, OpenMind has been optimized for storyboarding and planning web sites and multimedia presentations:

•	It lets you attach files to branches in the Mind Map, such as Flash files, pictures, text, sounds and videos. These files will be included when you export to Mediator or HTML and displayed on their respective pages (each page represents a branch in the map).

•	It creates hypertext, links, branch connections and other interactivity that will be included when exporting.

•	It allows you to determine the order in which the branches are exported, or in other words, to decide which branch will make up the first page, which the second page and so on.

•	It includes an Export Wizard for Mediator and HTML. You can easily design a page layout for your Mediator document or web site by selecting predefined styles for the top bar, side bar or both.

•	It allows basic web editing during the HTML export: you can for instance place the various elements where required on each individual page. No coding or scripting necessary!

Outlining your Mind Map

You can easily outline your Mind Map by exporting it to Word, thus creating a framework for your ideas. Outlining is particularly useful when it comes to planning and organizing written documents. A great way to list or outline ideas and topics, which you can then expand on, ideal for completing an essay or any other paper.

When exporting to Word you can include the text notes, comments, pictures and other elements which you have placed on your Mind Map. This means that you can actually start writing your paper while brainstorming in OpenMind, as the text will be included in the exported Word document.


Important terms

Many of the terms used in OpenMind belong to the standard Windows®-based terminology. Some terms, however, are specific to OpenMind or related to the Mind Map concept and may be unfamiliar to you.

Auto-layout mode

Normally, OpenMind arranges the branches of your map automatically as you insert them to prevent any overlap. This default mode is called the auto-layout mode. Disabling auto-layout allows you to position the main branches of your map yourself. See "Moving a branch" for more information.

Brainstorm mode

Brainstorm mode lets you enter the main topics (branches) and sub-topics (sub-branches) of your map very fast as you explore all the ideas related to the subject of your map, without worrying about evaluating them or structuring them. See "Using brainstorm mode" for more information.

Branch connections

A branch connection is used to indicate visually that two branches are conceptually related. This relationship is identified on a map by an arrow-headed line joining the source branch to the end branch. See "Creating branch connections" for more information.

Comments

Comments are short notes that you can add to the root of your map, to any branch or to the workspace itself. See "Inserting comments" for more information.

Document

The command File | New creates an OpenMind document, which opens in a separate tab bearing the name of the document. An OpenMind document can contain several maps. You can also keep several documents open at the same time in OpenMind. OpenMind documents are saved with the extension .omp. See "Creating a Mind Map" for more information.

Export

Once you have finished the design of your Mind Map, you can convert it to other formats, such as a Mediator document for use in MatchWare Mediator, a set of web pages, a PowerPoint presentation, a Word document, an .RTF document or a simple picture. This conversion process is referred to as "export". See the section "Exporting: Introduction" for more information.

Icons

OpenMind has an Icon Toolbar containing various icons which you can attach to the branches of your Mind Map. Using icons, you can for instance represent visually the status of a particular topic, its importance, and so on. See "Inserting icons" for more information.

Left/Right view

This view represents your Mind Map as a list of topics placed either on the right of the root (Right view) or on the left of the root (Left view). It is a good choice when you need to present data in a list form and want to be able to fully explore each point in the list before going on to the next point. See "Using different views" for more information.

Links

OpenMind allows you to create links between particular branches of your Mind Map and external elements, such as files or web pages. To do this, you first need to attach a hypertext object, a button or a picture to the branch in question. You then specify the type of link you require. You can follow these links in OpenMind by activating the corresponding object. Once your map is exported, for instance to HTML or Mediator, all you have to do to activate the link is to click the button, picture or hypertext object. See "Creating links" for more information.

Local menu

A menu specific to a particular object. Right-click the object to open its local menu (also called context menu). Most OpenMind elements have a local menu.

Main branch

The main branches are the branches that are directly connected to the root. They represent the main topics related to the subject of your Mind Map. See "Inserting branches" for more information.

Mind Map

A Mind Map is made up of its root, all its branches and sub-branches and all inserted elements (icons, comments, text notes and so on) and attached objects (text files, picture files, video files and so on). Note that OpenMind allows you to create several different maps in the same document.

Mind Map view

This is the default view when creating a new Mind Map. It represents the map with the root in the center, and all the main branches radiating from it in a clockwise direction. This is a good view to use in Brainstorm mode, when collecting all the ideas related to the subject of the map without worrying about evaluating or structuring them. See "Using different views" for more information.

Objects

OpenMind allows you to attach various objects to the root or branches of your Mind Map, such as text documents, pictures, videos, sounds, Flash™ files or links to external elements. These objects are listed in the OpenMind Object list, and can all be exported when exporting your map to a different format. See "Attaching objects" for more information.

Pack and Go

This feature allows you to distribute your Mind Map to other users very easily. With just one mouse click, you can create an output folder containing your map and all the external files it references, ready to be accessed over the network, or a zipped output folder to be distributed by email or otherwise. See "Pack and Go" for more information.

Pre-branch

A pre-branch is a branch that you insert before the currently selected branch. See "Inserting branches" for more information.

Properties

Many OpenMind components, including the workspace itself, the root, the branches and all attached objects have their own properties, displayed in the Properties dialog. See "Using the Properties dialog" for more information.

Raster images

Raster, or bitmap, graphics (for example JPG files) are made up of individual elements, called pixels, arranged in a grid. They are generally used for images like photographs because they can display small changes in tones and colors. See also Vector images, below.

Root

The root is the central block that appears when you create a new Mind Map or choose the Insert | New Map command in the main menu. It represents the subject of your Mind Map. Any branch that you attach directly to the root is a main branch. See "Entering the subject" for more information.

Sub-branch

Any branch belonging to a main branch is called a sub-branch. Each sub-branch can have its own sub-branches. Sub-branches represent various levels of sub-topics. See "Inserting branches" for more information.

Templates

OpenMind comes with a vast number of educational, business and personal templates on which you can base your own Mind Maps. Please refer to the "Templates" section of this documentation for a full description of all the templates provided. You can also save your own Mind Maps as templates for future use. See "Saving a Mind Map" for more information. Templates are saved with the extension .omt.

Text notes

Text notes, unlike comments, are comprehensive notes that you can enter using the Text Note editor and associate with the root or any branch of your map. See "Inserting text notes" for more information.

Top Down view

This view represents your Mind Map as a hierarchical pyramid, with the root at the top, the main branches underneath, the sub-branches below the main branches and so on. It is a useful representation for structured data which needs to be viewed in a hierarchical manner, in other words from the higher level to the lowest levels. See "Using different views" for more information.

URL

The address of a web page, for example http://www.matchware.net is a URL.

Vector images

Vector graphics (for example EMF or WMF files) describe images by specifying the geometrical shapes, lines and curves they contain, and the positions of these. You can scale vector images to any size without losing detail. See also Raster images, above.


Quick Start

This Quick Start takes you through all the basic steps required to build a Mind Map from scratch and enhance it with various elements such as colors, icons, comments, photographs, videos and so on.

The map we are going to create here has for its theme man's best friend: the dog.

The complete document "quickstart.omp" can be found in the OpenMind program folder, in "…\MatchWare\OpenMind\QuickStart".


First step: Creating the Mind Map

In this first step of our Quick Start example, we are going to create all the branches we require on our map.

We start by creating a new OpenMind document.

•	Start OpenMind and choose 'New document' in the Welcome dialog.

Note: If you have closed the Welcome dialog, create a new document by clicking the New Document icon

The New Document dialog opens.

In this Quick Start, we will use the Mind Map view, which is the default OpenMind view.

•	On the New Map tab, select the Mind Map icon and click Open.

Your new map appears with the root block ready for you to fill in.

Entering the subject

•	Type "Dogs" and press Enter.

The default file name "Dogs" is now shown on the document tab [image]. The star shown on the right of the name indicates that you have made changes to the document which you have not yet saved.

Inserting the main branches

We are now going to insert a few branches, corresponding to various topics we would like to include in our map, namely:

•	A section on the history of dogs

•	A section on the various breeds of dogs

•	A section on care required by dogs

•	A section about the reasons people keep dogs

Let's start by inserting the first branch.

•	Press Enter.

The first branch is now visible. Its default label is "Idea".

•	Type "History" and press Enter.

•	Press Enter again to insert the second branch.

•	Type "Breeds" and press Enter.

•	Insert two more branches by pressing Enter and label them "Care" and "Why".

As you can see, branches are inserted in a clockwise direction around the root.

Inserting the sub-branches

We now want to insert some sub-branches, corresponding to the sub-topics of our main topics.

•	To add the first sub-branch to the History topic, click the History branch to select it and press Insert.

•	Type "Origin" and press Enter.

•	Press Enter again to add the second sub-branch.

•	Type "Domestication" and press Enter.

•	Now select the Breeds branch and press Insert to add its first sub-branch.

•	Continue in the same way until you have added all the other sub-branches shown below.

Tip: To correct any typing errors, click the branch label and press F2. Then place the cursor at the required position, press Delete or Backspace to remove the incorrect characters, type the correct ones and press Enter.

Let us save the work we have done so far before going on to the second step.

•	Click the Save Document icon [image].

In the Save As dialog that opens, choose a folder, enter a file name for your new Mind Map and click Save. The default file name, derived from the subject of the map, is Dogs.omp.


Second step: Enhancing the Mind Map

In this second step of our Quick Start example, we are going to enhance our map by adding a variety of visual elements and multimedia objects to it.

Inserting icons

•	Select the Pet branch.

•	Click the "smiley face" icon in the Icon Toolbar.

The icon now appears next to the branch label name.

•	Select the Guard dog branch and add to it the "lock" icon to symbolize security.

Inserting pictures

It's a good idea to insert a picture in the root block to illustrate the theme of the map, so we are going to do just that:

•	Click the 'Search catalog' field of the Media Catalog and type "dogs".

A picture of a dog appears in the Media Catalog display area.

•	Drag the picture over the root block and let go of the mouse button.

The Insert Picture dialog appears.

•	Check the 'Branch picture' option and click OK.

The root block now contains a picture of a dog.

We also have a picture of a small dog which we can use to enhance the Small dogs branch.

•	Right-click the Small dogs branch and choose the Insert command in its local menu.

•	Choose Floating Picture in the sub-menu that appears.

•	Browse to '…\MatchWare\OpenMind\QuickStart' in the Program Files folder, select the file "small dog.jpg" and click Open.

A picture of a small dog now appears on the map, which you can move wherever convenient by dragging it with the mouse. Note that a thin line connects it to the branch to which it belongs.

Attaching a video object

As we have a nice video of a Labrador going for a walk, we are going to add it to our Big dogs branch.

•	Drag the "Attach Video File" icon from the Object Toolbar to the Big dogs branch.

The Open dialog appears.

•	Browse to '…\MatchWare\OpenMind\QuickStart' in the Program Files folder, select "dogwalk.wmv" and click Open.

A green dot now appears to the right of the Big dogs branch label, indicating that this branch contains attached objects. The video object also appears in the Object list anchored to the left of the screen.

•	To view the video, move the mouse pointer over this green dot.

The object pop-up list appears.

•	Click the "dogwalk.wmv" object.

The video now plays in the Windows® Media Player.

Attaching a hypertext object

Since we found a useful web site on dog care, we are going to include this link in our map.

•	Drag the "Attach Hypertext" icon from the Object Toolbar to the Grooming branch.

The Link dialog opens.

•	Fill it in as shown below and click OK.

Again, a green dot now appears to the right of the Grooming branch to indicate that it contains attached objects, and the hyperlink is listed in the Object list.

As before, all you have to do to view the web site is to move the pointer over the green dot, then click the hyperlink.

Inserting a text note

OpenMind lets you add comprehensive text notes to a branch by using its Text Note editor.

We want to add a note to the Pet branch to explain why dogs are so important to man.

•	Select the Pet branch and type the following text (or any other!) in the Text Note editor.

•	Format the text to your liking and click outside the Text Note editor.

As earlier, a green dot now appears to the right of the Pet branch label, indicating that it contains an object. The Text Note also appears in the Object list for the Pet branch.

Creating a branch connection

While we typed the text note above, we realized that there is a connection between the Pet branch and the Domestication branch, which we want to indicate visually on the map.

•	Click the Branch Connection icon in the Display Toolbar.

The mouse pointer takes a different shape.

•	Move the mouse pointer to the Pet branch, click it, drag the pointer to the Domestication branch until it gets highlighted and let go of the mouse button.

A line now joins the Pet branch to the Domestication branch, indicating that the two branches are related.

If you select the Pet branch again, you will notice that the branch connection is now listed in its Object list. By default, it bears the name of the branch where the connection ends.

Inserting comments

Finally we would like to insert a couple of comments to our map.

We start by adding a "floating comment" to our Guide dog branch, meaning that it stays visible on the screen at all times.

•	Right-click the Guide dog branch and choose the Insert command in its local menu.

•	Choose Floating Comment in the sub-menu that appears.

A comment box opens with the default text "Insert comment".

•	Enter the text of the comment as shown below and press Enter.

•	(optional) Move the comment box by dragging it wherever convenient.

We are now going to insert a "non-floating" comment to our Exercise branch, meaning that it is normally hidden.

•	Select the Exercise branch. This time, rather than choosing Insert and then Comment in the local menu, which you could do, press F11 (OpenMind's more commonly used commands have function key equivalents).

A yellow comment box opens.

•	Enter the text of the comment as shown below and click outside the yellow box.

The yellow comment box disappears, but a yellow dot now appears next to the branch label, indicating that this branch contains a comment. You can view the comment at any time by moving the mouse pointer over the yellow dot, or edit it by clicking the yellow dot.

Adding colors

In the final map, we have added colors to the map to make it more visually attractive.

You can do this by selecting each branch in turn and choosing the required colors in its Properties dialog, as shown below.

•	To select a color, just click the color field required and choose a color in the Colors dialog which opens.

•	Click the Save Document icon [image] to save the map.

Our simple Quick Start example is now complete. In a very short time you have created and enhanced your first OpenMind Mind Map. You have also learnt the most common operations in OpenMind. Please refer to the User Guide for more information about any of the features described here.


Setting up your workspace

The OpenMind window is made up of a menu bar, various toolbars, a workspace area displaying your Mind Map and several panels, which together give you a complete overview of the Mind Map.

These panels are:

•	The Media Catalog

This catalog contains an extensive collection of high-quality clipart pictures which you can add to your map.

See "Inserting pictures" and "Using the Media Catalog" for more information.

•	The Properties dialog

This dialog shows the properties of the OpenMind component currently selected, such as the workspace itself, the root, a particular branch, an attached object and so on.

See "Using the Properties dialog" for more information.

•	The Object list

This lists all the objects placed on the currently selected branch of your map.

See "Using the Object list" for more information.

•	The Branch list

The Branch list presents all the branches and sub-branches of your map in a tree structure.

See "Using the Branch list" for more information.

•	The Overview panel

The Overview panel allows you to view the different parts of your map.

See "Using the Overview panel" for more information.

•	The Text Note editor

The Text Note editor, which is placed at the bottom of the workspace, lets you type comprehensive notes to be associated with the root or any branch of your map.

See "Inserting text notes" for more information.

Customizing the workspace

The View | Toolbars and View | Panels commands allow you to customize the OpenMind window by hiding or showing the various toolbars and panels. A checkmark next to the name of a toolbar or panel in the menu means that the toolbar or panel in question is currently open and visible on the screen.

You can also use the toggle icons of the Display Toolbar to hide or show the various panels.

Note: By default, the panels are all visible and anchored (docked) to the left of the screen, unless your screen resolution is restricted to 640 x 480 pixels. In that case, the panels are hidden by default, and you will need to show them using the View | Panels command.

All the OpenMind toolbars are floating toolbars, which means that you can detach them, move them on the workspace and resize them as necessary.

Resizing a panel

You can resize any of the OpenMind panels as follows:

•	Move the mouse pointer over the required edge until it changes to a double arrow.

•	Click the edge and drag with the mouse until the panel reaches the required size while keeping the left mouse button down.

•	Release the mouse button.

Undocking a panel

It is usually helpful to keep the panels described above open while working on your Mind Map. To ensure they take as little space as possible, they are normally anchored (docked) to the left side of the screen.

You can however move any of the panels freely on the workspace by undocking them. You can undock a panel in two ways:

•	Double-click the top of its frame, or

•	Click the top of its frame and drag it into the workspace until the frame changes to a thicker line, then let go of the mouse.

To dock a panel again, you can either:

•	Double-click the top of its frame again, or

•	Drag it to either side (left or right) of the workspace. When the frame changes to a thin line, let go of the mouse button.

Note that it is not possible to undock the Text Note editor. You can however close it by clicking its Close icon [image] on the top right corner.

Workspace properties

As most OpenMind components, the workspace has its own properties, displayed in the Properties dialog. You can use the Properties dialog to make any necessary changes to the workspace, as described in "Using the Properties dialog".

See "Workspace properties: General tab" in the Reference section for a detailed description of the general properties applicable to the workspace.

For a description of the default properties applicable to branches, see "Workspace properties: Branches tab".


Setting up your preferences

The Preferences dialog (View | Preferences) contains the following options:

Display options

Draw map antialiased: Antialiasing improves the appearance of your map by smoothing its edges. This option is checked by default. However, antialiasing makes a heavy use of the computer resources. If your computer is not very powerful, you might prefer to disable this option to speed up the display of the map.

Draw text antialiased: This option is unchecked by default. However, text looks smoother when it is antialiased. Enable this option if your computer resources allow it.

Show Insert Picture dialog: Remove the checkmark to disable the display of the Insert Picture dialog, or check this option to display it again. See the paragraph "Dragging a picture from the Media Catalog or Windows" in the topic "Inserting pictures" for more information.

Show Insert Floating Picture dialog: Remove the checkmark to disable the display of the Insert Floating Picture dialog, or check this option to display it again. See the paragraph "Dragging a picture from the Media Catalog or Windows" in the topic "Inserting pictures" for more information.

Show Welcome dialog on startup: If you disable this option, OpenMind displays an empty workspace when starting rather than the Welcome dialog. See "Creating a Mind Map" for more information.

Animation options

These options allow you to disable the animation effects used by OpenMind if your computer is not powerful enough to produce a good result. If the animation effects appear slow and jerky rather than fast and smooth, you can disable the following options:

•	Comment: This relates to the way the comment window opens when you insert or edit a non-floating comment.

•	Object list pop-up: This relates to the way the Object list pop-up opens when you move the mouse pointer over the green dot shown next to the label of any branch containing attached objects.

•	Zoom: This relates to the way the map is displayed by increments when zooming in and out.

Save and Undo options

Enable Undo: Check this box if you want to be able to undo any operation you have performed on your map. This gives you the freedom to experiment, as you can easily undo the last change made using Edit | Undo (Ctrl + Z), and reapply the change if necessary with Edit | Redo (Ctrl + Shift +Z or Ctrl + Y).

