Alternatives to FreeMind: Difference between revisions

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To achieve that which FreeMind offers, you can use variety of tools.
To achieve that which FreeMind offers, you can use variety of tools.


==Free or freeware mind mapping program==
==Mind mapping software==


For instance:
===Free===
Free-as-in-freedom mind mapping programs:
* [http://www.insilmaril.de/vym/ VYM - View Your Mind] is licenced under GNU GPL; comparative evaluation to FreeMind is missing. See also [http://www.kriener.de/index.pl/vym4win VYM for Microsoft Windows] and [http://sourceforge.net/projects/vym/ SourceForge project].
* [http://freehackers.org/~tnagy/kdissert/ Kdissert] is licenced under GNU GPL, and is not available for Windows; evaluation is missing as well.
* [[XMind]][http://www.xmind.net/] is licensed under EPL (Eclipse Public License) and LGPL (GNU Lesser General Public License) and written in Java. Eclipse-based, cross-platform, focused on brainstorming and mind mapping, compatible with Freemind. Best Eclipse RCP Application 2008 Award winner.
* [[Freeplane]] is a fork of FreeMind.
 
===Freeware===
Freeware though not free-as-in-freedom mind mapping programs:
*[http://www.thinkgraph.com Thinkgraph] is not open source licenced, and in our view falls back behind FreeMind in terms of ease of use and look-and-feel.
*[http://www.thinkgraph.com Thinkgraph] is not open source licenced, and in our view falls back behind FreeMind in terms of ease of use and look-and-feel.
*[http://www.insilmaril.de/vym/ VYM - View Your Mind] is licenced under GNU GPL; comparative evaluation to FreeMind is missing. See also [http://www.kriener.de/index.pl/vym4win VYM for Microsoft Windows].
* [http://www.thebrain.com/ Personal Brain] is not open source but is available as a free version for non commercial use. It offers some unique features with "floating" nodes and flexible focus points. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
*[http://freehackers.org/~tnagy/kdissert/ Kdissert] is licenced under GNU GPL, and is not available for Windows; evaluation is missing as well.
* [http://download.cnet.com/Cayra/3000-2076_4-10777905.html Cayra] (also [http://cayra.en.softonic.com/ downloadable from Softonic]) is a freeware application that allows you to create mind or concept maps. It's remarkable by seemingly absent central node and automatic re-layout so that every node you click on becomes central. Good to see the map from different angles. So far available only for Windows XP SP2 & Vista.
*[http://www.thebrain.com/ Personal Brain] is not open source but is available as a free version for non commercial use. Personal Brain offers some unique features with "floating" nodes and flexible focus points. Personal Brain is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
 
===Commercial===
Commercial mind mapping programs:
* [http://www.mindjet.com/ MindManager]
* [http://www.inspiration.com/ Inspiration]
* [http://www.mindgenius.com/ MindGenius]
* [http://www.visual-mind.com/ Visual Mind]
* [http://www.thebrain.com/ PersonalBrain]
* [http://www.matchware.com/en/products/openmind/ OpenMind]
* [http://www.mindmapperusa.com/ MindMapper]
* [http://www.InnovationGear.com MindVisualizer]
 
The list is not meant to be complete, listing only some major notable instances.


==Commercial mind mapping program==
Links:
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mind-mapping_software Category:Mind-mapping software], en.wikipedia.org
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mind_mapping_software List of mind mapping software], en.wikipedia.org


For instance [http://www.mindjet.com/ MindManager], [http://www.inspiration.com/ Inspiration], [http://www.mindgenius.com/ MindGenius], [http://www.visual-mind.com/ Visual Mind], [http://www.mindmapperusa.com/ MindMapper] or [http://www.innovationgear.com/ MindVisualizer].
==Note editor==
An alternative to FreeMind are note editors, especially tabbed ones and those featuring a tree-navigation for the notes in a left pane of the main window. Where note editors support rich text formatting, they do so much better than FreeMind 0.8.1, yet FreeMind 0.9.0 is trying to close the gap with its rich text editor.


==Note editor / reference manager / PIM - personal information manager==
Some note editors:


