68 replies to this topic

[jbenson2]

To Dos with bells and whistles?

Or maybe Phil is going to come over and do my next 2 hours of boring conference calls for me? A Phil Do App so to speak.

Or a Phil to-do robot?
http://discussion.ev...post__p__117725

[Metrodon]

It's a good start, but it needs a big stick.

[kenyob]

It seems like http://webbrain.com/ has the mind mapping covered and it works as a web page with JavaScript so maybe evernote for the web could support this as is. What else would we need to do to link to notes in evernote itself?

[gazumped]

Webbrain includes that horrible word "publish" - many of the maps I want to produce will be stuff I want to be confidential to just me and Evernote.

[Jay P.]

Howdy everyone!

I love reading this thread because it hits all the pain-points I've had acquainting myself with the Evernote rich-text-only paradigm.

I've been using mindmapping tools for almost a decade (FreeMind anyone?) and found myself still using it most when I had serious contemplation to do or needed to take a lot of notes really quickly in way that was legible immediately afterwards. Because I'm now such a hardcore Evernote user, using a different mindmapping tool for any note taking felt like I was complicating my life more than I should. Frankly, all of the mindmapping tools that claim to have Evernote integration suck and integrate with Evernote in such an awkward way it's no better than just using FreeMind+Dropbox and occasionally attaching PDF or PNG representations of my mindmaps and hoping OCR would help me later.

I came to the juncture of asking myself whether it was worth just foregoing mindmapping altogether to keep my note-taking life simple.

As a developer, I was intrigued by the problem and set out to fix it. And I think I have fixed this mindmapping+Evernote problem now.

I'll be releasing my app for the world to use in the coming weeks but I'm looking for beta testers right now. I'd like Evernote users ranging from very-little-to-no mindmapping experience and people like gazumped in this thread who seem to be dedicated mindmapping connoisseurs.

If you'd like to participate in the beta of my Evernote mindmapping tool, please contact me via email: jicksta at gmail dot com.

When I launch the tool publicly, I'll also announce it in this thread.

Thanks!
Jay Phillips

[Owyn]

I'm looking for beta testers right now

Email sent.

[dlu]

Howdy everyone!

I love reading this thread because it hits all the pain-points I've had acquainting myself with the Evernote rich-text-only paradigm.

I've been using mindmapping tools for almost a decade (FreeMind anyone?) and found myself still using it most when I had serious contemplation to do or needed to take a lot of notes really quickly in way that was legible immediately afterwards. Because I'm now such a hardcore Evernote user, using a different mindmapping tool for any note taking felt like I was complicating my life more than I should. Frankly, all of the mindmapping tools that claim to have Evernote integration suck and integrate with Evernote in such an awkward way it's no better than just using FreeMind+Dropbox and occasionally attaching PDF or PNG representations of my mindmaps and hoping OCR would help me later.

I came to the juncture of asking myself whether it was worth just foregoing mindmapping altogether to keep my note-taking life simple.

As a developer, I was intrigued by the problem and set out to fix it. And I think I have fixed this mindmapping+Evernote problem now.

I'll be releasing my app for the world to use in the coming weeks but I'm looking for beta testers right now. I'd like Evernote users ranging from very-little-to-no mindmapping experience and people like gazumped in this thread who seem to be dedicated mindmapping connoisseurs.

If you'd like to participate in the beta of my Evernote mindmapping tool, please contact me via email: jicksta at gmail dot com.

When I launch the tool publicly, I'll also announce it in this thread.

Thanks!
Jay Phillips

Make sure you talk to the guys who manage the trunk!

[dracnath]

I've been thinking about mind mapping and evernote a lot recently and just wanted to add my own 2c to this.

Personally I've no interest in a mind mapping tool that would allow notes to be linked. What I'd really like is to be able to create mind maps that reside completely in a particular note. So when creating a mind map of a meeting it could reside within a note and then be dropped into a folder and tagged just like any other note.

As for linked solutions, that's ok, but it's an extra painful step for people. For it really to be useful it would idealy be an either built in or related in teh same way that Skitch is. So that there could eventually be one cross platform mind-mapping-note-taking-ass-kicking tool for mac, pc, ios, android and even for the BlackBerry Playbook.

[tjeef]

Since EN can't really make relationships (structures, hiearchies, sequences) between notes and therefore has limited use as an outliner, I would LOVE to see MindManager (or another mindmapping tool) take on that role, in integration with EN.