Note that you can also use the Undo icon [image] to undo the last change, or click on the arrow to the right of the Undo icon to select a number of changes to undo. Similarly, the Redo icon [image] allows you to redo the last change or changes undone.

Undo levels: This field lets you specify the maximum number of changes that you want to be able to undo. If for instance you set the number of Undo levels to 5, you will be able to reverse up to 5 changes by selecting the changes in the Undo list [image] or choosing Edit | Undo (Ctrl +Z) several times. Note that increasing the number of undo levels increases the amount of memory used.

Autosave every: OpenMind automatically saves a copy of your open documents at regular intervals in a temporary backup file. If a problem occurs that prevents OpenMind from closing properly, you can choose to auto-recover your file from this backup file when next starting OpenMind. This field allows you to set the interval between automatic saves.

Check for program update every: This option allows OpenMind to check automatically for program updates on the MatchWare web site when OpenMind starts. You can set the frequency of the checks in the time field, or disable the feature by removing the check mark.


Creating a Mind Map

When you start OpenMind, the first screen you see is the Welcome dialog.

Welcome dialog

Here you can select to:

•	Create a new document

•	Open an existing document

•	Open a recently used document

Note: You can check 'Do not show this dialog again' to bypass this dialog next time you start OpenMind. If you want to show the Welcome dialog again at a later stage, click 'Show Welcome dialog on startup' in View | Preferences.

•	Click 'New document' to create a new Mind Map document.

If you have closed the Welcome dialog, you can create a new document by:

•	Clicking the New Document icon [image], or

•	Choosing File | New, or

•	Pressing Ctrl+N.

New Document dialog

The New Document dialog appears.

It contains three tabs:

•	New Map

This allows you to create an empty document based on one of the three views provided, namely Mind Map, Top Down or Left/Right. See "Using different views" for more information about these three views.

•	Templates

This allows you to create a document based on one of over 30 educational, business and personal templates provided by MatchWare. See the "Templates" section of this documentation for a complete description of all the templates provided.

•	My Templates

This allows you to create a document based on one of your own templates, which you will have saved previously. See "Saving a Mind Map" for more information on how to save templates.

•	Click on the required tab.

•	Click one of the templates shown. You can see a preview of the template chosen in the right part of the dialog.

•	Click Open.

The map appears with the root block ready for you to fill in.

See "Entering the subject" to find out how to do this.


Opening a Mind Map

When you start OpenMind, the first screen you see is the Welcome dialog. This dialog lets you browse for an existing document or select a recently used document.

If you have closed the Welcome dialog, you can open an existing document by:

•	Clicking the Open Document icon [image], or

•	Choosing File | Open, or

•	Pressing Ctrl+O.

Note that you can open several Mind Maps in OpenMind at the same time. Each one is displayed in a separate tab in the OpenMind view and is considered as a separate document.

A star on the right of the document name indicates that you have made changes to the document which you have not yet saved.

Tip: You can easily go from one document to the other by clicking the relevant tab or pressing Ctrl + Tab.


Entering the subject

By default, any root you create contains the label "Subject".

Replacing the default label

•	Just click the root to select it and start typing.

•	When you have finished, press Enter or click outside the root.

To enter several lines of text:

•	Type each line, then press Ctrl + Enter to start the next line.

•	Press Enter when you have finished typing.

Tip: Your map will be clearer if you keep your root and branch labels short. If you need to enter longer notes, use the Text Note feature. You can also enter Comments to serve as reminders while you build up your map. See "Inserting text notes" and "Inserting comments" for more information.

Editing the root

You can perform various operations on the root, such as editing or formatting its label, moving it to a different location in your map or cutting and pasting it. In this respect, the root behaves exactly like any branch or sub-branch.

See "Editing a root or branch" for more information.

Root properties

As most OpenMind components, the root has its own properties, displayed in the Properties dialog. You can use the Properties dialog to make any necessary changes to the root, as described in "Using the Properties dialog".

See "Root properties: General tab" in the Reference section for a detailed description of the general properties applicable to the root and "Root properties: Text tab" for a description of the properties applicable to the root label.

Note: If the Properties dialog is not open, choose View | Panels | Properties in the main menu or click the Toggle Properties Panel icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.


Inserting branches

OpenMind lets you insert main branches, sub-branches and pre-branches:

•	A main branch is a branch directly connected to the root.

Main branches represent the main topics related to the subject of your Mind Map.

•	A sub-branch is a branch belonging either to a main branch or to a sub-branch of higher level.

Sub-branches represent the various levels of sub-topics in your Mind Map.

•	A pre-branch is a branch you insert before a sub-branch.

OpenMind automatically arranges the main branches, sub-branches and pre-branches as you insert them to prevent any overlap. You can however choose to reposition the main branches yourself after their insertion by disabling Auto-layout mode. See "Moving a branch" for more information.

As soon as you add a branch, sub-branch or pre-branch, the new branch appears with the default label "Idea". This label is selected automatically, so that you can replace it straight away by overwriting it. The procedure for entering a branch label is the same as for the root. See "Entering the subject" for more information.

Inserting a main branch

This can be done in several ways.

•	Double-click the root, or

•	Click it once to select it and press Enter or Insert, or

•	Click it once to select it and choose Insert | Branch or Insert | Sub-branch in the main menu, or

•	Right-click it and choose Insert | Branch or Insert | Sub-branch in its local menu.

Inserting a branch at the same level as another branch

•	Click the required branch to select it and press Enter, or

•	Click it once to select it and choose Insert | Branch in the main menu, or

•	Right-click it and choose Insert | Branch in its local menu.

Inserting a sub-branch on an existing branch

•	Double-click the branch, or

•	Click it once to select it and press Insert, or

•	Click it once to select it and choose Insert | Sub-branch in the main menu, or

•	Right-click it and choose Insert | Sub-branch in its local menu.

Inserting a pre-branch on an existing branch

•	Click the required branch to select it and choose Insert | Pre-branch in the main menu, or

•	Click it once to select it and press Shift + Enter, or

•	Right-click it and choose Insert | Pre-Branch in its local menu.

Hiding/showing a branch

As soon as you add a sub-branch to a main branch or to another sub-branch, a little minus sign [image] appears between it and the higher-level branch. This allows you to hide the newly inserted sub-branch and any further sub-branches or objects you might add to it if you want to concentrate on the higher-level branches. There are several ways to do this:

•	Click the minus sign [image], or

•	Click the higher-level branch and choose View | Collapse in the main menu, or

•	Right-click the higher-level branch and choose Collapse in its local menu.

The sub-branch is now hidden, and the minus sign [image] changes to a plus sign [image].

To show again the sub-branch and all its further sub-branches and attached objects, do one of the following:

•	Click the plus sign [image], or

•	Click the higher-level branch and choose View | Expand in the main menu, or

•	Right-click the higher-level branch and choose Expand in its local menu.

Navigating between branches

To select a branch, all you need to do is click its label.

The following keyboard shortcuts allow you to navigate easily from one branch to the other:

Up	Select the branch placed above the currently selected branch.
Down	Select the branch placed below the currently selected branch.
Left	Select the branch to the left of the currently selected branch.
Right	Select the branch to the right of the currently selected branch.
Deleting a branch

There are several ways of doing this:

•	Click the branch you want to delete and press Delete, or

•	Click the branch and choose Edit | Delete in the main menu, or

•	Right-click the branch and choose Delete in its local menu.

Remember that if you delete a branch by accident, you can always cancel the deletion by pressing the Undo icon [image] or choosing Edit | Undo (Ctrl + Z).

Tip: You can also delete a branch from the Branch list by right-clicking it in the Branch list and choosing Delete in its local menu See "Using the Branch list" for more information.

Editing a branch

You can perform various operations on a branch, such as editing and formatting its label, moving it to a different location in your map or cutting and pasting it. Most of these editing operations can be applied to several branches at once.

See "Editing a root or branch" and "Moving a branch" for more information.

Branch properties

Branches have default properties, defined in the Properties dialog of the workspace. You can use this Properties dialog to make any necessary changes to the default properties of branches. See "Workspace properties: Branches tab" in the Reference section for a detailed description of these default properties and "Using the Properties dialog" for a general description of the Properties dialog.

In addition to these default properties, each branch has its own properties. You can use the Properties dialog of a particular branch to make any necessary changes to the branch.

See "Branch properties: General tab" in the Reference section for a detailed description of the general properties applicable to a branch and "Branch properties: Text tab" for a description of the properties applicable to the branch label.

Note: If the Properties dialog is not open, choose View | Panels | Properties in the main menu or click the Toggle Properties Panel icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.


Navigating a Mind Map

As your map grows, you might need to use the scroll bars or your mouse scroll button to display particular areas.

•	To scroll your map vertically, use the vertical scroll bar or the scroll button of your mouse.

•	To scroll your map horizontally, use the horizontal scroll bar or press Ctrl while using the scroll button of your mouse.

You can also use the Zoom icons [image]  [image]  [image] of the Display Toolbar to change the level of magnification of your map. See "Zooming in and out" for more information.

Use the Overview panel and the Branch list to concentrate on particular areas of your map or isolate specific branches. See "Using the Overview panel" and "Using the Branch list" for more information.

Finally you can easily move the map within the workspace by dragging its root to the position of your choice.


Using brainstorm mode

Brainstorm mode lets you enter the main topics (branches) and sub-topics (sub-branches) of your map very fast as you explore all the ideas related to the subject of your map. Using brainstorm mode, you can record your thoughts as they occur, leaving the task of structuring them and analyzing them in detail for later.

Activating brainstorm mode

You can activate brainstorm mode in several ways:

•	Click the Brainstorm Mode icon [image], or

•	Choose View | Brainstorm mode, or

•	Press F3.

As soon as brainstorm mode is activated, OpenMind inserts a branch in your map, with the default label "Idea". The position of the new branch in the hierarchy is determined by the position of the branch that is selected when you activate brainstorm mode.

•	If the root is selected, the branch is added as a main branch.

•	If a main branch is selected, the branch is added as a sub-branch of the selected branch.

•	If a sub-branch is selected, the branch is added as a sub-branch of the selected sub-branch.

Type a label for the new branch and press Enter. Every time you press Enter, a new branch is added at the same level, ready for you to replace its default label. Just continue entering your ideas and pressing Enter until you have created all the topics you require at a given level.

To start adding sub-branches to a different branch (or the root), just select the branch in question (or the root).

Note: As the Formatting Toolbar is disabled in brainstorm mode, you cannot apply any formatting attributes to the branches or their labels in that mode. Similarly, it is not possible to insert elements such as icons, comments, pictures and so on or attach objects while in brainstorm mode.

Deactivating brainstorm mode

You can leave brainstorm mode in several ways:

•	Click anywhere outside a branch, or

•	Press Esc, or

•	Click the Brainstorm Mode icon [image] again, or

•	Choose View | Brainstorm mode again, or

•	Press F3.


Inserting icons

OpenMind comes with an Icon Toolbar containing various icons which you can place on the branches of your Mind Map to attract attention or illustrate a particular idea.

You could for instance use the Conference icon [image] for all the topics of your map involving a discussion with others, or the Alarm-clock icon [image] for all topics associated with a deadline. Make sure however that you use such icons consistently and sparingly to avoid overloading the map.

Inserting an icon on a branch

•	Select the branch to which you want to add an icon.

•	Click the required icon in the Icon Toolbar.

Note: If the Icon Toolbar is not open, choose View | Toolbars | Icon Toolbar in the main menu or click the Toggle Icon Toolbar icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.

The selected icons appear on the left of the branch name.

They are also identified in the Icon Toolbar by a gray outline.

Deleting an icon

You can either:

•	Click the branch from which you want to delete an icon and click the icon in the Icon Toolbar to deselect it, or

•	Right-click the branch and choose Delete Icons in its local menu. Then select the icon to be deleted or choose All to delete all the icons inserted on the branch.


Inserting pictures

OpenMind lets you add pictures to the workspace itself, the root and any branch or sub-branch.

As all the research done in this area indicates that the use of pictures significantly enhances memory retention, you should try to use pictures wherever possible to illustrate your map.

Three different types of pictures are available:

•	Floating pictures

A floating picture is visible on the screen at all times and can be moved wherever convenient. You can add as many floating pictures as you like to the workspace, the root or a particular branch.

•	Branch pictures

A branch picture is also visible on the screen at all times, but it "sits" on the root or branch to which it belongs. You can only add one branch picture to a particular root or branch.

It is considered good practice to insert a branch picture on the root to illustrate the subject of a map, as shown below.

•	Attached picture files

OpenMind allows you to attach various objects to the root or any branch of your map, such as text files, picture files, video files, Flash files and so on. Not only can you activate these objects from within OpenMind, but you can also choose to include them when exporting your map to a different format, such as HTML or Mediator. See "Attaching objects" for more information on attached picture files.

You can add these different types of pictures by dragging the relevant picture from the Media Catalog, Windows® Explorer or the Windows® Desktop, or by using the OpenMind menus. These methods area all described below. For a full description of the Media Catalog, see "Using the Media Catalog".

Dragging a picture from the Media Catalog or Windows

You can insert a picture on a root or on a branch by dragging it from the Media Catalog, Windows Explorer or the Windows Desktop. Extensions recognized by OpenMind are .bmp, .jpg, .gif, .png, .wmf and .emf.

•	Drag the relevant picture onto the root or branch required and drop it once the root or branch is highlighted.

The following dialog appears, letting you choose the type of picture you want to add.

•	Choose the type of picture you want to add and click OK.

You can also insert a floating picture by dragging it directly onto the workspace rather than on a root or branch. As soon as you drop the picture, the following dialog appears.

•	To insert the floating picture to the workspace, click No.

•	To insert the floating picture on a branch, click Yes. The mouse pointer then changes to a cross, letting you select the branch to which the floating picture should be added.

•	(optional) Resize the picture by moving the mouse pointer on the required edge until it changes to a double-arrow and dragging with the mouse until the picture reaches the correct size. You can also move the picture to a more convenient place by dragging it with the mouse.

Note: You can choose a default action and disable the display of either or both of these dialogs by clicking 'Use as default'. If at a later stage, you want OpenMind to display the dialogs again, check the 'Show Insert Picture dialog' and/or 'Show Insert Floating Picture dialog' options in the Preferences dialog. See "Setting up your preferences" for more information.

Inserting a picture using the OpenMind menus

Inserting a floating picture on a root or branch

•	Select the root or branch to which you want to add a floating picture and choose Insert | Floating Picture in the main menu or in the local menu.

•	Choose the picture required in the Open dialog.

The picture appears on the screen, scaled down from its original size if necessary.

•	(optional) Resize the picture by moving the mouse pointer on the required edge until it changes to a double-arrow and dragging with the mouse until the picture reaches the correct size. You can also move the picture to a more convenient place by dragging it with the mouse.

A thin gray line now connects your new picture with the root or branch you attached it to.

Inserting a floating picture on the workspace

•	Right-click the workspace and choose Insert | Floating Picture in its local menu.

The mouse pointer changes to a cross, letting you choose where you want to place the picture. When you add a floating picture to the workspace in this way, the picture is not attached to anything and no connecting line is visible.

If necessary, you can then move your floating picture by dragging it with the mouse or even connect it to a particular branch by moving it on top of its label.

Inserting a branch picture on a root or branch

•	Select the root or branch to which you want to add a branch picture and choose Insert | Branch Picture in the main menu or in the local menu.

•	Choose the picture required in the Open dialog.

The picture is now inserted over the root or branch label.

•	(optional) Resize the picture as necessary by moving the mouse pointer on the required edge until it changes to a double-arrow and dragging with the mouse until the picture reaches the correct size.

Detaching a floating picture

If you have attached a floating picture to the root or to a branch of your map, you can detach it by choosing Edit | Detach in the main menu or by right-clicking it and choosing Detach in its local menu. The picture now belongs to the workspace itself rather than to the root or any of its branches.

Deleting a floating picture

To delete a floating picture, select it and do one of the following:

•	Press Delete, or

•	Choose Edit | Delete in the main menu, or

•	Choose Delete in its local menu.

Deleting a branch picture

•	To delete a branch picture, select the branch to which it belongs and choose Delete Branch Picture in its local menu.

Picture properties

Floating pictures have their own properties, which you can edit with the Properties dialog. See "Floating picture properties: General tab" and "Floating picture properties: Picture tab" for a detailed description of the properties applicable to floating pictures and "Using the Properties dialog" for a general description of the Properties dialog.

Branches containing branch pictures have an extra Picture tab in their Properties dialog, which you can use to edit their path name, width or height. See "Branch properties: Picture tab" for a detailed description of the properties applicable to branch pictures.


Attaching objects

One of the strengths of OpenMind is that it allows you to attach objects to the root or to any branch of your Mind Map. This means that you can enhance your map with a variety of multimedia features, such as sounds, video sequences or Flash animations.

Not only can you activate these objects from within OpenMind, but you can also choose to include them when exporting your map to a different format, such as a set of HTML pages or a Mediator document.

OpenMind lets you attach the following objects to the root or to any branch of your map:

•	 Text file (extension .doc, .rtf, .txt, .htm or .html)

•	 Picture file (extension .bmp, .jpg, .gif, .png, .wmf or .emf)

•	 Video file (extension .avi, .mpg, .wmv or .mov)

•	 Sound file (extension .wav or .mp3)

•	 Hypertext

•	 Button

•	 Flash file (extension .swf)

The Hypertext and Button objects allow you to create links between a specific branch and external elements, such as a file, a URL or an email address. Once these objects are inserted, activating them automatically opens the viewer associated with the linked element (e.g. text editor, web browser, email program and so on). Note that links can also be associated with picture files. See "Creating links" for more information on links.

Attaching an object to a root or branch

There are several ways of attaching an object:

•	You can drag an object from the Object Toolbar and drop it on the required root or branch.

Note: If the Object Toolbar is not visible, choose View | Toolbars | Object Toolbar in the main menu.

•	You can select the required root or branch, choose Insert | Attach Object in the main menu or Attach Object in the local menu, and select the object you want to add to the branch.

•	You can also drag a file with a known file extension from Windows Explorer and drop it on the required root or branch.

Note that if the file extension is not recognized on your system, OpenMind creates instead a hypertext link pointing to the file.

An Open dialog appears to let you choose the file you want to attach. You can preview picture files and video files by clicking the Preview option on the right hand side of the dialog.

Note: If you are creating a Hypertext link or a Button link, instead of displaying the Open dialog, OpenMind shows the Link dialog. See "Creating links" for more information on how to fill in this dialog.

As soon as you add an object to a root or branch, a green dot appears to the right of its label to indicate the presence of attached objects. Moving the mouse pointer over this green dot displays a pop-up list of the all the objects attached.

