What is a Mind Map?

A mind map is a diagram for representing tasks, concepts, or items linked to and arranged around a central concept or subject using a non-linear graphical layout that allows the user to build an intuitive framework around a central concept. A mind map can turn 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.

A mind map can be used as a simplified content management system. It allows you to store all your data in a centralized location to stay organized. A number of mind mapping applications are available today, you can attach files to different branches for even more flexibility. You can also change to various different views in order to find one that suits you best. My favourite Mind Mapping app amongst all the available options on iOS is MindNode.

MindNode 5

MindNode has been available on Mac and iOS for years and its version 5 was released last year. MindNode 5 comes with a brand new design for iOS and Mac, a new quick entry feature, Drag and Drop on iPad, a new pricing model, and loads of other new features.

User Interface

MindNode 5 offers a brand new and updated design over MindNode 4. MindNode 5 looks stunning and beautiful, updated design is simple and intuitive and it really feels like a whole new app. The Best thing about the design of MindNode 5 is its ease of use. It truly feels like a whole new app. The new UI is well thought out and so many aspects of the interface were updated that made the app look fresh and clean. From UI icons to stickers, everything was updated with a fresh new style and feel.

MindNode 5 has adopted iOS 11’s document browser capability for integration with files app which makes it feel much more native when browsing through your mind maps. The document browser looks very similar to files app. All your mind maps are stored in iCloud allowing for easy sync across all the devices i.e mac and iPad.

One of the major new features of MindNode 5 is Quick Entry. This is a really great and useful feature allowing you to write down your thoughts in a list form and then turn them into a mind map later with the click of a button. You can also add tasks or notes with the quick entry. I really like this feature, as it gets difficult to add and rearrange nodes on the small screen of iPhone, so this feature is really welcomed and it really makes MindNode stand out from the other mind mapping apps available.

There are some changes when viewing your mind maps in MindNode 5. Tools have been reorganized and are presented in a better way. The fixed navigation bar in MindNode 4 has been replaced by two panels: an action panel and an outline panel. These Collapsed panels allow easy access to important shortcuts. There is a floating panel on the top-left side of the screen, that contains options to open document browser, share mind maps, and show or hide panels.

Action panel in MindNode 5 is dynamic in nature, meaning that it shows different options depending on whether node is selected or not. If no node is selected, you’ll see options to change your map’s theme, access view controls, or choose stickers or photos to add to maps. When a node is selected you’ll see a notes screen, style sheet, an option to add stickers or photos to maps and other node-specific controls. Icons in the action panel are also clear and they represent what they mean, this is quite a small thing but it really improves the overall experience of the app. Also, action panel is adjustable, it can be resized by dragging the top of the panel, thus letting you completely focus on your mind maps and providing a really beautiful and immersive experience.

Outline panel is quite simple, showing you the outline of the your mind map. You can also view notes and tasks can also be marked as complete in the outline view.

There are some improvements in layout and Customization options in MindNode5. You can now have maps with a vertical layout rather than horizontal; vertical maps can grow from either top to bottom or bottom to top. There are several new themes in MindNode 5, you can also Create as many personal themes as you like, sync them to all your devices, and share them with other and there is a new option to use orthogonal branches, which give your mind map a more edgy look. There is also a new colours picker that gives you access to more colours.

There is also a new fullscreen mode. In this, panels are removed from the screen altogether so you can view your map distraction-free. You can activate fullscreen mode from the top-right corner of the actions panel when no nodes are selected

Drag and drop

If you’re an iPad power user, you’d be happy to know that MindNode 5 supports drag and drop. I think, for mind mapping apps this feature is a must. In MindNode 4, if you wanted to add text or image from some random source you’d have to copy/paste or download photo and then add it from library, this didn’t feel natural. With MindNode 5 all you have to do is to drag and drop image or text from some other source to your map and you’re done.

If you drag content from MindNode’s actions panel or an external source, you’ll see a green plus button to indicate it’s safe to drop. when you drop items into a blank area of your map it will make them standalone nodes you can also drop on to an existing line, or an existing node. There is an attach badge that appears when hovering over either a line or a node that dropped items will attach to, which indicates what is going to happen when you drop the content. Since iPhone can’t receive content from external apps, there is support for in-app drag and drop, so that you can drag and drop content from action panel to the map. Drag and drop is a must-have feature for mind mapping apps and MindNode just nails it.

Export, import and sharing

There are a variety of importing and exporting options available in MindNode:

OPML: This allows you to take an outline from an outlining application (like OmniOutliner) and import it as a mind map. OPML is a standard format, so support for this file type is essential.

FreeMind: FreeMind is a free mind mapping application available for both Mac and Windows that has been around for awhile, and MindNode can both import and export FreeMind files.

CSV: MindNode allows you to both import from and export to CSV files, this format is supported mostly by spreadsheet applications.

Plain Text: MindNode allows you to export your mind map in an outlining format.

iThoughts (import only): You can import your mind maps from iThoughts.

Mindjet MindManager (import only): If you received a mind map file in the MindManager format you can import it into MindNode.

PNG (export only): MindNode also allows you to export your entire mind map as a PNG image file.

PDF (export only): PDFs are a standard file format and MindNode allows you to export as PDF as well.

If your mind map contains tasks, you can share your map to reminder app, Omnifocus, and Things. This will create a project with all the tasks in the mind map. An example is shown, in which a mind map containing tasks is converted to project in things.

Keyboard Shortcuts

MindNode 5 contains a healthy number of Keyboard shortcuts, there are so many shortcuts and i have not seen many apps that offer these many Keyboard Shortcuts, only app that comes close is things. You can learn about them here

Widget

MindNode 5 offers a today widget that allows you to create new mind maps and get into the quick entry mode quickly.

MindNode Update 5.1

Folks at IdeasOnCanvas have released an update to MindNode, adding a number of performance improvements. This is not a feature rich update, it focuses primarily on performance improvements. Document save and load is considerable faster; almost every direct interaction on the canvas has been made smoother. Especially when working with large documents, MindNode is now more responsive.

This update also adds support for import of supported document formats from document browser. MindNode now Allows you to store documents locally on the device. A new option is added to download new themes from: mindnode.com/themes. This updates adds some other important enhancements and fixes to improve your overall app experience. You can read more about the update here.

MindNode, according to me, is the best mind mapping app available on iOS. It has a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing UI. Quick entry feature is really great, letting u create mind maps without the need to drag nodes. MindNode 5 is a really great upgrade from MindNode 4 in terms of UI and there is support for drag and drop which, for iPad users, is like a blessing. There are a number of export options available and you can export to task management apps like things and Omnifocus. This is the best mind mapping app out there.

MindNode 5 is available on the iOS App Store for free, with a one-time In-App Purchase to unlock editing capabilities Worth $14.99 for new users and $9.99 for owners of MindNode 4. On the Mac, MindNode 5 is also a free download, with an In-App Purchase of $39.99 for new users, and $14.99 for owners of MindNode 2.