Ie. the possibility to manage a "tree" (including the sequence of child notes/topics) of notes in a mind map.
This would be the best of both worlds.

(Even without the mind map, it would be GREAT if EN got this functionality within. Similar to UltraRecall and other outliners, where parent/child relationships and sequence of siblings can be set up).

[Brian M]

Just to kick in what I would reccomend for a mind mappign application... it is open source, cross platform, fast, and does what I think all mind mappers should do which is allow quick mappings (mind map is really just a outline in a pretty form)

Xmind

http://www.xmind.net/

Been using it for years, I like mindjet, but only if I had a spare $300 every year...

[Jay P.]

I've been thinking about mind mapping and evernote a lot recently and just wanted to add my own 2c to this.

Personally I've no interest in a mind mapping tool that would allow notes to be linked. What I'd really like is to be able to create mind maps that reside completely in a particular note. So when creating a mind map of a meeting it could reside within a note and then be dropped into a folder and tagged just like any other note.

As for linked solutions, that's ok, but it's an extra painful step for people. For it really to be useful it would idealy be an either built in or related in teh same way that Skitch is. So that there could eventually be one cross platform mind-mapping-note-taking-ass-kicking tool for mac, pc, ios, android and even for the BlackBerry Playbook.

I totally agree. This is what I think I've solved. Sorry for all the teasers. I promise there's more info coming shortly!

[llbean]

So I read May's pdf regarding organizing non-actionable items in EN and mindmaps and was very intrigued. I've never done much mind mapping but have come to realize that there are at least 3 to 4 in my head, mostly process related, which I wanted to jot down and inventory in EN. Some sections of my process seem better described visually with embedded links as opposed to the format EN has to offer.

I've also started using OF, so I'm not looking for a mind mapping app for Mac which acts as a task manager. What I to do is simply create mind maps with file/note links. I'd like an iOS version as well to sync. The best I've found so far is MindNode, which seems almost adequate in its free version except for the fact that you cannot disconnect a node from an existing parent and establish it on a new node.

Any advice if this is worth the $20?

L

[jefito]

Oh, tell me that the "llbean" of your handle is not the same as the "L. L. Bean" of the boots..

[moreproblemo]

Jay, any luck with your beta testing?

[Evernot]

Frankly, I don't understand all this fuss over "mind maps".

Let's get one thing straight first. Are we talking about the traditional, over-hyped, single-parent "radial" mind map made popular by Tony Buzan, as in Mind On Track? Or are we talking about a "network" design that allows one to create hierarchies of parent/child notes with multiple links between them?

Taking radial mind maps first, their only real claim to fame is that a user should be able not just to allocate children of the central topic like spokes on a wheel, but also to spatially cluster said children meaningfully (afaik only Mind Manager does this properly) as well as have subchildren (descendants) coming off them. If we make a cut in this "wheel" and straighten it out into a vertical line, we end up with a simple outline. EN already provides this in the form of a hierarchical tag list. You could allocate one tag per note if you wish.

If you are hell bent on creating a mind map, by all means do so using some other app, and keep a screen capture program handy (I use Jing) to make copies of your map and update the existing one already stored in your Note as you edit it in your mind mapper app.

As far as "network" type mind maps go, with proper multiparent trees, etc. you can also create one in EN using keywords and/or tags. See my post here with valuable contributions made by May, JBenson2, gazumped and others. No matter how eloquent your mind map is, it becomes impossible to view it all together (a fundamental requirement) after it reaches a certain size, so you might as well accept this and create several "views" (PersonalBrain attempts this), storing screenshots in EN.

At heart, EN is a card file, aka "flat file" database, like a Rolodex, but encrusted with added bells and whistles such as stacks and tags. Trying to graft on mind mapping features would be to compromise on speed and basic efficiency.

[llbean]

Oh, tell me that the "llbean" of your handle is not the same as the "L. L. Bean" of the boots..

I do live up north. I'll leave you to guess

[jefito]

I live within 3 miles of the Big Boot mothership, and go by it every day on my way to work...

[peterfmartin]

http://www.theonion....80th-yea,14170/

[GaryLKing]

+1 I'm sorry, that link is just funny.

[Joshua Zerkel]

I've been using XMind alongside iThoughtsHD with Dropbox sync, and have been quite happy. No real Evernote integration, however.