Object list

The Object list gives you a complete overview of the objects you have attached on a particular branch.

It also determines the order in which the objects are exported when you export your map to other formats.

See "Using the Object list" for more information.

Note: If the Object list is not open, choose View | Panels | Object List in the main menu or click the Toggle Object List icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.

Activating an object

Once attached, there are several ways to activate an object:

•	Double-click the object in the Object list, or

•	Select the object in the Object list and choose Execute in its local menu, or

•	Display the object pop-up list by moving the mouse pointer over the green dot and click the object required.

These actions all activate the object, which is then displayed in the viewer associated with its extension type. For instance, if the attached object is a Word document, it will open in Microsoft® Word. If it is a video, it will open in the video playing software installed on your computer, and so on.

Deleting an object

To delete an object, select it in the Object list and do one of the following:

•	Press Delete, or

•	Choose Edit | Delete in the main menu, or

•	Choose Delete in its local menu.

Remember that if you delete an attached object by accident, you can always cancel the deletion by clicking the Undo icon [image] or choosing Edit | Undo (Ctrl + Z).

Object properties

Each object has its own properties, displayed in the Properties dialog. You can use the Properties dialog to make any necessary changes to the object, as described in "Using the Properties dialog".

See the Reference section for a full description of the properties applicable to each type of object.

Note: If the Properties dialog is not open, choose View | Panels | Properties in the main menu or click the Toggle Properties Panel icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.


Inserting text notes

The OpenMind Text Note editor is a powerful tool which lets you add comprehensive text notes to the root and any branch or sub-branch of your map. You can add as many different text notes as you like to any of these elements.

Note: In addition to text notes, you can also associate brief comments to the branches of your map. For more information on comments, see "Inserting comments". You can also attach an entire text file to a branch by using the Attach Object command. For more information on attaching text files, see "Attaching objects".

Entering a text note

The easiest way to add a text note to a root or branch is as follows:

•	Select the root or branch to which you want to add a text note.

•	Enter the text in the Text Note editor.

You can use the standard editing features of the Text Note editor toolbar to format your text, change the font or point size, choose a color for the text or the background and so on.

As soon as you select another branch or element in the map, the text note is automatically saved and added to the Object list of the root or branch. A green dot also appears to the right of the root or branch label to indicate the presence of an attached object. Moving the mouse pointer over this green dot displays a pop-up list of the all the objects attached.

You can also enter a text note by selecting the root or branch to which you want to add a text note and choosing Insert | Text Note | New in the main menu or local menu.

Note: If the Text Note editor is not open, choose View | Panels | Text Note Editor in the main menu or click the Toggle Text Note Editor icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.

Tip: You can resize the Text Note editor window by placing the mouse pointer on one of its sides until it changes to a double-arrow and dragging with the mouse.

Adding further text notes

You can attach additional text notes to a root or branch as follows:

•	Select the root or branch and choose Insert | Text Note | New in the main menu or local menu.

Editing a text note

If there is only one text note attached to a root or branch, OpenMind displays it automatically in the Text Note editor as soon as the root or branch is selected, so that you can read it or edit it straight away.

If the root or branch contains several text notes, you first need to select the text note you want to edit:

•	Click the required text note in the Object list of the root or branch, or

•	Move the mouse pointer over the green dot to the right of the root or branch label and click the required text note in the pop-up list.

If the Text Note editor is not open, you can open it as follows:

•	Double-click the required note in the Object list, or

•	Right-click the required text note in the Object list and choose Execute in its local menu.

This opens the Text Note editor and displays the text note, ready for editing.

Deleting a text note

To delete a text note, select it in the Object list and do one of the following:

•	Press Delete, or

•	Choose Edit | Delete in the main menu, or

•	Choose Delete in its local menu.

Remember that if you delete a text note by accident, you can always cancel the deletion by pressing the Undo icon [image] or choosing Edit | Undo (Ctrl + Z).

Text note properties

Each text note has its own properties, displayed in the Properties dialog. You can use the Properties dialog to make any necessary changes to the text note, as described in "Using the Properties dialog".

See "Text note properties: General tab" in the Reference section for a detailed description of the properties applicable to a text note.

Note: If the Properties dialog is not open, choose View | Panels | Properties in the main menu or click the Toggle Properties Panel icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.


Inserting comments

OpenMind lets you associate comments with the elements of your map, including the workspace itself, the root and any branch or sub-branch. There are two kinds of comments:

•	Floating comments

•	Non-floating comments

Note: In addition to these types of comments, you can also associate longer text notes with the branches of your map. For more information on text notes, see "Inserting text notes".

Floating comments

Floating comments are brief notes that stay visible on the screen at all times. You can add as many floating comments as you like to the workspace itself, the root or any branch of your map.

Inserting a floating comment on a root or branch

•	Select the root or branch to which you want to add a floating comment and choose Insert | Floating Comment in the main menu or local menu.

A small window opens to let you type your comment.

•	When you finish typing, press Enter or click outside the comment window.

You can see that a thin gray line now connects your new comment with the root or branch you attached it to.

If necessary, you can move your comment by dragging it with the mouse to a more convenient place.

You can use the commands of the Formatting Toolbar to format your comment, change its font name or point size or choose a different background or text color. Note that any such change you make applies to the whole comment.

You can also format the comment, change the color and size of the connecting line or add a frame around the comment box with its Properties dialog. See "Floating comment properties: General tab" and "Floating comment properties: Text tab" in the Reference section for a detailed description of the properties applicable to a floating comment. For a general description of the Properties dialog, see "Using the Properties dialog".

Inserting a floating comment on the workspace

•	Right-click the workspace and choose Insert | Floating Comment in its local menu.

The mouse pointer changes to a cross, letting you choose where you want to place the comment. When you add a floating comment to the workspace in this way, the comment is not attached to anything and no connecting line is visible.

If necessary, you can then move your comment by dragging it with the mouse or even connect it to a particular branch by moving it on top of its label.

Editing a floating comment

•	To replace the existing comment, just click it to select it and start typing the new comment.

You can also edit the existing comment. As for branch labels, there are several ways of entering Edit mode:

•	Click the comment once to select it and press F2, or

•	Click the comment once to select it and click it again after a short time, or

•	Click the comment and choose Edit | Edit Text in the main menu, or

•	Right-click the comment and choose Edit Text in its local menu.

•	Place the cursor at the required position to edit the existing comment.

•	When you have finished, press Enter or click outside the comment window.

Note: Pressing Esc while in Edit mode will leave the existing comment unchanged.

Detaching a floating comment

If you have attached a floating comment to the root or to a branch of your map, you can detach it by choosing Edit | Detach in the main menu or by right-clicking it and choosing Detach in its local menu. The comment now belongs to the workspace itself rather than to the root or any of its branches.

Deleting a floating comment

To delete a floating comment, select it and do one of the following:

•	Press Delete, or

•	Choose Edit | Delete in the main menu, or

•	Choose Delete in its local menu.

Non-floating comments

By contrast with floating comments, non-floating comments are normally hidden. You can add a non-floating comment to the root or to any branch of your map, but not to the workspace itself. This type of comment can be very useful as a "designer note" while you build your map. You could for instance insert a non-floating comment on a branch to list all the elements that you still need to add to that branch.

Inserting a non-floating comment

•	Select the root or branch to which you want to add a non-floating comment and press F11 or choose Insert | Comment in the main menu or local menu.

The comment window opens to let you type your comment.

•	When you finish typing, press Esc, click outside the comment window or click the Close icon in the top right corner of the comment window.

A yellow dot now appears next to the branch name, indicating that there is a comment associated with this branch. Moving the mouse pointer over this yellow dot re-opens the comment window so that you can read the comment. As soon as you move the mouse pointer away from it, OpenMind hides the comment window again.

If necessary, you can easily move your comment by dragging its title bar with the mouse to a more convenient place.

Editing a non-floating comment

There are several ways of entering Edit mode:

•	Click the yellow dot on the right of the root or branch name, or

•	Move the mouse pointer over the yellow dot and click the comment window, or

•	Select the root or branch containing the non-floating comment and press F11 or choose Insert | Edit Comment in the main menu or in the local menu.

•	Place the cursor at the required position to edit the existing comment.

•	When you have finished, press Esc, click outside the comment window or click the Close icon.

Deleting a non-floating comment

There are two ways of doing this:

•	Right-click the branch containing the comment and choose Delete Comment in its local menu.

•	Right-click the title bar of the comment window and choose Delete in its local menu.


Using different views

OpenMind allows you to view your Mind Map in different ways, depending on your personal preference, the nature of your data and the use you want to make of it. You can change from one view to another at any time.

The three views available in the View | View Map as menu are:

Mind Map view: This view represents the map with the root in the center, and all the main branches radiating from it in a clockwise direction. This is a good view to use in Brainstorm mode, when collecting all the ideas related to the main subject of the map without worrying about evaluating them or structuring them. See "Using brainstorm mode" for more information about brainstorming.

Top Down view: This view represents your map as a hierarchical pyramid, with the root at the top, the main branches underneath, the sub-branches below the main branches, and so on. It is a useful representation for structured data which needs to be viewed in a hierarchical manner, in other words from the higher level to the lowest levels. OpenMind uses different colors to represent each level, which allows you to identify quickly all the points listed at a particular level.

Left/Right view: This view represents your map as a list of topics placed either on the right of the root (Right view) or on the left of the root (Left view). It is a good choice when you need to present structured data in list form (for instance a list of steps) and want to be able to fully explore each point in the list before going on to the next point.

While in that view, you can change the display from Right to Left and vice-versa by using the Layout property on the General tab of the workspace. See "Workspace properties: General tab" for more information.

Tip: You can also change from one view to the other by right-clicking the workspace and choosing View Map in its local menu.


Printing a Mind Map

•	To print your map, choose File | Print or press Ctrl + P.

This opens the Print Preview dialog, which shows you what your map will look like on paper.

The preview of the map immediately reflects the changes you make in this dialog, allowing you to experiment with the various settings.

Using the Print Preview dialog buttons and options

The Print Preview dialog contains the following buttons and options:

Print: Click to print the entire map or branch list selection as shown in the Preview area.

Print Setup: Click to choose a different printer and set the usual printing parameters, such as paper size, print quality and so on.

Fit to Page: Click to resize the map so that its entire contents fit on the single page or page spread chosen.

Actual Size: Click to print the map at its actual size. If your map is large, this may mean that some part of it will be outside the print area.

Orientation : Choose Portrait to print your map vertically or Landscape to print it horizontally.

Page spread: These options allow you to spread your map on several pages. This is very useful for large maps. If for instance your map is quite wide (as may be the case in Top Down view), you can increase the horizontal page spread number to ensure that its entire contents will be printed.

Print entire map: This option allows you to print the entire map.

Print branch list selection: Check this box if you have restricted the display of your map to a particular branch or set of branches by using the Branch list (see "Using the branch list") and only want to print that particular branch or set of branches.

Moving or resizing the map within the Preview area

When moving the mouse pointer over the map in the Preview area, a red outline appears around it. You can move the map within the page or page spread by dragging the outlined area with the mouse.

You can also resize the map within the page or page spread by moving the mouse pointer to one of its edges until it becomes a double-arrow (the red outline becomes a blue outline), and dragging the edge in the direction required.


Saving a Mind Map

You can save your Mind Map in several ways:

•	Choose File | Save or press Ctrl + S to save your Mind Map under its existing name and continue working in OpenMind.

•	Choose File | Save as to save your Mind Map under a different name. This is also a way of creating a copy of your document.

Note: The first time you save a new document, choosing File | Save opens the Save As dialog to allow you to enter a file name for your new document.

Saving your map as a template

You can also save your map as a custom template for future use. This allows you to create new Mind Maps on the basis of your existing Mind Maps. To do this:

•	Choose File | Save as Template.

The Save as Template dialog appears. Its left part contains a list of the templates you've already saved. Clicking one of these templates gives you a preview of it in the right part of the dialog.

To create a new template:

•	Enter the name of your new template and click Save.

To overwrite an existing template:

•	Select an existing template and click Save to overwrite it with your new template.

To delete an existing template:

•	Select an existing template and click Delete.

Note: Custom templates are saved with the extension .omt in the sub-folder Templates\My Templates of your OpenMind program folder (normally C:\Program Files\MatchWare\OpenMind).


Pack and Go

This feature allows you to distribute your Mind Map to other users very easily. It is for instance ideal for students who need to send their assignments to their teacher, so that he or she can consolidate them in a master map.

Packing a Mind Map

With just one mouse click, you can create a complete packed version of your Mind Map, ready to be sent via email, shared over the network or distributed via diskette, CD-ROM and so on.

Note that if the OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), they are all packed when using Pack and Go.

There are three packing possibilities:

•	Output to folder copies the entire OpenMind document, including all external files referenced by attached objects, to the output folder you specify. All references to external files will be automatically modified to point to the output folder chosen.

•	Compress to zip file performs the same operations as 'Output to folder', but the entire folder is then zipped. This allows you to distribute it very easily by email, diskette and so on. The recipients can then unzip it in the folder of their choice.

•	Compress to single OpenMind file creates a new Mind Map document integrating all the external files referenced in the original Mind Map document within the .omp file and places the new document in the output folder specified.

When you open an OpenMind document compressed in this way, OpenMind starts by prompting you for a folder name where to extract the integrated files and automatically modifies all the references to point to the extraction folder chosen.

This is the easiest way to distribute a Mind Map to other users. If however the external files used by your map are rather large, the single OpenMind file obtained with this packing method may be too big to be distributed easily. It might also take quite a while for OpenMind to open it for the first time, as the entire file needs to be read in memory. In this case, it is preferable to use the second packing method, "Compress to zip file".

Once the operation has completed, OpenMind lets you open straight away the folder in which the files have been copied.

Merging packed Mind Maps in a master map

You can easily merge into a master map several Mind Maps that have been packed using Pack and Go:

•	Open your master map in OpenMind.

•	Open each packed map in turn. Each document opens in a separate tab in OpenMind.

•	Merge each packed map into your master map by copying its root (Edit | Copy or Ctrl +C) and pasting it onto the relevant branch of your master map. See "Moving a branch" for more information about copying and pasting branches.


Editing a root or branch

OpenMind lets you perform different operations on the root of your map or any of its branches, such as editing their label, choosing a different color for the text, changing the color of the background and so on.

Most of these operations can be applied to several branches at once. All you need to do is to start by selecting all the branches you want to modify, as described further down.

Editing a label

•	To replace the existing label, just click it to select it and start typing the new label.

You can also edit the existing label. There are several ways of entering Edit mode:

•	Click the label once to select it and press F2, or

•	Click the label once to select it and click it again after a short time, or

•	Click the label and choose Edit | Edit Text in the main menu, or

•	Right-click the label and choose Edit Text in its local menu.

•	Place the cursor at the required position and start typing.

•	When you have finished, press Enter or click outside the label.

Note: Pressing Esc while in Edit mode will leave the existing label unchanged.

Tip: Remember that your map will be clearer if you keep the branch labels short. If you have additional information to enter, create a text note rather than trying to fit it on the label. You can also enter Comments to serve as reminders while you build up your map.

Selecting several branches

Selecting several branches at once allows you to apply the same change to all of them simultaneously.

You can select several branches in the same way as you select several files in Windows Explorer:

•	Click the first branch, then press and hold down the Ctrl key while clicking the other branches one by one.

Each of the branches you click becomes highlighted to indicate that it is selected.

•	To deselect one or more branches simply click them again while holding down the Ctrl key.

You can also select several branches by drawing a small frame around them with the mouse. All the branches contained within the frame become selected.

Formatting a label

You can use the commands of the Formatting Toolbar to apply formatting attributes to a root or branch label, change its font name or point size or choose a different background or text color. Note that any such change you make applies to the whole label.

Tip: You can also define these formatting attributes using the Properties dialog of the relevant root or branch, as described in "Root properties: Text tab" and "Branch properties: Text tab".

Formatting a branch

There are many formatting options available to modify the appearance of a branch, thus adding visual interest to your map. You can for instance increase the width of the branch line, change its color, change the color of the background, define a boundary for the branch, change the color of the text and so on.

In way of example, the graphic below shows a branch where the line width has been increased to 4, the branch color has been changed to pink and the background color has been made dark blue. In addition, a light blue frame with a dark blue outline was added to the branch, and the text color was changed to yellow.

Tip: You can also define these options using the Properties dialog of the branch. See "Branch properties: General tab".


Moving a branch

As your map grows and you start analyzing its various topics, you may realize that some of them don't in fact belong to the branch you first allocated them to, but should be moved to a different branch.

This topic describes how to perform the following operations:

•	Moving a main branch or a sub-branch and inserting it at a different hierarchical level in the Mind Map

•	Moving a main branch manually to a different position by disabling the Auto-layout mode

•	Cutting, copying and pasting a branch in the same document or in another document

These operations can be applied to several branches at once. All you need to do is to start by selecting all the branches you want to modify, as described in the paragraph "Selecting several branches" of the topic "Editing a root or branch".

Moving a main branch or a sub-branch and inserting it at a different level

You can move an entire branch, including any sub-branches and objects attached to it, to a different branch of your map. As you work on organizing your ideas, you can for instance decide to convert a sub-topic to a main topic by moving the corresponding sub-branch to the root, or allocate a sub-topic to a different main topic by moving the corresponding sub-branch to a different main branch.

•	Select the branch you want to move to a different location by clicking it with the left mouse button.

•	While keeping the left mouse button down, drag the branch to the required location.

The mouse pointer changes to a different shape and a blue dotted line shows you where the branch will be inserted when you let go of the mouse button.

•	Release the mouse button to insert the branch at the required location.

The Branch list is automatically updated to reflect the new position of the branch.

Tip: If you are viewing your map in the Mind Map or Left/Right views, you can also use the Ctrl + Up and Ctrl + Down keyboard shortcuts to move the currently selected branch up or down in the map. Similarly, the Ctrl + Right and Ctrl + Left keyboard shortcuts allow you to move a branch right or left in the Top Down view.

Note: You can also use the Branch list to arrange branches in a different order. See "Using the Branch list" for more information.

Moving a main branch to a different position by disabling Auto-layout

By default, OpenMind automatically arranges the main branches as you insert them to prevent any overlap. You can however choose to reposition the main branches yourself after their insertion by disabling Auto-layout mode.

•	To disable Auto-layout mode, choose View | Auto-layout in the main menu to remove the tick mark next to the command name.

You can now position the main branches of your map as you wish by dragging them with the mouse.

Note that this only applies to main branches. OpenMind always arranges sub-branches automatically.

Important: If you re-enable Auto-layout mode at any point by choosing View | Auto-layout again while still working on your map, the main branches you repositioned will be placed back in their default position. You can however use the Undo feature [image] to cancel the re-enabling of Auto-layout and revert the display of the main branches to your own positioning.

