3D Topicscape is a

Personal information manager A personal information manager (often referred to as a PIM tool or, more simply, a PIM) is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. The acronym PIM is now, more commonly, used in reference to personal information mana ...

that provides a template loosely based on mind-mapping or

concept map A concept map or conceptual diagram is a diagram that depicts suggested relationships between concepts. Concept maps may be used by instructional designers, engineers, technical writers, and others to organize and structure knowledge. A conc ...

ping. It presents the

mind map A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. It is often based on a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank page, to which associated represe ...

as a 3D scene where each

node In general, a node is a localized swelling (a "knot") or a point of intersection (a vertex). Node may refer to: In mathematics * Vertex (graph theory), a vertex in a mathematical graph *Vertex (geometry), a point where two or more curves, lines ...

is a cone (or pyramid, or variation on such a shape). It can also display in a 2D format. Nodes are arranged in a way that indicates how they are related in much the same way as a

. In addition to its use for

information management Information management (IM) is the appropriate and optimized capture, storage, retrieval, and use of information. It may be personal information management or organizational. Information management for organizations concerns a cycle of organiz ...

it is claimed to be suitable as a

task manager In operating systems, a task manager is a system monitor program used to provide information about the processes and applications running on a computer, as well as the general status of the computer. Some implementations can also be used t ...

, and for use in

project management Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...

. A Topicscape is created by importing folders (by

Drag-and-drop In computer graphical user interfaces, drag and drop is a pointing device gesture in which the user selects a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object. In general, it can be used to ...

or menus), importing from other mind mapping software including

FreeMind FreeMind is a free mind mapping application written in Java, which is further developed by the fork Freeplane. FreeMind itself was last updated in 2014. FreeMind is licensed under the GNU General Public License Version 2. It provides extensive ...

, PersonalBrain and

MindManager MindManager is a commercial mind mapping software application developed by Mindjet. The software provides ways for users to visualize information in mind maps and flowcharts. MindManager can be used to manage projects, organize information, and fo ...

or by hand with mouse clicks or keyboard shortcuts. Import sources may be converted to a new Topicscape or added as a portion of an existing one. The number of levels that can be stored is not limited, but up to seven levels of the hierarchy may be viewed at once. Any node may be chosen as the centre of the 3D scene and choosing one at the edge will cause more to come into view. Topicscape's most obvious difference from 2D mind mapping software is that it provides a zooming interface and simulates flying as noted by ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' columnist Jeremy Wagstaff in his column "Fly through your computer." The

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

and ''

PC World ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online-only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tec ...

''Laura Blackwell

(print edition), April 2008 have also reviewed 3D Topicscape.

Versions

*3D Topicscape public Beta in Jan 2006 *3D Topicscape 1.0, May 2006 *3D Topicscape Lite 1.05; 1.07, Dec 2007; 1.2, Aug 2008 *3D Topicscape Pro 1.2, Feb 2007; 1.3, May 2007; 1.56, Dec 2007; 1.59, May 2008; 1.6, Jul 2008; 1.63, Sep 2008; 2.0, Apr 2009; 2.5 Dec 2009; 2.6 Feb 2010; 2.7 April 2010 *3D Topicscape Student Edition Beta, Sep 2007; 1.0, Feb 2008; 2.0, Dec 2009

File Format

Uses an embedded

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures ** Fenghuang, sometimes called Chinese phoenix * Vermilion bird, one of the four symbols of the Chinese constella ...

relational database to store user-provided and operational metadata. Files attached to nodes (topics) may be linked to in their original location or be held in a folder (directory) associated with a given Topicscape. Links to files in a Topicscape's folder are relative. Topicscape folders may therefore be moved without breaking such links. Import file formats supported include

, OML,

versions 5-8, PersonalBrain, and text (outline-numbered); Export file formats can be those for

OPML OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) is an XML format for outlines (defined as "a tree, where each node contains a set of named attributes with string values"). Originally developed by UserLand Software as a native file format for the outli ...

HTML Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It defines the content and structure of web content. It is often assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets ( ...

and text structured for re-import, or text for reading.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3d Topicscape Personal information managers Mind-mapping software Concept mapping software Windows-only proprietary software

Versions

File Format

See also

References