XMind

Kommentare: I use it for mind-mapping my articles, presentations, and books. It's a powerful simple tool for that. And can form the basis of a great Prezi layout if you use the clip art. Mostly I like that it's a fast way for me to scope and think about an article or book. I typically use the 4MAT model (as originally developed by Bernice McCarthy in 1980) which creates a 4 way mind-map, starting with WHY in the top right quadrant then WHAT in the lower right, HOW in the lower left and continuing clockwise to create a branch about IF? in the top left quadrant. The WHY is all about "Why should people read/know/care about this?", then WHAT is it that I want them to know/do/feel, and HOW do they do this, then finally the IF? is all about What if? What if I (the reader) do this and it works or doesn't work? What if the next step is ... ? What if it everyone knew/did/felt this? 'What if?' is designed to stimulate the thinking processes based on the Why, What, How of the article/book/presentation. 4MAT is a good process and worth learning more about. I start with these 4 trees on the mind-map but the results can cover hundreds of branches as each branch stimulates new ideas. Sometimes I also use it for building models for presentations. Other times for organizational charts or taxonomies. And sometimes I just data-dump a brainstorm of ideas for whatever I'm working on. The clip art and ability to use straight or curved lines, and format text as I like helps for communication also.

Vorteile: I've trialled or used a lot of mind mapping software and this is the one that I stick with. Mostly because it has two big criteria that I look for:
1. Ease of use - fast and intuitive
2. Flexibility - I can use a range of shapes and even the included clip art or my own images. I love that it's also available on IOS devices but so far, have been content to use it mostly on my Mac. I'm using XMind 8 Update 8 Pro via a license with Setapp (a subscription service that aggregates 200+ apps for $10/mth). I use enough of the Setapp utilities and apps that Xmind is basically free for me and that's just another big plus.

Nachteile: Nothing to dislike really. It ticks all the boxes for me. If anything, my main gripe would be that it's not as well known as some other software so it took me a while to find it. It was via the Setapp subscription that I first found it but it is now also in the Apple App Store.

Kommentare: I used to love XMind and recommend it to everyone, but since they introduced the subscription charges and stopped allowing people to upgrade from previous versions, unless it was the one immediately previous to the new version, I just had to call it a day. There are other tools around that are more affordable and don't require subscriptions.

Vorteile: Having used many mindmapping tools over the years I came to XMind expecting just more of the same. I was pleasantly surprised. In addition to the usual features you'd expect of a mindmapping tool it has a plethora of additional features, some of them unique to XMinds, which takes its usability to the next level. I particularly liked the ability to drill down into specific nodes of the mindmap and create additional sub-mindmaps using those nodes as the central point. That is so cool. I also liked the availability of a large number of flags and icons that could be easily added to a mindmap. Not only did this brighten things up, but it helped to color-code the map to match my particular needs.

Nachteile: There are two things I don't like about XMind. Firstly, I am a Mac user and XMind doesn'd do a good job of following the standard Mac user interface. It feels very much like a PC application that has been made to run on a Mac. This is a shame as it makes it a little clunky to use on a Mac I feel. Secondly, XMind has some weird pricing that seems to have change over the years. At one time I found it to be an affordable alternative to other tools such as Mindjet (which is stupidly expensive). Unfortunately, XMind seems to have complicated its offerings and for some of them gone down the subscription route, which I think is offensive for a desktop application that requires no online services or access. I don't rent cans of beans or chairs in my house, so I object to having to rent software.

Kommentare: xMind is a very useful application for brainstorming, organizing, and connecting ideas. Great ideas happen all the time inside your marvelous brain. But often and rather very quickly, these ideas fly away and are forgotten. Pen and paper works, but a digital version of mindmapping will help a lot with extra features (e.g., auto-arrange, backup, themes, gantt-chart view, presentation, easy sharing, etc.)

Vorteile: Mindmapping helps me to be creative, to organize and connect my ideas into an easily readable format. xMind has been my go-to mindmapping software for this. I'm using version 8, and it has a much better UI (than other similar apps). The Pro features like Gantt-Chart helps me to use it for Project Implementations. The Walk-through (Presentation Mode) is great for presentation during meetings. It also allows to export to multiple formats like Jpg, pdf, etc. Also, backup using xMind Cloud works great for backup and easy sharing. There are many pre-installed themes to make your mindmaps look formal or fun, or colorful, etc. There are similar apps which are Cloud-based, but I prefer to have xMind, which is installed locally and available for use offline (since I'm not always connected to the Internet).

Nachteile: I'm using xMind on a Macbook, but it seems that up to now, smooth scrolling is not yet fixed by their devs. This has been brought up since 2014 (you may Google it) but still not supported. It's a shame because for me, Mac has the best touch pad/scrolling. On the other hand, I've used xMind in Windows and it scrolls smoothly using the trackpad/mouse with no problems.

Kommentare: Xmind and Mindmapping (in general) is a must for everybody. It helps one to organize our brains that's full of ideas. It just comes out naturally as we connect nodes of concepts/ideas. Pro features are worth the price you pay for (e.g., brainstorming mode, presentation mode, gantt chart view). Sharing and backup is not a problem. And it allows you to sync across different devices (smartphone, laptop). The export feature is A+ as well. It allows for easy conversion to high-res images, to pdf, to freemind (other mindmap formats).

Vorteile: Xmind helps me organize my ideas into a mindmap that is easy to manage (add, remove, connect nodes). The presentation feature is very helpful whenever I use my mindmap as a storyboard outline during meetings. I likewise use this app for Project Management. All project elements are mapped out and there's even a feature to put checkboxes, brainstorming, and gantt chart view. The Windows version works flawlessly (scrolling etc.). For the Mac version, see below.

Nachteile: The Mac version still does not support smooth scrolling via Mouse/Touchpad. It makes it frustrating to navigate the mindmap. This has been reported a few years back, but still the same. Support/Dev team doesn't seem to be listening to public clamor.

Kommentare: XMind is very good tool with self explanatory UI. With the complete set of templates for various requirements, presentation mode to have a brainstorm session with the team, gantt chart mode for project management (just like Microsoft Project), embedding picture/audio/attachment in the node, export to pdf or image, It really helps me to complete my daily job in gathering requirements, discussion with the team, brainstorming, presentation and project management.
I only wish that the mobile version is provided without subscription fee when we have purchased the desktop version.

Vorteile: This application runs cross platforms. It works on my Mac, Windows machine also mobile devices. It has different kind of templates (mind map, org chart, logic chart, design, presentation mode, gantt chart mode for project management).
What I like the most is I can also use it as a brainstorming tool for the development work as I can drop the node freely anywhere by clicking on the empty space. I can also easily add the flexible connection arrow between nodes. It also provide the export functionality to different type of files such as image, PDF and html.

Nachteile: The performance of the startup is very slow. It may take minutes sometime to load the application. Because of this, everytime I start my computer, I need to make sure I open the application to have it standby all the time.