Cutting, copying and pasting a branch

You can apply the standard Cut, Copy and Paste Windows functions to any branch of your Mind Map. This allows you to copy or move an entire branch, including all its sub-branches and attached objects, to a different part of your map, at the same hierarchical level or at a higher or lower level, in the same document or in a different document.

You can also apply the Cut, Copy and Paste functions to the root itself. This allows you for instance to copy an entire map from one document and add it as a main branch or a sub-branch in a different document. This is a very useful feature if you need to consolidate several different documents into a master document, as described in "Pack and Go".

•	To cut a root or a branch with all its sub-branches and attached objects to the clipboard (in other words to place the root or branch on the clipboard while removing it from your map), you first need to select it. You can then either:

•	Choose Edit | Cut in the main menu, or

•	Choose Cut in the local menu of the branch, or

•	Press Ctrl + X.

•	To copy a root or a branch and all its sub-branches and attached objects to the clipboard (in other words to place the root or branch on the clipboard while leaving it in place in your map), you first need to select it. You can then either:

•	Choose Edit | Copy in the main menu, or

•	Choose Copy in the local menu of the branch, or

•	Press Ctrl + C.

•	To paste a root or a branch and all its sub-branches and attached objects, you first need to select its new location, either in the same document or in a different document. You can then either:

•	Choose Edit | Paste in the main menu, or

•	Choose Paste in the local menu of the destination branch, or

•	Press Ctrl +V.

The clipboard root or branch is added as a sub-branch of the destination branch you selected.

Note: If you cut and paste a branch that is the starting point of a branch connection (see "Creating branch connections"), the branch connection will be moved with the branch. However if you cut and paste a branch that is the end point of a branch connection, the branch connection is not kept.


Zooming in and out

The zoom features allow you to change the level of magnification of your Mind Map.

Zooming in the area currently shown by one level

•	Click the Zoom In icon [image], or

•	Choose View | Zoom In, or

•	Press Ctrl + "+".

Note: The maximum zoom factor is 400%.

Zooming out the area currently shown by one level

•	Click the Zoom Out icon [image], or

•	Choose View | Zoom Out, or

•	Press Ctrl + "-".

Note: The minimum zoom factor is 5%.

Selecting a specific zoom factor

You can also choose a predefined zoom factor or enter your own zoom factor with the Zoom Specific icon [image] as follows:

•	Click the arrow to the right of the Zoom Specific icon and choose one of the predefined zoom factors in the pull-down menu, or

•	Click the Zoom Specific icon and enter your own value.

Fitting the map to the dimensions of the screen

•	Click the Fit to Screen icon [image], or

•	Choose View | Fit to Screen, or

•	Press F4.


Using the Media Catalog

The Media Catalog, which is displayed by default on the left-hand side of the OpenMind workspace, contains a vast collection of high-quality clipart pictures organized in many different categories or themes.

You can drag any of these pictures to your map at any time to illustrate a point, as described in "Inserting pictures".

You can examine a particular picture more closely by placing the mouse pointer over it. This shows an enlargement of the picture and displays a text description of it in the status bar in the bottom left corner of the OpenMind window.

Any picture you use in your map is placed in the Recent category. This allows you to quickly find recently used pictures in case you want to use them again.

You can also search the catalog for all pictures related to a particular theme or move your favorite pictures in the Favorites category, as described below.

Note: If the Media Catalog is not visible, choose View | Panels | Media Catalog in the main menu or click the Toggle Media Catalog icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.

Tip: You can resize the Media Catalog window by placing the mouse pointer on one of its sides until it changes to a double-arrow and dragging with the mouse.

Browsing the Media Catalog

•	Select a category by clicking the 'Select category' field.

To browse all the categories contained in the Media Catalog, you can also use the left and right arrow buttons [image] displayed on the top right of the Media Catalog window.

Searching the Media Catalog

If you need a picture on a particular theme, you can search for that theme in the catalog:

•	Type a search word in the 'Search catalog' field. For instance, if you are working on a geography map describing various countries and want to insert the flag of each country on the map, start typing the word "flags". As soon as you type the 4th character (i.e. the letter "g"), pictures of flags appear in the Media Catalog display area.

•	Scroll down the Media Catalog display area until you find the flag you require.

Tip: You can also type only the first two or three characters of the search word and click the Search icon [image]. All the pictures of the Media Catalog which have a search word including these two or three characters will then appear.

There are many different search words you can use to search through the Media Catalog. Here are some of the most common ones:

people, buildings, symbols, countries, maps, flags, tools, machines, boats, animals, plants, science, electronics, computing, Internet, transport

Using the Favorites category

If you often use the same pictures, placing them in the Favorites category will allow you to find them again very quickly.

•	Right-click the relevant picture and choose Add to Favorites in its local menu.

The picture is now placed in the Favorites category. If you want to remove it from this category at a later stage, all you have to do is right-click it again and choose Remove from Favorites in its local menu.

Using the My Own category

You can also keep your own pictures in the Media Catalog for future reference.

•	Select the category My Own.

•	Right-click the Media Catalog window and choose Add Custom Image in the local menu.

•	Choose the required picture in the Open dialog.

Your picture is now added to the category My Own.

Undocking the Media Catalog

To ensure the various OpenMind panels take as little space as possible, they are normally anchored (docked) to the left side of the screen.

You can however move any of the panels freely on the workspace by undocking them. See "Undocking a panel" in the topic "Setting up your workspace" for more information.


Using the Overview panel

The Overview panel, which is displayed by default on the left-hand side of the OpenMind workspace, gives you a miniature view of your entire document. The dark gray rectangle it contains identifies the part of the Mind Map currently visible in the workspace.

Note: If the Overview panel is not visible, choose View | Panels | Overview in the main menu or click the Toggle Overview Panel icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.

Tip: You can resize the Overview panel by placing the mouse pointer on one of its sides until it changes to a double-arrow and dragging with the mouse.

If your map is very large, the Overview panel can be a very useful tool to reach its different areas.

•	Move the mouse pointer over the gray rectangle contained in the Overview panel until it takes the shape of a hand.

•	Drag it in the direction of the map you want to explore and release the mouse button.

The main view changes to reflect the new position of the gray rectangle. Note that the positions of the elevators in the workspace scroll bars also change accordingly.

Note: You can achieve the same effect by using the workspace scroll bars, but the Overview panel has the advantage of giving you a complete representation of your map.

Undocking the Overview panel

To ensure the various OpenMind panels take as little space as possible, they are normally anchored (docked) to the left side of the screen.

You can however move any of the panels freely on the workspace by undocking them. See "Undocking a panel" in the topic "Setting up your workspace" for more information.


Using the Object list

The Object list gives you a complete overview of the objects you have placed on the branch currently selected. It allows you to perform various operations on the objects, such as selecting them, activating them, deleting them or displaying their properties.

The Object list also determines the order in which the objects are exported when you export your map to other formats. See the section "Exporting" of this documentation for more information.

Each object listed in the Object list is identified by its name and represented by the same icon as in the Object Toolbar.

Note: If the Object list is not open, choose View | Panels | Object List in the main menu or click the Toggle Object List icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.

Tip: You can resize the Object list by placing the mouse pointer on one of its sides until it changes to a double-arrow and dragging with the mouse.

Manipulating objects in the Object list

The Object list allows you to perform the following operations:

•	Select an object by clicking its name.

The contents of the Properties dialog immediately changes to reflect the properties of the selected object, which you can then edit as required.

•	Activate an object by double-clicking its name or choosing Execute in its local menu.

•	Delete an object by choosing Delete in its local menu.

•	If the object contains a link (e.g. Hypertext object, Button or Picture), change the link type or its properties by choosing Edit Link in its local menu. See "Creating links" for more information.

Arranging objects in the Object list

Objects are listed in the Object list according to the order in which you create them, with the most recent object at the bottom.

OpenMind lets you change the order of the objects in the Object list. Although this is not normally needed while working in OpenMind, it can be useful if you intend to export your map to a different format, such as a set of HTML pages or a Mediator document. This is because by default, objects are exported one at a time from the top of the Object list. By re-arranging the order of the objects in the Object list, you can therefore change the order in which the objects are exported.

•	To move an object to a different position in the list, click it and drag it to the required position while keeping the left mouse button down.

As you start dragging the object, a thin black line appears in the Object list. This line indicates the position where the object will be dropped when you let go of the mouse button. As long as you hold the mouse button down, the black line follows the mouse movement.

•	Let go of the mouse button to drop the object at the required position.

Undocking the Object list

To ensure the various OpenMind panels take as little space as possible, they are normally anchored (docked) to the left side of the screen.

You can however move any of the panels freely on the workspace by undocking them. See "Undocking a panel" in the topic "Setting up your workspace" for more information.


Using the Branch list

The Branch list, which is displayed in the left-hand side of the OpenMind workspace, gives you a tree representation of your Mind Map, similar to the structure used by Windows Explorer.

Note: If the Branch list is not open, choose View | Panels | Branch List in the main menu or click the Toggle Branch List icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.

Tip: You can resize the Branch list by placing the mouse pointer on one of its sides until it changes to a double-arrow and dragging with the mouse.

The Branch list serves several useful purposes:

•	It allows you to quickly view all the branches of your map in a hierarchical structure.

•	It allows you to concentrate on a particular area of your map by viewing only a chosen branch or set of branches.

•	It allows you to arrange the branches of your map in a different order.

•	It determines the order in which the branches are exported when you export your map to other formats.

Tip: If your map is very large or contains many levels of sub-branches, it might be helpful to undock the Branch list temporarily in order to widen it.

Viewing your map as a hierarchical structure

•	Click the plus sign [image] or minus sign [image] to the left of a branch name to expand or collapse that particular branch.

•	(Optional) Right-click the Branch list and choose Show Numbering in its local menu to number all the branches and sub-branches of your map hierarchically.

Viewing a particular branch and sub-branches

OpenMind lets you view a specific area of your map in isolation from the rest of the map. This allows you to concentrate on a particular branch or set of branches, while giving you more workspace to add comments, text notes, icons and so on or attach objects.

•	Click a branch of the Branch list to view only that branch together with its sub-branches.

Note that when restricting the display in that way, any branch connections leading to branches outside the area being viewed will not be represented.

Tip: To display your entire map again, right-click the workspace and choose Show Complete Map in its local menu

If you decide to print your map (choose File | Print or press Ctrl + P) while a branch is selected in the Branch list, the default action is to print only that branch together with its sub-branches. See "Printing a Mind Map" for more information.

Arranging branches in the Branch list

By default, main branches are listed in the Branch list according to their order in the map:

•	In Mind Map view, branches are listed in a clockwise direction from the top right. Sub-branches are listed from top to bottom.

•	In Top Down view, branches and sub-branches are listed from left to right.

•	In Left/Right view, branches and sub-branches are listed from top to bottom.

OpenMind lets you change the order in which the branches are displayed in your map by re-arranging them in the Branch list.

This can be useful if you intend to export your map and want to change the order in which the branches will be exported.

•	To move a branch to a different position in the list, click it and drag it to the required position while keeping the left mouse button down:

•	If you drag the branch between two branches, a black line appears between the branches to indicate that the branch being moved will be dropped between those two branches when you let go of the mouse button.

•	If you drag the branch on top of another branch, that branch becomes highlighted, indicated that the branch being moved will be inserted as a sub-branch of the highlighted branch when you let go of the mouse button.

Undocking the Branch list

To ensure the various OpenMind panels take as little space as possible, they are normally anchored (docked) to the left side of the screen.

You can however move any of the panels freely on the workspace by undocking them. See "Undocking a panel" in the topic "Setting up your workspace" for more information.


Using the Properties dialog

Many OpenMind components, such as the workspace, the root, the branches, attached objects, text notes and so on have specific properties, displayed in the Properties dialog. You can use the Properties dialog to make any necessary changes to these elements.

The Properties dialog shown below illustrates the general properties applicable to a branch. To see the properties applicable to the branch label, you would click its Text tab.

For a complete description of all the Properties dialogs available, see the Reference section.

You can make the same change to several elements at once by selecting all the elements required first. Let's suppose for instance that you want to change the branch color of three of your 10 branches. All you have to do is to select the three branches before choosing the color with the 'Branch color' property.

Note that if you select several elements of different type, only the properties that are common to them are listed in the Properties dialog. If for instance you select a floating picture and a floating comment together in order to edit their properties, you will only be able to modify their 'Line color' and 'Line width' properties from within the Properties dialog.

Note: If the Properties dialog is not open, choose View | Panels | Properties in the main menu or click the Toggle Properties Panel icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.

Tip: You can resize the Properties dialog by placing the mouse pointer on one of its sides until it changes to a double-arrow and dragging with the mouse.

Editing properties in the Properties dialog

The way you edit a property depends on its type as follows:

•	Label: Type in the new name or edit the existing name in the input field.

•	Number: Type in the new value in the input field.

•	Check box: Click the box to select it, click it again to deselect it.

•	Path: Type in a new folder and/or file name or edit the existing ones, or click the Browse button [image] on the right hand side of the input field.

•	Color: Click the small rectangle and choose the new color in the Windows Color dialog. The upper left corner of the dialog shows all the predefined colors. To define your own color, click the required area of the color matrix on the right and use the slider on the extreme right of the dialog to adjust the color attributes. You can also enter the RGB values (Red, Green, Blue) or the Hue, Saturation and Luminosity values manually. The easiest way to experiment with different colors is to press and hold the mouse button and move the mouse pointer around the color matrix. To save a color for future use, click Add to Custom Colors.

•	Font: Click the font name and choose a new font, font style and point size in the Windows Font dialog.

•	Alignment: Click the input field and select Left, Right or Center.

•	Once you have made the required change, press Enter to save the edited property.

Note that you can also use the up and down arrow keys to move between properties and press Enter to start editing.

The Tab key allows you to move from one tab to the other.

Undocking the Properties dialog

To ensure the various OpenMind panels take as little space as possible, they are normally anchored (docked) to the left side of the screen.

You can however move any of the panels freely on the workspace by undocking them. See "Undocking a panel" in the topic "Setting up your workspace" for ore information.


Creating branch connections

OpenMind allows you to indicate visually that two or more branches of your map are conceptually related by adding branch connections between them.

You can create two types of branch connections:

•	Internal branch connections, which connect two branches of the same map, or

•	External branch connections, which connect two branches belonging to two different maps.

Note: To create an external branch connection, both maps must be open. You must also save first the map where you want the connection to end.

Creating a branch connection

•	Click the Branch Connection icon [image].

The mouse pointer changes to a different shape.

•	Click the branch or sub-branch you want the connection to start from.

A thin line appears connecting the branch you selected and the mouse pointer.

•	Click the branch where you want the connection to end.

If you are creating an external branch connection, you will first need to click the tab of the second map in order to display it.

A dotted line ending with an arrow now connects your start branch with your end branch.

Tip: You can also just highlight the start branch and drag the mouse to your end branch while keeping the left mouse button down.

The branch connection appears in the Object list of the start branch. By default, its name is the name of the end branch. A green dot also appears to the right of the start branch label to indicate the presence of an attached object. Moving the mouse pointer over this green dot displays a pop-up list of the all the objects attached.

Tip: To create several branch connections quickly, keep the Ctrl key down while connecting the various branches.

Activating a branch connection

If you have selected a branch that has a branch connection leading to another branch, you can quickly select that other branch as follows:

•	Double-click the branch connection in the Object list, or

•	Select the branch connection in the Object list and choose Execute in its local menu.

If the connection ends in a different map, OpenMind opens it automatically in a separate tab.

Deleting a branch connection

To delete a branch connection, select it in the Object list and do one of the following:

•	Press Delete, or

•	Choose Edit | Delete in the main menu, or

•	Choose Delete in its local menu.

Remember that if you delete a branch connection by accident, you can always cancel the deletion by pressing the Undo icon [image] or choosing Edit | Undo (Ctrl + Z).

Branch connection properties

A branch connection has its own properties, displayed in the Properties dialog. You can use the Properties dialog to make any necessary changes to the branch connection, as described in "Using the Properties dialog".

See "Branch connection properties: General tab" in the Reference section for a detailed description of the properties applicable to a branch connection.

Note: If the Properties dialog is not open, choose View | Panels | Properties in the main menu or click the Toggle Properties Panel icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.


Creating links

The Hypertext and Button objects allow you to create links between a particular branch of your map and external elements, such as a file, a URL or an email address. Once a hypertext or button object inserted, activating it will automatically open the viewer associated with the linked element on your computer (for instance your default text editor, browser or email program).

Hypertext objects and buttons are listed in the Object list of the branch they belong to, but are not represented visually on the branch. This means that unless you intend to export your map to another format, it does not matter whether you choose to host your link on a hypertext object or a button.

If however you decide to export your map to another format such as HTML, the hypertext link or button will be represented visually on the page, and you will be able to click either of them directly in order to view the linked element. Note that you can also associate such links with attached picture files, as described below.

Inserting a Hypertext or Button object on a branch

You can do this in two ways:

•	Drag the Hypertext object or the Button from the Object Toolbar and drop it on the required branch.

•	Select the required branch, choose Insert | Attach Object in the main menu or Attach Object in the local menu, and select Hypertext or Button.

A dialog appears to let you choose the element to link to.

•	Type a name for your hypertext object or button. If you intend to export your map, this is the text that will make up the hyperlink or appear on the button.

•	Choose one of the link types described below.

Note: You can open this dialog again at any time to change its settings by choosing Edit Link in the object's local menu.

No link

Use this option if you intend to export your map to a different format (for instance as a web site or a Mediator document) but prefer not to define the link in OpenMind. This way, you can create various hypertext objects and buttons in OpenMind, but only determine their functionality later, using for instance FrontPage® or Mediator.

File link

This allows you to link a file to your hypertext object or button. When you activate the object, the file specified will automatically open in the viewer associated with its extension type on your computer.

•	Type the name of the file to link to in the Path field (or click the Browse button).

URL link

This allows you to link a web page to your hypertext object or button. When you activate the object, the web page specified will be automatically displayed in your default web browser.

•	Type the URL of the web page to link to in the Path field.

Email link

This allows you to specify an email address to link to your hypertext object or button. When you activate the object, a new message window will automatically open in your default email program, with the address supplied below already filled in.

•	Type the email address to link to in the Address field.

Activating a Hypertext or Button object

There are several ways of activating a link from within OpenMind:

•	Double-click the hypertext object or button in the Object list, or

•	Select the hypertext object or button in the Object list and choose Execute in its local menu, or

•	Display the object pop-up list by moving the pointer over the green dot and click the object required.

These actions all activate the linked element, which is then displayed in the viewer associated with its extension type.

