MindManager is a commercial

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 created around a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank page, to which associated ...

ping software application developed by Mindjet. The software provides ways for users to visualize information in mind maps and

flowchart A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flowchart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task. The flowchart shows the steps as boxes of va ...

s. MindManager can be used to manage projects, organize information, and for brainstorming. , Mindjet had approximately two million users, including notable customers such as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atla ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, IBM, and

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarte ...

Features

MindManager provides ways for users to visualize information using mind maps, and with the release of MindManager 2016 for Windows, now includes flowchart and concept map creation tools. The digital mind maps can be used as a “virtual whiteboard” for brainstorming, managing and planning projects, compiling research, organizing large amounts of information, and for strategic planning. MindManager also has features that allow budget calculations and formulas, Gantt chart views of project timelines, and guided brainstorming. Documents can be attached to mind map topics and viewed within the MindManager application. Links, images, and notes can also be added to mind map topics and viewed and searched in a side panel.

Development

The software that became MindManager was originally developed by Mike Jetter in the mid-1990s while he was recovering from a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia. Jetter's goal was to develop a program that would overcome the limitations of creating mind maps with pen and paper, such as the inability to easily move items around. Following his release from hospital, Jetter decided to sell the software. The software's mind maps were initially based on the method created by

Tony Buzan Anthony Peter "Tony" Buzan (; 2 June 1942 – 13 April 2019) was an English author and educational consultant. Buzan popularised the idea of mental literacy, radiant thinking, and a technique called mind mapping, inspired by techniques used by ...

. Over time, however, Mindjet has developed its own style of mind mapping. The software was originally marketed under the name "MindMan — The Creative MindManager". In 1999, it was rebranded as MindManager. Originally only available for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

, MindManager expanded to Mac

OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...

in 2006. With the release of version 7, the Windows version of MindManager adopted the

ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mater ...

interface first seen in

Microsoft Office 2007 Microsoft Office 2007 (codenamed Office 12) is an office suite for Windows, developed and published by Microsoft. It was officially revealed on March 9, 2006 and was the 12th version of Microsoft Office. It was released to manufacturing on Nove ...

and introduced support for

Office Open XML Office Open XML (also informally known as OOXML) is a zipped, XML-based file format developed by Microsoft for representing spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents. Ecma International standardized the initial versi ...

. In 2011, mobile versions of MindManager were released for both

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

and Android. Later that year, the company acquired Thinking Space, an Android-based information mapping application, and Cohuman, a social

task management Task management is the process of managing a task through its life cycle. It involves planning, testing, tracking, and reporting. Task management can help either individual achieve goals, or groups of individuals collaborate and share knowledg ...

service, which the company developed into a collaborative, cloud-based service to complement MindManager called Mindjet Connect or Project Director. In September 2012, the Mindjet company combined all of its software, including MindManager, Mindjet Connect, and its mobile offerings into a single product, also called Mindjet. Mindjet moved away from the single-product offering in mid-2013. The stand-alone mind mapping product was again named MindManager, with a more expansive version tailored to large enterprise adoptions called MindManager Enterprise released in 2014. MindManager Enterprise added sharing options including viewing/editing within Microsoft SharePoint. A MindManager mind map viewer also became available with MindManager Enterprise 2016. On August 9, 2016,

Corel Cascade Parent Limited, doing business as Alludo (pronounced like "all you do"), is a Canadian software company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, specializing in graphics processing. Formerly called the Corel Corporation ( ; from the abbreviation ...

announced that they had acquired the Mindjet MindManager business.

Reception and awards

MindManager has received generally positive notice from reviewers. MindManager 2016 for Windows took first place in Biggerplate's MindMapper's Choice poll. MindManager 8 received four out of five stars from

TechRadar ''TechRadar'' is an online publication owned by Future and focused on technology. It has editorial teams in the US, UK and Australia and provides news and reviews of tech products and gadgets. It was launched in 2007 and expanded to the US in ...

, while MindManager 9 received 3.5 out of 5 stars from '' PC Magazine'' and 4 out of 5 stars from ''

Macworld ''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macin ...

''. MindManager was chosen as one of the top 5 best mind mapping tools. MindManager also received a number of awards, including "Collaboration Product of the Year" for 2008 by Intranet Journal, a Jolt Productivity award for Design and Modeling tools from

Dr. Dobb's Journal ''Dr. Dobb's Journal'' (''DDJ'') was a monthly magazine published in the United States by UBM Technology Group, part of UBM. It covered topics aimed at computer programmers. When launched in 1976, DDJ was the first regular periodical focused on ...

, and "Best of

CeBIT CeBIT was the largest and most internationally representative computer expo. The trade fair was held each year on the Hanover fairground, the world's largest fairground, in Hanover, Germany. In its day, it was considered a barometer of cu ...

" in the Personal Software category in 2004.

References

External links

* {{Mindmaps Mind-mapping software Windows software Classic Mac OS software 1994 software

Features

Development

Reception and awards

See also

References

External links