Inserting a link to a Picture object on a branch

With OpenMind, it is also possible to add any of the link types described above to a picture object attached to a branch. Note however that you will not be able to display the linked element in OpenMind by activating the picture object, as this displays the picture itself. For this reason, adding a link to a picture object is only useful if you intend to export your map to a different format, such as HTML or Mediator.

To add a link to a picture object:

•	Select the picture object in the Object list.

•	Choose Edit Link in its local menu.

•	Fill in the Link dialog as described above.

Object properties

Hypertext objects, buttons and picture objects have their own properties, displayed in the Properties dialog. You can use the Properties dialog to make any necessary changes to the object, as described in "Using the Properties dialog".

See the Reference section for a full description of the properties applicable to each type of object.

Note: If the Properties dialog is not open, choose View | Panels | Properties in the main menu or click the Toggle Properties Panel icon [image] in the Display Toolbar.


Inserting a new map

OpenMind allows you to create several maps in the same view by inserting several roots in it. This can be useful if while working on your map, you have ideas as yet unrelated to your existing topics (i.e. branches). You then have the possibility of converting your new maps into branches of your existing map once you have decided how they should be related, or if necessary, to place them into new documents altogether, as described below.

Inserting a new map in the view

You can do this in two ways:

•	Choose Insert | New Map in the main menu, or

•	Right-click the workspace and choose Insert | New Map in its local menu.

Note: You can also create a new map by detaching a branch of your existing map, either to the same document or to a new document. See "Detaching a branch" for more information.

Attaching a newly created map to an existing map

If you have created a second map, you can integrate it to your original map as follows:

•	To attach it as a main branch, drag its root to the original root.

•	To attach it as a sub-branch, drag its root to the branch or sub-branch you want to attach it to.

Moving a newly created map in a separate document

•	Select the root of your new map and choose Cut in its local menu or Edit | Cut in the main menu (or press Ctrl + X).

•	Create a new document (File | New or Ctrl + N).

•	Once the new document tab opens, right-click the workspace and choose Paste in its local menu or Edit | Paste in the main menu (or press Ctrl + V).

•	(optional) Delete the default root created automatically in the new document.


Detaching a branch

OpenMind allows you to create several maps in the same view by inserting several roots, as described in "Inserting a new map". You can also create a second map by detaching an existing branch of your Mind Map, either to the same document, or to a new document. This can be useful when you realize that one of your existing topics (i.e. branch) does not in fact belong to your map, or if you want to consider a particular branch as the source of a new map.

Detaching a branch to the same document

•	Select the branch you want to detach, then either:

•	Choose Edit | Detach Branch in the main menu, or

•	Choose Detach Branch in its local menu.

Detaching a branch to a new document

•	Select the branch you want to detach, then either:

•	Choose Edit | Detach Branch as New Document in the main menu, or

•	Choose Detach Branch as New Document in its local menu.

In both cases, the selected branch and all its sub-branches, inserted elements and attached objects becomes a new Mind Map.


Exporting: Introduction

OpenMind lets you convert your map into many other formats, such as a Mediator document, a web site, a Word document, a PowerPoint presentation or a simple picture. If you do not have Microsoft® Word installed on your machine, you can also convert your map as an .RTF document, which will allow you to open it in other word processing programs.

These export possibilities mean that you can use OpenMind to brainstorm your ideas, organize them visually and collect all the associated material, and then convert the map into the format you require. In this way, you immediately obtain a professional-looking document, which you can process further if necessary using tools such as FrontPage® (for HTML export), MatchWare Mediator (for Mediator documents), Microsoft® Word or Microsoft® PowerPoint.

Apart from the Export to Picture function, all exports can be done in two modes:

•	Using Quick Export

•	Using Advanced Export or the Export Wizard

The export settings you choose for a particular export format (Mediator, HTML, Word etc.) are saved with the OpenMind document itself and re-used for the next export in that format. This means that you do not need to specify your preferred settings every time you want to re-export your map into a particular format after making alterations to it.

The order in which the branches of your map are exported is determined by their order in the Branch list. Similarly, the order in which the objects attached to a particular branch are exported is determined by their order in the Object list. See "Using the Branch list" and "Using the Object list" for more information about re-arranging the branch order and/or object order.

You can however exclude entire branches and sub-branches from the export by disabling their 'Include branch and subs in export' property in the Properties dialog.

Note: If you choose to exclude some of the elements from the export in the Export dialogs, none of the elements of this type will be exported, regardless of the value of their individual 'Include in export' property in the Properties dialog. Let's suppose for instance your map contains a floating picture whose 'Include in export' property is enabled. If you choose to exclude floating pictures from the export in the relevant Export dialog, your floating picture will not be exported. Conversely, if you specify in the Export dialog that floating pictures should be exported, only the floating pictures whose 'Include in export' property is enabled will be exported.


Exporting to Mediator
Exporting to Mediator: Overview

This export method lets you export your Mind Map as a Mediator document.

Combining OpenMind and Mediator is a powerful way to create web sites and multimedia presentations. Once you have finished brainstorming and organizing your ideas in OpenMind, you can export your map to Mediator to process it further by adding Mediator events and actions to turn it into an interactive CD presentation or a set of dynamic Flash or HTML pages.

Note: You do not need to have Mediator installed on your computer to use this export mode. However, Mediator version 7 with Service Pack 3.2 (build 154) or above is needed to view the exported Mediator document. This free update is available on the MatchWare web site at:

http://www.matchware.net/en/support/servicepacks/mediator7.htm

The exported Mediator document is placed in a folder of your choice, and all relevant external files are placed in a sub-folder named MD8 within that folder.

Each branch, including the root, is exported as a Mediator page of the same name as the branch. The sub-branches belonging to a particular branch are exported as sub-pages of the corresponding Mediator page.

By default, a Home button, taking you back to the root page, and a Back button, taking you back to the previous page, are included in all the pages of your Mediator document.

All the objects attached to a particular branch are listed in the Mediator Object list of the corresponding Mediator page and tiled on the page on top of each other.

The order in which the branches of your map are exported is determined by their order in the Branch list. Similarly, the order in which the objects attached to a particular branch are exported is determined by their order in the Object list. See "Using the Branch list" and "Using the Object list" for more information about re-arranging the branch order and/or object order.

You can however exclude entire branches and sub-branches from the export by disabling their 'Include branch and subs in export' property in the Properties dialog.

Note that as Mediator does not support the EMF picture file format, any EMF file your map may contain is converted to the JPG file format during export.

There are two exporting methods available:

•	Quick Export

Quick Export mode allows you to export your map quickly using the OpenMind defaults or the last export settings you chose.

•	Export Wizard

The Mediator Export Wizard lets you choose from a number of navigation layouts which you can customize as you wish. You can also specify the elements of your map to be exported and how they should be treated.

The export settings you choose are saved with the OpenMind document and re-used next time you export your map to Mediator, which means you do not have to redefine them every time you make a small alteration to your map.

The following table indicates how the various OpenMind inserted elements and attached objects are exported on the Mediator page.

OpenMind element	Exported as
Branch name	Page description. If the branch name is unique, the branch name is also the page name. Otherwise, page names are numbered sequentially, i.e. Idea, Idea01, Idea02 and so on.
Text note	Inserted as a Mediator text object
Branch picture	Inserted as a Mediator picture object
Floating picture	• If connected to a branch, inserted as a Mediator picture object on the page • If not connected to a branch, not exported
Floating comment	• If connected to a branch, inserted as a Mediator text object on the page • If not connected to a branch, not exported
Non-floating comment	Inserted as a text note on the Notes tab of the Properties dialog for the page
Branch connection	Depending on your choice, inserted as a Mediator button or Mediator hypertext link
OpenMind object	Exported as
Text file	Depending on your choice, inserted as a Mediator button or Mediator hypertext link
Picture file	Inserted as a Mediator picture object
Video file	Inserted as a Mediator video object
Sound file	Depending on your choice, inserted as a Mediator button or Mediator hypertext link
Button	Inserted as a Mediator button
Hypertext	Inserted as a Mediator hypertext link
Flash file	Inserted as a Mediator Flash object


Exporting to Mediator: Quick Export

•	Choose File | Export to Mediator | Quick Export.

•	If your OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), choose the map you want to export in the 'Select Map to Export' dialog and click OK.

The MatchWare Mediator Quick Export dialog appears.

•	Choose a path and file name for your new Mediator document.

•	Choose the window size that corresponds to your screen resolution or the screen resolution of the intended users of your Mediator document.

•	Choose whether to use:

•	The template you last used in the Export Wizard if you have already used that export mode for your map. If you choose this option, the window size options become inactive as the window size is already defined.

•	The MatchWare predefined export template (with top and side menu)

•	Blank pages (without any menu structure or graphic design elements)

•	(optional) Click Options to define further export options:

The Select Objects tab allows you to specify the elements of the map to include in the export. You can also disable 'Insert Home button' and/or 'Insert Back button' if you do not want these buttons on the pages of your Mediator document.

Note: If you exclude some elements from the export by deselecting them here, none of the elements of this type will be exported, regardless of the value of their individual 'Include in export' property in the Properties dialog. Let's suppose for instance your map contains a floating picture whose 'Include in export' property is enabled. If you choose to exclude floating pictures from the export here, your floating picture will not be exported. Conversely, if you specify here that floating pictures should be exported, only the floating pictures whose 'Include in export' property is enabled will be exported.

The Select Placement tab only appears if your map contains branch connections and/or attached sound files or text files and lets you choose whether these elements should be placed on Mediator hypertext or button objects.

•	Click Export.

Once the export is completed, OpenMind lets you either view your project straight away in Mediator or continue working in OpenMind.


Exporting to Mediator: Export Wizard

•	Choose File | Export to Mediator | Export Wizard.

•	If your OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), choose the map you want to export in the 'Select Map to Export' dialog and click Next.

Selecting the window size

The Export Wizard now displays a series of dialogs, the first of which is the Select Window Size dialog.

•	Choose the window size corresponding to your screen resolution or the screen resolution of the intended users of your Mediator document and click Next.

Selecting a template

The Export Wizard now displays the Templates dialog, which allows you to select a navigation layout for all the pages of your Mediator document. The Templates dialog contains three tabs:

•	Template Style: This tab allows you to define a particular navigation layout for your Mediator pages.

•	Top and side menu: This shows the names of the main branches on the top of the page and the names of each set of sub-branches on the left side of the page. In other words, if the 3rd menu option is chosen on the top (corresponding to the 3rd main branch), the left menu displays the names of the sub-branches of the 3rd branch. As soon as you click one of those sub-branches, the left menu shows its sub-sub-branches. The top menu however remains unchanged and always shows the main branches.

•	Top menu: This shows the names of each set of branches (main branches, then sub-branches of the main branch clicked, then sub-sub-branches of the sub-branch clicked and so on) on the top of the page.

•	Side menu: This shows the same content as the Top menu, but on the left side of the page rather than on the top.

•	Most recent: This identifies the last template you used in the Export Wizard.

•	Predefined Templates: This lets you choose one of the predefined OpenMind export templates.

Clicking one of the predefined templates in the right part of the dialog gives you a preview of it in the left part.

•	My Templates: This lets you choose one of your own previously saved export templates. See further down for information on how to save your own export template.

•	Choose a template style or one of the predefined templates and click Next.

Selecting a design

The Export Wizard now opens the Select Design dialog, which lets you customize the navigation layout chosen, even if you have selected a pre-defined template.

You now need to define a design for each of the components of the page in turn, in other words Top Bar, Side Bar and/or Background, depending on the navigation layout you chose in the previous step.

The illustration below assumes you chose the 'Top and side menu' layout in the Template Style tab.

•	Click Select Top Bar to select this component, then click the Design button.

•	Choose the required design in the Top Bar Design dialog (scrolling the list if necessary) and click OK.

The actual design for the component is now shown in the Select Design dialog.

•	(optional) Define further properties for the Top Bar by clicking the Properties button.

Feel free to experiment with the various properties and check the effect produced in the Select Design dialog. You can also obtain a full size preview at any time by clicking its Preview button.

You now need to repeat these operations for the Side Bar.

•	Click Select Side Bar, then click the Design button.

•	Choose the required design in the Side Bar Design dialog and click OK.

The Select Design dialog now contains your chosen Top Bar and Side Bar designs.

•	(optional) Define further properties for the Side Bar by clicking the Properties button.

You now have the option of customizing the background if required.

•	(optional) Click Select Background, then click the Properties button.

This dialog lets you define a background color or choose a picture to be shown in the background.

•	(optional) You can save your customized export template for later use by clicking the Save Template button of the Select Design dialog. The Save Template dialog that opens contains a list of the export templates you've already saved. Enter the name of your new export template and click Save.

Clicking one of the existing templates gives you a preview of it in the right part of the dialog. You can overwrite one of these existing templates with the new template by clicking Save.

You can also delete an existing template by clicking Delete.

•	Once you are satisfied with the design of all the page components, click Next.

Customizing the placement of branch connections, sounds and text documents

This dialog only appears if your map contains branch connections, sound files or text files. It lets you decide whether you want to place these objects on Mediator hypertext or button objects.

•	Check the options required and click Next.

Customizing the button and hypertext styles

The Export Wizard now displays the Customize Button and Hypertext Styles dialog if your map contains any hypertext links or buttons. This lets you choose styles for any buttons or hypertext links contained in your map.

•	Choose a button style in the 'Select style' field:

•	2 state buttons: These buttons have a different appearance depending on their state: inactive (when the mouse pointer is away from them) or hover (when the mouse pointer is placed over them).

•	3 state buttons: In addition to the two states above, these buttons have a third state, the active state. This means that they also change appearance when they are clicked.

•	Scroll through the various buttons available shown under the 'Select style' field and click to select the one you require. You can now test the different states of the button in the 'Current selection' area.

•	Define the hypertext style required by selecting a font and size.

•	Click Next.

Selecting the objects to include

The Export Wizard now opens the Select Objects dialog.

•	Select the OpenMind objects which you want to export to Mediator.

Note: If you exclude some elements from the export by deselecting them here, none of the elements of this type will be exported, regardless of the value of their individual 'Include in export' property in the Properties dialog. Let's suppose for instance your map contains a floating picture whose 'Include in export' property is enabled. If you choose to exclude floating pictures from the export here, your floating picture will not be exported. Conversely, if you specify here that floating pictures should be exported, only the floating pictures whose 'Include in export' property is enabled will be exported.

•	(optional) If you do not want a Home button on your Mediator pages, deselect 'Insert Home button'.

•	(optional) If you do not want a Back button on your Mediator pages, deselect 'Insert Back button'.

•	Click Next.

Exporting

You are now ready to export your map to Mediator.

•	Choose a path and file name for your new Mediator project.

•	If you want OpenMind to place a copy of all the external files used in your map (such as text files, sound files, video files and so on) in the export folder, check the option 'Copy linked files to export folder'. Such files will then be placed in the sub-folder named MD8 of your export folder. This will allow you to distribute or transfer your Mediator project easily by copying the actual Mediator file as well as the entire MD8 sub-folder.

•	Click Export.

Once the export is completed, OpenMind lets you either view your project straight away in Mediator or continue working in OpenMind.


Exporting to HTML
Exporting to HTML: Overview

This export method lets you export your Mind Map as a set of web pages in HTML format. It allows you to obtain a professional-looking web site very quickly, without having to worry about web design techniques.

Note: You need to have Internet Explorer version 4.01 or above installed on your computer in order to use this export mode.

The exported HTML pages and all the relevant external files are placed in a sub-folder named "Html Export" in the folder of your choice.

Each branch, including the root, is exported as a HTML page of the same name as the branch, and each page contains a menu of all its sub-branches and optionally, a menu of the main branches.

By default, a Home button taking you back to the root page is included on each HTML page. A Site Map button containing a link to an interactive picture of your entire map is also included on each HTML page.

Unless you define a different arrangement in the Export Wizard, all the objects attached to a branch are exported underneath each other and centered on the page.

The order in which the branches of your map are exported is determined by their order in the Branch list. Similarly, the order in which the objects attached to a particular branch are exported is determined by their order in the Object list, although the Export Wizard allows you to change this order. See "Using the Branch list" and "Using the Object list" for more information about re-arranging the branch order and/or object order.

You can however exclude entire branches and sub-branches from the export by disabling their 'Include branch and subs in export' property in the Properties dialog.

There are two exporting methods available:

•	Quick Export

Quick Export mode allows you to export your map quickly using the OpenMind defaults or the last export settings you chose.

•	Export Wizard

The HTML Export Wizard lets you choose from a number of navigation layouts which you can customize to your liking. You can also specify the elements of your map to be exported and how they should be treated.

The export settings you choose are saved with the OpenMind document and re-used next time you export your map to HTML, which means you do not have to redefine them every time you make a small alteration to your map.

The following table indicates how the various OpenMind inserted elements and attached objects are exported on the HTML page.

OpenMind element	Exported as
Branch name	Page title
Text note	Inserted as text
Branch picture	Inserted as picture
Floating picture	• If connected to a branch, inserted as a picture • If not connected to a branch, not exported
Floating comment	• If connected to a branch, inserted as text • If not connected to a branch, not exported
Non-floating comment	Inserted as text
Branch connection	Depending on your choice, inserted as a button link or hypertext link
OpenMind object	Exported as
Text file	Depending on your choice, inserted as a button link or hypertext link
Picture file	Inserted as a picture
Video file	Inserted as a Media Player object
Sound file	Depending on your choice, inserted as a button link or hypertext link
Button	Inserted as a button link
Hypertext	Inserted as a hypertext link
Flash file	Inserted as a Flash file (embedded)


Exporting to HTML: Quick Export

•	Choose File | Export to HTML | Quick Export.

•	If your OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), choose the map you want to export in the 'Select Map to Export' dialog and click OK.

The HTML Quick Export dialog appears.

•	Choose a path for your new web site.

•	Choose the window width that corresponds to your screen resolution or the screen resolution of the intended users of your web site (in other words choose 640 for a screen resolution of 640 x 480, choose 800 for a screen resolution of 800 x 600 and so on). This will determine the width of the HTML page. Note that since HTML pages can be scrolled vertically in the browser window, it is not necessary to specify a page height.

•	Choose whether to use:

•	The template you last used in the Export Wizard if you have already used that export mode for your map. If you choose this option, the window size options become inactive as the window size is already defined.

•	The MatchWare predefined export template (with top and side menu)

•	(optional) Click Options to define further export options:

The Select Objects tab allows you to specify the elements of the map to include in the export. You can also disable 'Insert Home button' if you do not want a Home button on your HTML pages and 'Insert site map' if you do not want an interactive picture of your map in the web site.

Note: If you exclude some elements from the export by deselecting them here, none of the elements of this type will be exported, regardless of the value of their individual 'Include in export' property in the Properties dialog. Let's suppose for instance your map contains a floating picture whose 'Include in export' property is enabled. If you choose to exclude floating pictures from the export here, your floating picture will not be exported. Conversely, if you specify here that floating pictures should be exported, only the floating pictures whose 'Include in export' property is enabled will be exported.

The Select Placement tab only appears if your map contains branch connections and/or attached sound files or text files and lets you choose whether these elements should be placed on HTML hypertext or button objects.

•	Click Export.

Once the export is completed, OpenMind displays a dialog giving you the choice of immediately viewing your web site in your default browser or uploading it to Internet using the MatchWare FTP Upload Manager. For more information on this tool, see "FTP Upload Manager".

Note: To open your exported project from within Windows Explorer at a later date, click the file index.htm in the sub-folder "Html Export".


Exporting to HTML: Export Wizard

•	Choose File | Export to HTML | Export Wizard.

•	If your OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), choose the map you want to export in the 'Select Map to Export' dialog and click Next.

Selecting the window size

The Export Wizard now displays a series of dialogs, the first of which is the Select Window Size dialog.

•	Choose the window width that corresponds to your screen resolution or the screen resolution of the intended users of your web site (in other words choose 640 for a screen resolution of 640 x 480, choose 800 for a screen resolution of 800 x 600 and so on). This will determine the width of the HTML page. Note that since HTML pages can be scrolled vertically in the browser window, it is not necessary to specify a page height.

•	Click Next.

Selecting a template

The Export Wizard now displays the Templates dialog, which allows you to select a navigation layout for all the pages of your web site. The Templates dialog contains three tabs:

•	Template Style: This tab allows you to define a particular navigation layout for your HTML pages.

•	Top and side menu: This shows the names of the main branches on the top of the page and the names of each set of sub-branches on the left side of the page. In other words, if the 3rd menu option is chosen on the top (corresponding to the 3rd main branch), the left menu displays the names of the sub-branches of the 3rd branch. As soon as you click one of those sub-branches, the left menu shows its sub-sub-branches. The top menu however remains unchanged and always shows the main branches.

•	Top menu: This shows the names of each set of branches (main branches, then sub-branches of the main branch clicked, then sub-sub-branches of the sub-branch clicked and so on) on the top of the page.

•	Side menu: This shows the same content as the Top menu, but on the left side of the page rather than on the top.

•	Most recent: This identifies the last template you used in the Export Wizard.

•	Predefined Templates: This lets you choose one of the predefined OpenMind export templates.

Clicking one of the predefined templates in the right part of the dialog gives you a preview of it in the left part.

•	My Templates: This lets you choose one of your own previously saved export templates. See further down for information on how to save your own export template.

•	Choose a template style or one of the predefined templates and click Next.

Selecting a design

The Export Wizard now opens the Select Design dialog, which lets you customize the navigation layout chosen, even if you have selected a pre-defined template.

You now need to define a design for each of the components of the page in turn, in other words Top Bar, Side Bar and/or Background, depending on the navigation layout you chose in the previous step.

The illustration below assumes you chose the 'Top and side menu' layout in the Template Style tab.

•	Click Select Top Bar to select this component, then click the Design button.

•	Choose the required design in the Top Bar Design dialog (scrolling the list if necessary) and click OK.

The actual design for the component is now shown in the Select Design dialog.

•	(optional) Define further properties for the Top Bar by clicking the Properties button.

Feel free to experiment with the various properties and check the effect produced in the Select Design dialog. You can also obtain a full size preview at any time by clicking the Preview button.

You now need to repeat these operations for the Side Bar.

•	Click Select Side Bar, then click the Design button.

•	Choose the required design in the Side Bar Design dialog and click OK.

The Select Design dialog now contains your chosen Top Bar and Side Bar designs.

•	(optional) Define further properties for the Side Bar by clicking the Properties button.

You now have the option of customizing the background if required.

•	(optional) Click Select Background, then click the Properties button.

This dialog lets you define a background color or choose a picture to be shown in the background.

•	(optional) You can save your customized export template for later use by clicking the Save Template button of the Select Design dialog. The Save Template dialog that opens contains a list of the export templates you've already saved. Enter the name of your new export template and click Save.

Clicking one of the existing templates gives you a preview of it in the right part of the dialog. You can overwrite one of these existing templates with the new template by clicking Save.

You can also delete an existing template by clicking Delete.

•	Once you are satisfied with the design of all the page components, click Next.

Customizing the placement of branch connections, sounds and text documents

This dialog appears only if your map contains branch connections, sound files or text files. It lets you decide whether you want to place these objects on hypertext links or on buttons.

•	Check the options required and click Next.

Customizing the button and hypertext styles

The Export Wizard now displays the Customize Button and Hypertext Styles dialog if your map contains any hypertext links or buttons. This lets you choose styles for any buttons or hypertext links contained in your map.

•	Choose a button style in the 'Select style' field:

•	2 state buttons: These buttons have a different appearance depending on their state: inactive (when the mouse pointer is away from them) or hover (when the mouse pointer is placed over them).

•	3 state buttons: In addition to the two states above, these buttons have a third state, the active state. This means that they also change appearance when they are clicked.

•	Scroll through the various buttons available shown under the 'Select style' field and click to select the one you require. You can now test the different states of the button in the 'Current selection' area.

•	Define the hypertext style required by selecting a font and size. You can also define different colors depending on whether the state of the hypertext link is inactive, hover (when the mouse pointer is placed over it) or active (when the link has been visited).

•	Click Next.

Selecting the objects to include

The Export Wizard now opens the Select Objects dialog.

•	Select the OpenMind objects which you want to export to HTML.

Note: If you exclude some elements from the export by deselecting them here, none of the elements of this type will be exported, regardless of the value of their individual 'Include in export' property in the Properties dialog. Let's suppose for instance your map contains a floating picture whose 'Include in export' property is enabled. If you choose to exclude floating pictures from the export here, your floating picture will not be exported. Conversely, if you specify here that floating pictures should be exported, only the floating pictures whose 'Include in export' property is enabled will be exported.

•	(optional) If you do not want a Home button on your HTML pages, deselect 'Insert Home button'.

•	(optional) If you do not want to create a HTML page containing an interactive picture of your entire map, deselect 'Insert site map'.

•	Click Next.

Customizing the page layout

The Export Wizard now opens the Customize Page Layout dialog, which allows you to define where the various objects attached to each branch should be placed on the corresponding HTML page.

You can either:

•	Choose a default placement of Left, Center or Right and click Next. In that case, the objects will be placed one after the other on each page according to their order in the Object list, either on the left, the center or the right of the page.

•	Choose a default placement, and then click the Place Objects button to arrange the objects manually on the page as you wish.

Note: If you have already exported your map to HTML, you can check 'Only show updated pages'. In that case, the Export Wizard only shows you the pages which you have edited since the last export. If your map contains a large number of branches, this saves time as you do not have to review the object positioning on all the unchanged pages.

Positioning the objects manually

(optional) If you have chosen to place the objects manually by clicking 'Place Objects' in the previous dialog, the Export Wizard now shows the Object Positioning window.

This is based on a default grid containing 5 columns, each representing 20% of the width of the HTML page, and divided in a number of cells.

All the objects associated with the first branch of your map are identified on the grid by a small icon bearing their name, in the default position chosen in the previous dialog. You can now reposition these objects or resize them by manipulating the grid cells as follows:

•	To move an object on the page, drag it from one cell to the other.

•	To resize a column on the grid, drag its edge until it reaches the required size.

•	To merge two or more cells so that the object is stretched across them, select the cells by dragging the mouse pointer across them and click the Merge Cells button (or right-click and choose Merge Cells in its local menu).

•	To split a cell made up of merged cells, select it and click Split Cells (or right-click it and choose Split Cells in the local menu).

•	To align objects horizontally or vertically within a cell, select the relevant cells by dragging the mouse pointer across them, right-click and choose Alignment in the local menu. Then select an Alignment option by clicking a square in the menu (these represent top left alignment, top center alignment, top right alignment and so on). Note that you can also perform this operation on empty cells before moving objects into them.

•	To add an empty row, right-click the row above which you want to insert a row and choose Add Row in its local menu.

•	To delete a row, right-click it and choose Delete Row in its local menu.

•	To increase or decrease the space between each cell, click the up or down arrows of the 'Cell spacing' option.

All the objects that are excluded from the export, either because you have disabled their 'Include in export' property or because you have chosen to exclude them in the Select Objects dialog described above, are listed in the 'Exclude from export' area in the bottom left of the grid. You are free to drag any of these objects back onto the HTML page.

You can also exclude particular objects from the export by dragging them to the 'Exclude from export' area, and drag them back to the HTML page later if you change your mind.

•	Click Preview to visualize the effect of your changes on the actual page.

•	When you are satisfied with the positioning of the objects on the page, click the right double arrow button to go to the next page, or choose another page in the Branch list shown on the left of the dialog.

•	Repeat the operation until you have reviewed all the pages that needed revisiting.

•	Once you have reviewed all the pages, click Finish.

Exporting

You are now ready to export your map to HTML.

•	Choose a destination folder for your new web site.

•	(optional) You can optimize your pictures for web export by checking the option 'Automatically optimize pictures'. This has two effects:

•	All .bmp pictures used on your map are converted to .jpg to reduce their file size.

•	Any .bmp or .jpg picture used on your map that is larger than the dimensions allocated to it on the HTML page is scaled down to these dimensions.

Once the export is completed, OpenMind displays a dialog giving you the choice of immediately viewing your web site in your default browser or uploading it to Internet using the MatchWare FTP Upload Manager. For more information on this tool, see "FTP Upload Manager".

Note: To open your exported project from within Windows Explorer at a later date, click the file index.htm in the sub-folder "Html Export".


FTP Upload Manager

To help you get your HTML site on the web as quickly and effortlessly as possible, OpenMind comes with a built-in FTP program, the MatchWare FTP Upload Manager.

Starting the FTP Upload Manager

Before you can use the FTP Upload Manager you must export your OpenMind document to HTML (see "Exporting to HTML: Quick Export" or "Exporting to HTML: Export Wizard"). At the end of the export the following dialog appears:

•	To open the FTP Upload Manager click 'Upload with FTP'.

The FTP Upload Manager dialog appears:

•	In the FTP server address field, enter the FTP upload address that you have received from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

•	Enter your User name and Password in their respective fields.

Note: If you do not have an FTP address, user name or password or have lost them, contact your ISP.

•	Clicking the Browse button next to Destination folder will connect you to the Internet. Once online, search for the remote folder you wish to upload your web site to.

•	Select the folder required and click OK to return to the Upload Manager dialog.

If you would like to upload the web site to a new folder, click New Folder to create a new remote folder on the server. Click OK to return to the Upload Manager dialog.

Tip: To quickly create a new remote folder enter a forward slash and the name of the new folder in the Destination folder field.

If your Internet connection goes down often, you are advised to check the option 'Attempt to reconnect' in the Upload Manager dialog to guarantee a successful upload.

You can also set the number of reconnection attempts you want the Upload Manager to perform for a given file. If upload is still unsuccessful after this number of attempts, it is cancelled.

Uploading your web site

•	If you are uploading your web site for the first time, click Upload entire project to connect to the FTP server and upload all the files.

You can follow the progress of the upload in the Upload dialog.

If upload is completed successfully, the following dialog appears:

•	Click Close to return to OpenMind.

The FTP Upload Manager remembers your FTP address, Username, Password and Destination. If you make changes to your web site and would like to upload it again, click Update existing project to upload only the files that have changed since your last upload.


Exporting to Word

This export method lets you export your Mind Map as a Microsoft Word document. If for instance you have created a Mind Map to brainstorm the structure of an essay, this export mode provides you with a ready-made outline of your map as a Word document, which you can then turn into a fully blown essay by working directly in Word.

Note: You need to have Microsoft Word installed on your computer in order to use this export mode. OpenMind supports all Microsoft Word versions from Office 97 onwards.

Each branch is exported as a paragraph heading at the relevant level, in other words Heading 1 for main branches, Heading 2 for sub-branches, Heading 3 for sub-sub-branches and so on, using hierarchical numbering (unless you disable it in Advanced Export). Attached objects and inserted elements are listed below the heading.

By default, OpenMind automatically includes an overall picture of your map on the first page of the document, followed by a Table of Contents.

Tip: If you add new headings to the document when working directly in Microsoft Word, you can easily update this Table of Contents by right-clicking it and choosing Update Field in the Word local menu. If you don't need the Table of Contents, you can delete it by selecting it and pressing Delete.

The order in which the branches of your map are exported to the Word document is determined by their order in the Branch list. Similarly, the order in which the objects attached to a particular branch are exported is determined by their order in the Object list. See "Using the Branch list" and "Using the Object list" for more information about re-arranging the branch order and/or object order.

You can however exclude entire branches and sub-branches from the export by disabling their 'Include branch and subs in export' property in the Properties dialog.

There are two exporting methods available:

•	Quick Export

Quick Export mode allows you to export your map quickly using the OpenMind defaults or the last Advanced Export settings you chose if you have already used that mode.

•	Advanced Export

The Advanced Export mode allows you to choose a template for your Word document. You can also specify the elements of your map to be exported and how they should be treated.

The export settings you choose in Advanced Export are saved with the OpenMind document and re-used next time you export your map using Quick Export or Advanced Export. This means you do not have to redefine them every time you make a small alteration to your map and want to export it again to Word.

The following table indicates how OpenMind treats the various inserted elements and attached objects contained in your map when exporting it to Microsoft Word.

OpenMind element	Exported as
Branch name	Heading at relevant level with hierarchical numbering (3 levels by default) Hierarchical numbering can be disabled in Advanced Export.
Text note	Inserted under the branch heading
Branch picture	Inserted under the branch heading
Floating picture	• If connected to a branch, inserted under the branch heading • If not connected to a branch, not exported
Floating comment	As for Floating picture
Non-floating comment	Inserted as a Word comment on the branch heading
Branch connection	Inserted as a cross-reference under the start branch name, pointing to the end branch name
OpenMind object	Exported as
Text file	Object name followed by hyperlink
Picture file	Inserted in Word document. In Advanced Export, you can choose instead to insert the file as an object name followed by a hyperlink.
Video file	Object name followed by hyperlink In Advanced Export, you can choose instead to insert the file directly in the Word document.
Sound file	Object name followed by hyperlink In Advanced Export, you can choose instead to insert the file directly in the Word document.
Button	Object name followed by hyperlink
Hypertext	Object name followed by hyperlink
Flash file	Object name followed by hyperlink
Using Quick Export

•	Choose File | Export to Word | Quick Export.

•	If your OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), choose the map you want to export in the 'Select Map to Export' dialog and click OK.

OpenMind starts exporting your Mind Map to Microsoft Word, and prompts you to save the new Word document with the name of your choice. Once export is complete, you can start working directly in Word on your new document.

Using Advanced Export

•	Choose File | Export to Word | Advanced Export.

•	If your OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), choose the map you want to export in the 'Select Map to Export' dialog and click OK.

•	Choose the required template in the Templates tab of the Advanced Microsoft Word Export dialog.

•	In the General tab, choose the required general export settings and specify which elements of your map you want to export.

Note: If you exclude some elements from the export by deselecting them here, none of the elements of this type will be exported, regardless of the value of their individual 'Include in export' property in the Properties dialog. Let's suppose for instance your map contains a floating picture whose 'Include in export' property is enabled. If you choose to exclude floating pictures from the export here, your floating picture will not be exported. Conversely, if you specify here that floating pictures should be exported, only the floating pictures whose 'Include in export' property is enabled will be exported.

•	Choose the required export settings for any attached object in the Attached Objects tab.

Note that if you choose 'Insert in document' for Videos and Sounds, these objects will only be inserted directly in the Word document if Word supports their extension type.

•	Click Export.

As for Quick Export, OpenMind starts exporting your Mind Map to Microsoft Word as a new document, prompts you for a file name for the document and displays a message once the export is complete.


Exporting to RTF

This export method lets you export your Mind Map in RTF format. This may be useful if you want to process your document further in a word processor, but do not have Microsoft Word installed on your computer.

Each branch is exported as a paragraph heading at the relevant level, in other words Heading 1 for main branches, Heading 2 for sub-branches, Heading 3 for sub-sub-branches and so on, using hierarchical numbering (unless you disable it in Advanced Export). Attached objects and inserted elements are listed below the heading.

By default, OpenMind automatically includes an overall picture of your map on the first page of the document.

The order in which the branches of your map are exported to RTF is determined by their order in the Branch list. Similarly, the order in which the objects attached to a particular branch are exported is determined by their order in the Object list. See "Using the Branch list" and "Using the Object list" for more information about re-arranging the branch order and/or object order.

You can however exclude entire branches and sub-branches from the export by disabling their 'Include branch and subs in export' property in the Properties dialog.

There are two exporting methods available:

•	Quick Export

Quick Export mode allows you to export your map quickly using the OpenMind defaults or the last Advanced Export settings you chose if you have already used that mode.

•	Advanced Export

The Advanced Export mode allows you to specify the elements of your map to be exported and how they should be treated.

The export settings you choose in Advanced Export are saved with the OpenMind document and re-used next time you export your map using Quick Export or Advanced Export. This means you do not have to redefine them every time you make a small amendment to your map and want to export it again to RTF.

The following table indicates how OpenMind treats the various inserted elements and attached objects contained in your map when exporting it to RTF.

OpenMind element	Exported as
Branch name	Heading at relevant level with hierarchical numbering (3 levels by default) Hierarchical numbering can be disabled in Advanced Export.
Text note	Inserted under the branch heading
Branch picture	Inserted under the branch heading
Floating picture	• If connected to a branch, inserted under the branch heading • If not connected to a branch, not exported
Floating comment	As for Floating picture
Non-floating comment	Ignored by default In Advanced Export, you can however choose to include comments as text under the branch heading.
Branch connection	Inserted as a cross-reference labeled "See section" under the start branch name, pointing to the end branch
OpenMind object	Exported as
Text file	Object name followed by hyperlink
Picture file	Inserted in RTF document In Advanced Export, you can choose instead to insert the file as an object name followed by a hyperlink.
Video file	Object name followed by hyperlink
Sound file	Object name followed by hyperlink
Button	Object name followed by hyperlink
Hypertext	Object name followed by hyperlink
Flash file	Object name followed by hyperlink
Using Quick Export

•	Choose File | Export to RTF | Quick Export.

•	If your OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), choose the map you want to export in the 'Select Map to Export' dialog and click OK.

The Save As dialog opens.

•	Choose a folder, type a file name for the RTF document and click Save.

Once the export is complete, OpenMind lets you view the document in the viewer associated with the .RTF extension on your computer.

Using Advanced Export

•	Choose File | Export to RTF | Advanced Export.

•	If your OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), choose the map you want to export in the 'Select Map to Export' dialog and click OK.

•	In the General tab, choose the required general export settings and specify the elements of the map to export.

Note: If you exclude some elements from the export by deselecting them here, none of the elements of this type will be exported, regardless of the value of their individual 'Include in export' property in the Properties dialog. Let's suppose for instance your map contains a floating picture whose 'Include in export' property is enabled. If you choose to exclude floating pictures from the export here, your floating picture will not be exported. Conversely, if you specify here that floating pictures should be exported, only the floating pictures whose 'Include in export' property is enabled will be exported.

•	Choose the required export settings for any attached object in the Attached Objects tab.

•	Click Export.

As for Quick Export, OpenMind starts exporting your Mind Map to RTF as a new document. Once the export is complete, OpenMind lets you view the document in the viewer associated with the .RTF extension on your computer.


Exporting to PowerPoint

This export method lets you export your Mind Map as a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. If for instance you have created a Mind Map to brainstorm the structure of a business presentation, this export mode allows you to transfer it to PowerPoint in order to refine it further before delivering it to your audience.

Note: You need to have Microsoft PowerPoint installed on your computer in order to use this export mode. OpenMind supports all Microsoft PowerPoint versions from Office 97 onwards.

The root makes up the first slide, with the root label as the slide heading, followed by a list of the main branches.

Each branch is then exported as a slide, with any sub-branches listed below the slide heading. Inserted elements are placed at the bottom of the slide while hyperlinks are listed on the right of the slide.

The order in which the branches of your map are exported to the PowerPoint presentation is determined by their order in the Branch list. Similarly, the order in which the objects attached to a particular branch are exported is determined by their order in the Object list. See "Using the Branch list" and "Using the Object list" for more information about re-arranging the branch order and/or object order.

You can however exclude entire branches and sub-branches from the export by disabling their 'Include branch and subs in export' property in the Properties dialog.

There are two exporting methods available:

•	Quick Export

Quick Export mode allows you to export your map quickly using the OpenMind defaults or the last Advanced Export settings you chose if you have already used that mode.

•	Advanced Export

The Advanced Export mode lets you choose a PowerPoint template for your presentation. It also allows you to specify the elements of your map to be exported and how they should be treated.

The export settings you choose in Advanced Export are saved with the OpenMind document and re-used next time you export your map using Quick Export or Advanced Export, which saves you from having to redefine them every time you make a small amendment to your map and want to export it again to PowerPoint.

The following table indicates how OpenMind treats the various inserted elements and attached objects contained in your map when exporting it to PowerPoint.

OpenMind element	Exported as
Branch name	Slide heading
Text note	Inserted at the bottom of the slide
Branch picture	Inserted at the bottom of the slide In Advanced Export, you can choose instead to insert the branch picture as a hyperlink.
Floating picture	• If connected to a branch, inserted at the bottom of the slide • If not connected to a branch, not exported
Floating comment	• If connected to a branch, inserted on the slide as PowerPoint comment • If not connected to a branch, not exported
Non-floating comment	Inserted as a PowerPoint comment in the bottom Notes pane
Branch connection	Inserted as a hyperlink
OpenMind object	Exported as
Text file	Object name followed by hyperlink
Picture file	Inserted at the bottom of the slide In Advanced Export, you can choose instead to insert the file as an object name followed by a hyperlink
Video file	Object name followed by hyperlink In Advanced Export, you can choose instead to insert the file directly in the slide
Sound file	Object name followed by hyperlink
Button	Object name followed by hyperlink
Hypertext	Object name followed by hyperlink
Flash file	Object name followed by hyperlink
Using Quick Export

•	Choose File | Export to PowerPoint | Quick Export.

•	If your OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), choose the map you want to export in the 'Select Map to Export' dialog and click OK.

OpenMind starts exporting your Mind Map to Microsoft PowerPoint as a new presentation, and displays a message once the export is complete. You can then start working directly in PowerPoint on your new presentation and save it with the name of your choice.

Using Advanced Export

•	Choose File | Export to PowerPoint | Advanced Export.

•	If your OpenMind view contains several maps (i.e. several roots), choose the map you want to export in the 'Select Map to Export' dialog and click OK.

•	(optional) Check 'Include map image' in the General tab of the Advanced Microsoft PowerPoint Export dialog to include an overall picture of your entire map on the first slide of the presentation.

•	(optional) If you want to base your presentation on a PowerPoint template, check 'Use template' and choose the required PowerPoint template.

•	Specify the elements of the map to export.

Note: If you exclude some elements from the export by deselecting them here, none of the elements of this type will be exported, regardless of the value of their individual 'Include in export' property in the Properties dialog. Let's suppose for instance your map contains a floating picture whose 'Include in export' property is enabled. If you choose to exclude floating pictures from the export here, your floating picture will not be exported. Conversely, if you specify here that floating pictures should be exported, only the floating pictures whose 'Include in export' property is enabled will be exported.

•	Choose the required export settings for any attached object in the Attached Objects tab.

•	Click Export.

As for Quick Export, OpenMind starts exporting your Mind Map to PowerPoint as a new presentation, and displays a message once the export is complete.


Exporting as picture

This export method lets you save your Mind Map as a picture file. The picture file formats supported are .bmp, .jpg or .png.

•	Choose File | Export to Picture.

The following dialog appears to let you choose the required export settings.

•	Enter the path and file name for the picture in the Save as field or click the Browse button to choose an existing path.

•	If you do not want to display branch connections, floating pictures and floating comments in the picture, clear the corresponding check mark.

Note: Since this export method creates a picture of your entire map, all elements chosen above are displayed on the picture, regardless of the value of their individual 'Include in export' property in the Properties dialog. Similarly, all branches will be visible, regardless of the value of their individual 'Include branch and subs in export' property.

•	If you want to display the object indicator (green dot) and/or the comment indicator (yellow dot) next to each branch containing attached objects and/or comments, click the relevant check box.

•	Choose the required picture format.

If you choose the .jpg format, you can use the 'JPG quality' slider to define the level of quality needed. Note that decreasing the level of quality increases the level of compression, and therefore reduces the file size.

•	(optional) Preview the effect of your settings on the picture by clicking Preview.

•	Click Export.

Note that icons and branch pictures are always displayed and that it is not possible to display text notes.

The export settings you choose are saved with the OpenMind document. This means that you will not have to specify these settings again if you make changes to the map and want to re-export it as a picture.


Getting help

You will find different help options and forums for all MatchWare products on our web site. More forums and help options are added as necessary. For an overview of the current options, please visit:

http://www.matchware.net

You can select any of the forums and read its entries, even search for a topic or keyword. To ask questions or add a comment to a topic, you need to register as a MatchWare product user.

The Discussion forum

This is a valuable source of information. You will find a lot of discussion topics about OpenMind, Mediator and other MatchWare products. You will get feedback from other MatchWare product users as well as MatchWare staff. The purpose of this forum is to ask questions about specific solutions and possibilities not described in the documentation. It is not for reporting issues you found in the program.

If you do require support from MatchWare directly, please address your questions to support@matchware.net and we will do our best to answer them as quickly as possible.


Reporting a problem

To report a problem, bug or any other error in OpenMind, please send a message to support@matchware.net.

MatchWare BugBuster™

This is a small program that runs in the unfortunate event of an OpenMind crash. If this happens, BugBuster™ displays a form pre-filled with specific information about the problem. Enter a description of the circumstances of the crash and give as many details as possible. A step-by-step description will help us to quickly locate and fix the bug.

BugBuster will help us make OpenMind more stable, which in turn will benefit you.

Note: If the crash is particularly severe, BugBuster may not work.


Reference

The reference section contains a description of the following OpenMind features:

•	Properties

These topics give a full description of the properties applicable to each of the OpenMind elements, such as workspace, root, branches and objects.

•	Shortcuts

This topic lists all the keyboard shortcuts provided by OpenMind.


Properties: Overview

Many OpenMind components, such as the workspace, the root, the branches and any attached objects have specific properties, displayed in the Properties dialog. You can use the Properties dialog to make any necessary changes to these components, as described in "Using the Properties dialog."

The topics of this section describe in detail the properties applicable to each OpenMind component.


Workspace properties: General tab

A click on the workspace (in other words away from the root or any branch) displays this Properties dialog.

Page color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the page (i.e. the workspace).

Text color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the text displayed on the page (in other words the root label and branch labels).

Root background color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the background of your main root and any other roots contained on the page.

Layout: This property only appears when you are viewing the map in the Left/Right view. Click on the arrow and choose Right to display all the branches on the right of the root, or Left to display them on the left of the root. See "Using different views" for more information on the Left/Right view.


Workspace properties: Branches tab

The Branches tab of the Workspace properties dialog allows you to define default properties for the branches of your map.

Branch color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for all the branches and sub-branches of your map.

Branch background color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the label background of all the branches and sub-branches of your map.

Vertical branch gap: The value you enter in this field represents the vertical spacing between each set of branches. The default value depends on the view used.

Horizontal branch gap: The value you enter in this field represents the horizontal spacing between each set of branches. The default value depends on the view used.

Show branch connections: This box is checked by default. Uncheck it if you do not want branch connections to be visually represented on your map. See "Creating branch connections" for more information.

Minimum branch length: This field indicates the minimum length of the horizontal part of the branch underlying the branch label. However if the branch label is longer than the minimum width defined here, OpenMind chooses a branch width sufficient to underline the entire label.


Root properties: General tab

When you select the main root or any other root contained on your map, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: This property shows the label of the currently selected root. You can edit it or enter a new label by typing in the input field. Note that if your label contains several lines (which you enter by pressing Ctrl + Enter at the end of each line), only the first line is displayed in this field.

Root background color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the background of the currently selected root.


Root properties: Text tab

The Text tab of the Root properties dialog allows you to define all the properties related to the root label.

Color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the label of the currently selected root.

Font: Click this field to choose a new font, attribute (e.g. bold, italics etc.) or point size for the label.

Alignment: This field only appears if the currently selected root has a multi-line label (which you can create by pressing Ctrl + Enter at the end of each line). You can choose to right-align, left-align or center all the lines making up the label.

Background color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the label background.


Root properties: Picture tab

The Properties dialog of the root only contains a Picture tab if you have inserted a branch picture on the root. The Picture tab allows you to define the properties related to the branch picture.

Path: This shows the path of the picture. Enter a new folder and/or file name or click the Browse button [image] to choose a different picture.

Width: This field shows the current width of the picture. You can resize the picture by entering a different value.

Height: This field shows the current height of the picture. You can resize the picture by entering a different value.

Maintain aspect ratio: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you do not want to preserve the proportions of the branch picture (in other words, the ratio between its width and its height) when resizing it.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the branch picture to be exported.


Branch properties: General tab

When you select a branch or sub-branch on your map, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: This property shows the label of the currently selected branch. You can edit it or enter a new label by typing in the input field. Note that if your label contains several lines (which you enter by pressing Ctrl + Enter at the end of each line), only the first line is displayed in this field.

Line width: (only for sub-branches) This field, which is only displayed if the currently selected branch is a sub-branch, indicates the width of the line connecting the sub-branch to its parent branch. The value must be included between 1 and 5.

Branch color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the branch.

Branch background color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the background of the currently selected branch.

Include branch and subs in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the branch and all its sub-branches to be exported.

Boundary: Check this box to show a boundary around the branch and all its sub-branches.

Boundary color: This field is only displayed if you have checked the Boundary property. Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the boundary.

Boundary fill color: This field is only displayed if you have checked the Boundary property. Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the space within the boundary.


Branch properties: Text tab

The Text tab of the Branch properties dialog allows you to define all the properties related to the branch label.

This tab is identical to the Text tab of the root. See "Root properties: Text tab" for more information.


Branch properties: Picture tab

The Properties dialog of a particular branch only contains a Picture tab if a branch picture has been inserted on the branch. The Picture tab allows you to define the properties related to the branch picture.

This tab is identical to the Picture tab of the root. See "Root properties: Picture tab" for more information.


Text object properties: General tab

When you select a text object in the Object list of a branch, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: By default, this field shows the name of the attached text file. You can however replace it with a name of your choice.

Path: This shows the path of the attached text file. Enter a new folder and/or file name or click the Browse button [image] to choose a different text file.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the text object to be exported.


Picture object properties: General tab

When you select a picture object in the Object list of a branch, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: By default, this field shows the name of the attached picture file. You can however replace it with a name of your choice.

Path: This shows the path of the attached picture file. Enter a new folder and/or file name or click the Browse button [image] to choose a different picture file.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the picture object to be exported.

If you have placed a link on the picture, the Properties dialog lists additional properties which vary according to the link type as follows:

URL link

URL: You can edit the URL of the link or enter a different URL by typing in this field.

Open link in new window (HTML): Check this box if you intend to export your map to HTML and want the link to open in a new browser window.

File link

Link path: You can edit the path of the file link or enter a different path by typing in this field.

Email link

Email address: You can edit the email address of the email link or enter a different address by typing in this field.


Video object properties: General tab

When you select a video object in the Object list of a branch, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: By default, this field shows the name of the attached video file. You can however replace it with a name of your choice.

Path: This shows the path of the attached video file. Enter a new folder and/or file name or click the Browse button [image] to choose a different video file.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the video object to be exported.


Sound object properties: General tab

When you select a sound object in the Object list of a branch, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: By default, this field shows the name of the attached sound file. You can however replace it with a name of your choice.

Path: This shows the path of the attached sound file. Enter a new folder and/or file name or click the Browse button [image] to choose a different sound file.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the sound object to be exported.


Button properties: General tab

When you select an attached button in the Object list of a branch, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: You can edit the button name or enter a different name by typing in this field.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the button to be exported.

The remaining properties vary according to the type of the link that has been placed on the button as follows:

URL link

URL: You can edit the URL of the link or enter a different URL by typing in this field.

Open link in new window (HTML): Check this box if you intend to export your map to HTML and want the link to open in a new browser window.

File link

Link path: You can edit the path of the file link or enter a different path by typing in this field.

Email link

Email address: You can edit the email address of the email link or enter a different address by typing in this field.


Hypertext properties: General tab

When you select an attached hypertext link in the Object list of a branch, the following Properties dialog is shown.

This tab is identical to the General tab for buttons. See "Button properties: General tab" for more information.


Flash object properties: General tab

When you select a Flash object in the Object list of a branch, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: By default, this field shows the name of the attached Flash file. You can however replace it with a name of your choice.

Path: This shows the path of the attached Flash file. Enter a new folder and/or file name or click the Browse button [image] to choose a different Flash file.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the Flash object to be exported.


Text note properties: General tab

When you select a text note in the Object list of a branch, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: This shows the default name of the text note. You can edit it or enter a different name by typing in this field.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the text note to be exported.


Floating comment properties: General tab

When you select a floating comment on the workspace, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: This shows the contents of the comment. You can edit it by typing in this field.

Frame color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the frame surrounding the comment.

Frame width: Edit this field to increase or decrease the width of the frame surrounding the comment.

The next two properties only appear if the floating comment is connected to a branch.

Line color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the line connecting the comment to the branch.

Line width: Edit this field to increase or decrease the width of the line connecting the comment to the branch.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the floating comment to be exported.


Floating comment properties: Text tab

The Text tab of the Floating comment properties dialog allows you to define all the properties related to the comment text.

Color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the comment text.

Font: Click this field to choose a new font, attribute (e.g. bold, italics etc.) or point size for the comment text.

Alignment: This field only appears if the selected comment contains several lines (which you can create by pressing Ctrl + Enter at the end of each line). You can choose to right-align, left-align or center all the lines making up the comment.

Background color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the comment background.


Floating picture properties: General tab

When you select a floating picture on the workspace, the following Properties dialog is shown.

The following two properties only appear if the floating picture is connected to a branch.

Line color: Click the small rectangle to choose a new color for the line connecting the floating picture to the branch.

Line width: Edit this field to increase or decrease the width of the line connecting the floating picture to the branch.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the floating picture to be exported.


Floating picture properties: Picture tab

Clicking the Picture tab of the Floating picture properties dialog shows the following dialog.

Path: This shows the path of the picture. Enter a new folder and/or file name or click the Browse button [image] to choose a different picture.

Width: This field shows the current width of the picture. You can resize the picture by entering a different value.

Height: This field shows the current height of the picture. You can resize the picture by entering a different value.

Maintain aspect ratio: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you do not want to preserve the proportions of the branch picture (in other words, the ratio between its width and its height) when resizing it.


Branch connection properties: General tab

When you select a branch connection in the Object list of a branch, the following Properties dialog is shown.

Name: This shows the name given to the branch connection, which by default is the name of the end branch.

Include in export: This option is checked by default. Disable it if you intend to export your map to another format (HTML, Mediator, Word and so on) but do not want the branch connection to be exported.


Keyboard shortcuts

The table below lists all the keyboard shortcuts provided by OpenMind.

Keyboard shortcut	Description
Ctrl+N	Create a new document
Ctrl+O	Open and browse for an existing document
Ctrl+P	Print the active document
Ctrl+S	Save the active document
Ctrl+"+"	Zoom in
Ctrl+"-"	Zoom out
Ctrl+C Ctrl+Insert	Copy the selected data to the clipboard
Ctrl+X Shift+Delete	Cut the selected data to the clipboard
Ctrl+V Shift+Insert	Paste the data contained in the clipboard to the selected destination
Enter	Add a new branch at the same level as the selected branch
Shift+Enter	Add a new branch just before the selected branch
Insert	Add a new sub-branch to the selected branch
Delete	Delete the selected branch
F1	Help
F2	Edit the name of the selected branch or the selected floating comment
F3	Toggle Brainstorm mode
F4	Resize the map so that it fits entirely in the workspace
F11	Insert or edit a non-floating comment on the selected branch
Ctrl+Z	Undo the last action
Ctrl+Shift+Z Ctrl+Y	Reverse the last Undo
Ctrl+Tab	Switch between open documents
Up	Select the branch placed above the currently selected branch.
Down	Select the branch placed below the currently selected branch.
Left	Select the branch to the left of the currently selected branch in the map
Right	Select the branch to the right of the currently selected branch in the map
Ctrl+Up	Move the selected branch up (Mind Map and Left/Right views only)
Ctrl+Down	Move the selected branch down (Mind Map and Left/Right views only)
Ctrl+Left	Move the selected branch left (Top Down view only)
Ctrl+Right	Move the selected branch right (Top Down view only)


Templates: Overview

To jump-start the creation of Mind Maps in OpenMind, several convenient, detailed templates with directions have been included for academic, business and personal use. The educational templates are curriculum-aligned for Language Arts, Sciences and Social Studies. Of course, each template can be easily customized by adding or deleting branches and sub-branches according to your needs. You are also free to use any of the illustrations of the Media Catalog.

•	Choose New Document in the Welcome dialog (or click the New Document icon [image] if you have closed the Welcome dialog).

•	Click the Templates tab to access over 30 different complete Mind Maps for you to begin using immediately.

•	Choose the category and sub-category required by clicking the arrow to the right of the Select category field.

•	Click one of the templates shown. You can see a preview of the template chosen in the right part of the dialog.

•	Click Open.

Note that you can personalize those templates or design your own templates from scratch, and save them for future use by choosing 'Save as Template' in the File menu. Your custom templates will then appear under the My Templates tab of the New Document dialog. See "Saving a Mind Map" for more information on saving custom templates.

Important

If you make use of external resources, documents and pictures in your Mind Map, it is very important to always acknowledge and credit the sources of information. The Acknowledging Sources template provides an ideal format to document resources.


Biography
Biography or Autobiography

Purpose: To help students recognize and record major events and their impact in their own lives or in the lives of other inspirational people.

As many of the other OpenMind templates, this is ideal for team or group work, where different team members complete components of the Mind Map and finally combine their work.

Directions:

•	After research that may include reading a book, conducting interviews, using encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers and online biographical sources, organize facts by completing as much as possible of this Mind Map. Customize it by adding or deleting branches and sub-branches.

•	Adding images or videos to your Mind Map will really make it come to life! Hyperlinks from the map to a few excellent web sites will also expand the presentation.


Book Report

Purpose: To guide readers as they describe and analyze the important components of plays and books.

Directions:

•	Before reading a book or play, discuss and review the different components of the book to be analyzed suggested in the Book Report template.

•	During and after the reading, complete your Book Report Mind Map including information on the title, author, setting, plot, characters and themes.

•	Customize the Mind Map by adding or deleting branches and sub-branches.

•	Adding images or videos to your Mind Map will really make it come to life! Hyperlinks from the map to a few excellent web sites will also expand the presentation.


Research Paper

Purpose: To guide students through the planning, information gathering, organization and writing of a research paper.

As many of the other OpenMind templates, this is ideal for team or group work, where different team members complete components of the Mind Map and finally combine their work.

Directions:

•	Listen to the instructor and read carefully about the requirements for the research paper. Be sure to understand when the research paper is due.

•	First brainstorm and list three to five possible topics for your paper. Making the best choice requires thorough advanced research. Checking online, print and periodical resources, determine the amount of information available on the possible topics. Make note of the best sources for use later. Hyperlinks from the Research Paper Mind Map to a few excellent web sites will make it easy to return to these sources.

•	Then list the top two or three topics to present them to the instructor for approval and recommendations before you begin. Once the topic is approved, begin the process of collecting information and, if appropriate, images to use in the paper.

•	Include a few direct quotations, but be careful to put the information in your own words. Avoid plagiarism. Be sure to document each source used! The Acknowledging Sources template provides an ideal format to document resources as research is collected.

•	Use the Mind Map to develop a general outline for the research paper.

•	Then create a separate sub-branch for each main heading in the outline. Note gathered information may be saved in an associated Word document or in the Mind Map framework. Customize the Mind Map by adding or deleting branches and sub-branches.

•	Now it is time to write. Be sure to begin with an introduction that includes a thesis statement. Develop a topic sentence with supporting statements in each paragraph. Write your conclusion.

•	Reread and revise, and if possible, have the instructor or another classmate review your work and make recommendations.

•	Adding images to the Mind Map and to your presentation will really make it come to life! Hyperlinks from the map to a few excellent web sites will also expand the presentation.


Acknowledging Sources

Purpose: To provide student researchers with a convenient format to collect information on source material to be used in a bibliography or Works Cited reference list.

Directions:

•	Listen to the instructor and read carefully about the requirements for documenting sources from web sites, print and periodical references. Often these sources have a source reference format that may be copied.

•	Use the Acknowledging Sources template to gather the necessary details as you use each source to develop a presentation, research paper or other document.

•	Check excellent online and print resources for examples of how to correctly reference every type of source.


Vocabulary Analyzer

Purpose: To give students direction as they read literature and text selections to analyze new vocabulary. The format is also excellent for regular vocabulary building during weekly lessons.

Directions:

•	It is important to understand how new words are used in a reading selection. Therefore, online or hardbound dictionaries are helpful to complete the vocabulary Mind Map.

•	As new material is read, unknown vocabulary words should be recorded on different branches of the Mind Map.

•	The derivation, definition, part of speech, antonyms, synonyms and correct usage should be completed for each new word.

•	You can easily add branches by copying and pasting original blank branches to the Mind Map.


Systems of the Human Body

Purpose: To help students understand the major systems of the human body, their function and the organs that work together within each system.

Directions:

•	Using online, text and other resources, complete the Systems of the Human Body Mind Map by recording the function(s) of the major body systems.

•	On the sub-branches, input name of the organs and their role in each system.

•	Be creative and insert additional branches for a more in-depth analysis.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog and Internet images of the systems and organs. For example: diagrams of the muscular, skeletal, circulatory, digestive and nervous systems. Original artwork, digital images and video may also be inserted.


Taxonomy
Taxonomy (Basic and Advanced)

Basic classification of living organisms - The Six Kingdoms

Purpose: To guide students through the basic classification of organisms into the six kingdoms.

Directions:

•	Using online, text and other resources, research the six kingdoms classification system.

•	Complete the Taxonomy Mind Map by listing at least three characteristics of the organisms included from each kingdom.

•	Add additional sub-branches for a more in-depth analysis.

•	Using the Media Catalog clipart and excellent Internet sites from different Universities, list the names and include pictures of at least three examples for each kingdom. Original artwork, digital images and video may also be inserted.

Advanced classification of living organisms - The Six Kingdoms

Purpose: To guide students through a more detailed classification of the plant and animal kingdoms. Teachers may remove the names of the kingdoms and phyla and ask more advanced students to complete the Mind Map.

Directions:

•	Using online, text and other resources, students should research the plant and animal kingdoms.

•	Complete the Taxonomy Mind Map by recording the major divisions and phyla. List at least three characteristics of organisms grouped in each phylum.

•	Add additional sub-branches for a more detailed taxonomy.

•	Using the Media Catalog clipart and excellent Internet sites from different Universities, list the names and include pictures of at least three examples for each kingdom. Original artwork, digital images and video may also be inserted.


Measuring Matter
Measuring Matter in the Science Laboratory

Purpose: To help students learn and review the tools, units and techniques for measuring different types of matter in the laboratory.

Directions:

•	Complete the sub-branches of the Measuring Matter Mind Map as you learn about measurement and do lab activities requiring you to measure different forms of matter.

•	For each type of measurement, insert sub-branches and, if necessary, comments or notes, showing the appropriate metric unit(s), the tool(s) used, the technique, and at least two examples of actual matter measured with this technique.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog, videos and Internet images to illustrate measurement tools. Original artwork, digital images and video of actual lab procedures may also be inserted.


Periodic Table
Periodic Table (Basic and Advanced)

Basic

Purpose: To introduce, reinforce and review the organization of the periodic table of elements.

Directions:

•	Use a textbook and one or more of the many excellent online interactive periodic tables to complete this Mind Map.

•	After researching, discussing and reviewing the basic organization of the periodic table, complete this Mind Map by adding the general properties of each family or group.

•	Then record on sub-branches the names and symbols for at least three of the elements of each group.

•	Add images of each element or pictures of the different uses of the element from online sources.

•	If time allows, include all of the elements for each family or group by adding additional sub-branches.

Advanced

Purpose: To help students understand and use the information available from the periodic table - including the atomic number, the atomic mass, the basic structure of the atoms of each element, the number of protons, electrons, neutrons and the number of energy levels.

This activity is ideal for team assignments. Two or three students could be assigned to each group.

Directions:

•	Use a textbook and one or more of the many excellent online interactive periodic tables to complete this Mind Map.

•	After researching, discussing and reviewing the meaning of the atomic number, atomic mass, group or family number and period for each group or family in the periodic table, complete this Mind Map after determining the atomic number and mass for each element assigned by the instructor.

•	Then determine and record in the Mind Map the number of protons, neutrons and electrons.

•	Additional elements and information may be added by inserting new sub-branches.

•	Insert images of each element or pictures of the different uses of the element from online sources.


Laboratory Report

Purpose: To guide students through the important process of documenting the process, results and analysis of laboratory activities and investigations.

Directions:

•	The Laboratory Report Mind Map may be filled in before, during and/or after the lab activities. In lab teams, a recorder may be assigned the responsibility of recording data and entering the data into the computer.

•	The problem being investigated, research and hypothesis should be completed before the lab activity is started.

•	Additional research, the description of the experiment (including materials, procedure, and identification of variables) should be entered during or after the activity.

•	Data tables, charts, graphs and images or video of the experiment in process may easily be inserted to the Laboratory Report Mind Map.

•	Analysis and conclusions should be discussed by the team and entered.


Scientific Method

Purpose: To help students design and implement science investigations and projects.

Directions:

•	Using online, text and other sources, research and determine which science investigation to conduct. Be sure your teacher approves the experiment before you start. Continue research throughout the project. Internet and text sources are especially helpful.

•	Use the Scientific Method Mind Map to plan and record the details of the experiment before it is run. Write the procedure and identify variables and the control.

•	As the investigation is run, carefully record all data.

•	Original artwork, digital images and video of the actual experiment may be inserted into the Mind Map.

•	Use data tables, graphs, charts and other analysis tools to interpret the data.

•	Write the conclusion and list other applications of this investigation.


History of Space Travel

Purpose: To help students understand the contributions of the United States and Soviet Union in developing space exploration and travel.

Directions:

•	Using the Internet, text and other resources, research the American and Soviet space programs.

•	To complete the History of Space Travel Mind Map, record in the sub-branches the dates, major goals, accomplishments and failures, most important missions and well-known cosmonauts and astronauts for each major space program.

•	Be creative and insert additional sub- branches for other interesting details.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog and Internet images of space accomplishments. NASA web sites are excellent sources for information, images and videos. Original artwork and video may also be inserted.


Types of Rocks
Basic Types of Rocks

Purpose: To help students understand and categorize the major types of rocks.

Directions:

•	Using online, text and other resources, complete the Types of Rocks Mind Map by defining each type, listing the characteristics and at least three examples of each.

•	Be creative and insert additional branches for other interesting details.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog and Internet images of different rocks. There are many excellent university and private web sites with beautiful images of rocks and minerals. Original artwork, digital images and video may also be inserted.


Historic Event
Analyzing a Historical Event

Purpose: To help students understand and analyze historical events.

Directions:

•	Enter the name or description of the historical event in the root.

•	Using online, text and other resources, record the event's time and location, triggering conditions, groups or people involved and the overall impact into the branches and sub-branches of the Mind Map.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog and Internet images to illustrate important facts. Hyperlinks from the Mind Map to a few excellent web sites will also expand the presentation.

•	Be creative and insert additional branches for a more in-depth analysis.


Historic Period
Analyzing a Historical Period

Purpose: To help students understand and analyze important periods in history.

Directions:

•	Start the Mind Map by entering the name or description of the historical period in the root.

•	Using online, text and other resources, record the time and location, cultural highlights, major events, political system(s) and policies, important individuals and groups and the overall impact of the period in the branches and sub-branches of the Mind Map.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog and Internet images to illustrate important facts. Hyperlinks from the Mind Map to a few excellent web sites will also expand the presentation.

•	Be creative and insert additional branches for a more in-depth analysis.


Studying a Country

Purpose: To help students easily identify and record important facts about a country.

Directions:

•	Start the Mind Map by entering the name of the country in the root.

•	Using online, text and other resources, complete the Studying a Country Mind Map by entering the facts about the land, people, history and government of the country into the sub-branches.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog and Internet images to illustrate important facts. For example: the map, flag, major products, land features (topography), native plants and animals.

•	Be creative and insert additional branches and sub-branches for a more in-depth analysis.


The Seven Continents

Purpose: To help students gather and organize information about the countries in the seven continents.

Directions:

•	Start the Mind Map by entering the names of the countries in the various branches.

•	Using a variety of sources including an atlas or map and online, text and other resources, complete the Seven Continents Mind Map.

•	Include facts about each country's capital, form of government, topography, languages, products, flag and other interesting information.

•	Be creative and insert additional branches for a more in-depth analysis.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog and Internet images to illustrate important facts. For example: the map, flag, major products, land features (topography), native plants and animals.


Countries in Conflict

Purpose: To guide students as they look, in detail, at serious conflicts between different nations in the world.

After analyzing their cause and effects, students will propose possible solutions. This activity develops problem-solving skills and is an ideal exercise to complete in groups.

Directions:

•	Start the Mind Map by entering the names of the countries in conflict.

•	Using online, text and other sources, complete the Countries in Conflict Mind Map by analyzing in detail the issues and people that have lead to the current dispute. Add sub-branches as needed to include additional details or delete unwanted branches.

•	After the conflicts have been analyzed, the consequences of these events should be recorded.

•	Then, after researching and proposing possible solutions, input the proposals into the Solutions branch of the Mind Map.

•	Be creative and insert additional branches for a more in-depth analysis.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog, videos and Internet images to illustrate important facts. For example: maps, leaders involved and other images from news web sites. Original artwork, digital images and video may also be inserted.


Environmental issues
Environmental Issues in Different Countries

Purpose: To encourage students to recognize and propose solutions for serious environmental problems facing different countries in the world.

This activity develops problem-solving skills and is an ideal exercise to complete in teams.

Directions:

•	Start the Mind Map by entering the names of some countries facing environmental challenges on the main branches.

•	Using online, text and other sources, complete the Environmental Issues Mind Map by identifying the most important environmental issues in each country. As needed, add or delete sub-branches representing the different issues.

•	After the issues have been identified, the important job of researching and proposing possible solutions is documented by adding branches and sub-branches to the Mind Map.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog, videos and Internet images to illustrate important facts. For example: the map, endangered plants, animals or habitats. Original artwork, digital images and video may also be inserted.

•	Be creative and insert additional branches for a more in-depth analysis.


Classroom Inventory

Purpose: To create an easily updated, detailed inventory of classroom furniture, computer equipment, multimedia, books, personal items and any additional supplies.

Directions:

•	At the beginning of each school year, complete the Classroom Inventory Mind Map including inventory numbers and location of items, if required.

•	As new inventory is added, update the Inventory Mind Map. You can easily add branches to these items by copying and pasting blank branches.

•	Make the Mind Map more interesting by inserting clipart from the Media Catalog and Internet images.


Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans (Yearly, Weekly and Daily)

Purpose: To create an easily updated, reusable format for teachers to plan lessons and coordinate those plans with daily, weekly and yearly curriculum and national and state standards.

Directions:

•	At the beginning of the year, use the Yearly Lesson Plan Mind Map to plan a general overview of the curriculum to be covered based on your school's schedule. Revise and update this plan at the beginning of each quarter.

•	Use the Weekly Mind Map to input the weekly lessons in more detail. This plan often must be turned in to the administration.

•	It is possible to link the weekly plans with the yearly overview by creating external branch connections between them. Please refer to "Creating branch connections" for more information.

•	Generate substitute plans (Daily Lesson Plans) by printing a daily branch from the Weekly Lesson Plan or add additional detail in the separate Daily Lesson Plan Mind Map. Note that to print a daily branch from the Weekly Lesson Plan, you first need to select that branch in the Branch list.

•	Personalize the Mind Map by inserting additional branches.

Yearly Lesson Plans

Weekly Lesson Plans

 Daily Lesson Plans


Substitute Information Guide

Purpose: To create an easily updated, reusable document with important information needed by substitutes working in a teacher's classroom.

Directions:

•	At the beginning of each school year, complete the Substitute Information Guide Mind Map and print a copy to include with the Lesson Plan Book and the Substitute Folder. Save a copy on the computer to be updated as needed.


Organizational Chart

Purpose: If your company structure is hierarchical you can use this template to create an overview of the organization of the company.

Directions:

•	Start by brainstorming in the Mind Map view to identify how many divisions, departments, levels, managers, employees and so on there are.

•	Once you feel you have a good description of the company, you can either change the view from Mind Map to Top Down or start using this Organizational Chart template.


Generic and Technology Web Sites

Purpose: To plan and create an overview of a company's web site, allocate and attach files belonging to each page in the site and export the site to Mediator or HTML.

Directions:

•	Start by entering the name of the web site in the root.

•	Go through the main branches to see if other topics are needed in the main menu. It is very useful to browse the Internet to see examples of good corporate sites.

•	Use the Mind Map to brainstorm and create a framework for the complete web site listing all the necessary pages.

•	Create links to external files or web sites as required.

•	Attach files such as text documents, pictures etc. on branches that will be included in the web design.

•	When finished, view the Mind Map in Left/Right or Top Down view. The different views can improve understanding of the hierarchy or organization of the site. Which view you choose is however a matter of personal preference.

•	The branch order (i.e. which branch will be displayed as the first "button" when exporting to HTML, which as the second and so on) can be changed by moving branches up and down in the Branch list. See "Using the Branch list" for more information.

•	Use the Export Wizard to export your map to Mediator or HTML.

Generic web site

Technology web site


HR - Interview

Purpose: To help managers and human resource specialists consider and document important hiring criteria while interviewing job applicants.

Directions:

•	Enter the name of the applicant that you are interviewing in the root.

•	Optimize the Mind Map for the job advertised: insert questions related to the particular work experience you are looking for and prepare specific tests that will help you evaluate the applicants potential.

•	Improve other areas that have significant importance.


Agenda

Purpose: To create a framework for an Agenda. The Mind Map can easily be exported to Word for further description.

Directions:

•	Discuss criteria and goals for the meeting with the managers involved.

•	Prepare opening remarks and go through the minutes from last meeting.

•	Identify topics that participants need to be updated on.

•	Outline issues to be discussed that correspond to the goals for the meeting.


Personal Assessment

Purpose: To encourage regular personal evaluation and goal setting in a convenient, easily updated format. This Personal Assessment Mind Map coordinates with and may be linked to the Weekly Plan.

Directions:

•	Use the Personal Assessment template periodically to evaluate the different components of your life. Of course, you can easily modify this template to align it with your priorities by adding and deleting branches and sub-branches.

•	Describe your current situation and acknowledge achievements in each area.

•	Finally, set goals for each area.

•	Update this document regularly.


Weekly Plan

Purpose: To encourage planning aligned with personal goals and regular self-assessment. This Weekly Plan Mind Map corresponds to the Personal Assessment Mind Map and may be linked to it.

Directions:

•	Pick a regular time each week to use the Weekly Plan template to plan for the following week.

•	Include in each day a prioritized agenda related to your personal assessment and goals.

•	The weekly and/or daily view of your agenda may be exported and/or printed.


Sports Tournament

Purpose: To organize a sports tournament based on a single elimination system.

Directions:

•	Determine how many players will enter the competition, and if some will be seeded.

•	Update the template to match the numbers of players, and insert seeded players by deleting sub-branches.

•	The Winner label may be left empty, so that when using a printed version of the plan the winners name and the score can be written as the competition progresses.