For instance open source [http://www.tranglos.com/free/keynote.html Key Note] for Windows. In the case of Key Note, you obtain folding, much richer text formatting than in FreeMind, many small notes in one file and it is quite easy to reorganize the structure of your notes. It is not so fast when it comes to changing the color of nodes and not so intuitive when you move things around. It is not possible to set a link to a node, only inside the note, which is sort of equivallent of FreeMind's node without children. Key Note is much faster because it is not written in Java, but it runs on Windows platform only. Definitely worth having a look at. In Linux, the hierarchical rich text note editor [http://www.tuxcards.de/ TuxCards] may be of interest.
* [http://www.tranglos.com/free/keynote.html Key Note]
** Windows
** Open-source: Mozilla Public License 1.1 (MPL 1.1)
** Folding
** Much richer text formatting than in FreeMind 0.8.1.
** Has many small notes in one file.
** Is quite easy to reorganize the structure of your notes.
** Is not so fast when it comes to changing the color of nodes and not so intuitive when you move things around.
** Is not possible to set a link to a node, only inside the note, which is sort of equivallent of FreeMind's node without children.
** Is much faster because it is not written in Java, but it runs on Windows platform only.
** Latest release: 1.6.5, 2003-11-13
** [http://sourceforge.net/projects/keynote/ SourceForge project page]
* [http://basket.kde.org/index.php BasKet Note Pads]
** Linux
** Latest release: 1.0.3.1, 2008-06-30
** Rich text formatting
* [http://www.tuxcards.de/ TuxCards]
** Linux
** Latest release: 2.1.1, 2007-12-28
** Rich text formatting
** [http://sourceforge.net/projects/tuxcards/ SourceForge project page]
* [http://bhepple.freeshell.org/gjots/ gjots]
** Linux
** Latest release: 2.3.9, 2009-08-08
** Estimation: plain text formatting
* [http://knowit.sourceforge.net/ KnowIt]
** Linux
** Latest release: 0.10, 2004-03-31
** Rich text formatting
 
See also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Notetaking_software Category:Notetaking software] at Wikipedia.


==Text editor with Outline mode==
==Text editor with Outline mode==


E.g. [http://www.microsoft.com/office/ MS Word], [http://www.lyx.org/ LyX] or [http://www.xemacs.org/ Emacs]. Outline mode enables you to fold headings and move complete &quot;nodes&quot; (chapters, sections, subsection) around, as well as changing the levels of the nodes. The convenience and speed of operation in the areas of restructuring, organizing, overviewing and adding items does not reach that of FreeMind, but on the other hand: if you already use one of these editors, you can avoid the extravagance of installing and learning to use a new tool and gain part of what FreeMind offers that way.
Some text editors with an outline mode:
 
* [http://www.microsoft.com/office/ MS Word]
* [http://www.lyx.org/ LyX]
* [http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/ Emacs]
 
Outline mode enables you to fold headings and move complete &quot;nodes&quot; (chapters, sections, subsection) around, as well as changing the levels of the nodes. The convenience and speed of operation in the areas of restructuring, organizing, overviewing and adding items does not reach that of FreeMind, but on the other hand: if you already use one of these editors, you can avoid the extravagance of installing and learning to use a new tool and gain part of what FreeMind offers that way.


==Text editor with Folding mode==
==Text editor with Folding mode==


E.g. [http://www.xemacs.org/ Emacs],    [http://www.vim.org/ Vim] or [http://www.jedit.org jEdit]. Again, you achieve information hiding, but the overheads of using folding mode when compared to FreeMind are considerable.
Some text editors with a folding mode:
* [http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/ Emacs]
* [http://www.vim.org/ Vim]
* [http://www.jedit.org jEdit]
 
Folding mode achieves information hiding, but the overheads of using folding mode when compared to FreeMind are considerable.
 
See also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding_editor Folding editor] at Wikipedia.


==Outliner==
==Outliner==


E.g. cross-platform [http://outliner.sourceforge.net/ Java outline editor] or Microsoft Windows based [http://hardtware.de/index.cgi?site=products&action=outliner Outliner]. Compared to FreeMind, these programs are rather rudimentary. Another option is cross-platform Python-based outliner [http://webpages.charter.net/edreamleo/front.html Leo] (Python Licence); evaluation is missing.
Outliner is a program that enables editing of hierarchical bullet-formatted outlines. Some outliners allow attachment of notes to the items of the outline.
 
Some outliners:
 
* [http://outliner.sourceforge.net/ Java outline editor]
** Cross-platform
* [http://hardtware.de/index.cgi?site=products&action=outliner Outliner]
** Microsoft Windows
* [http://webpages.charter.net/edreamleo/front.html Leo]
** Cross-platform
** Python-based
** Python Licence
 
Compared to FreeMind, the two programs are rather rudimentary.
 
See also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliner Outliner] at Wikipedia.


==Concept map editor==
==Concept map editor==


Like multiplatform freeware [http://cmap.ihmc.us/ CmapTools], GNU GPL-licenced [http://www.conzilla.org/ Conzilla] in Java, or freeware [http://www.compendiuminstitute.org/ Compendium] (written in Java, and relying on database). Unlike mind maps, concept maps are general graphs rather than trees. See also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_mapping Concept mapping] at Wikipedia.
* [http://cmap.ihmc.us/ CmapTools] -- multiplatform freeware,
* [http://www.conzilla.org/ Conzilla] -- GNU GPL-licenced one in Java,
* [http://compendium.open.ac.uk/institute/ Compendium] -- free software written in Java, relying on database. (GNU LGPL V3+ license[http://compendium.open.ac.uk/institute/download/license.htm]. Database is now optional.)
 
Unlike mind maps, concept maps are general graphs rather than trees. See also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_mapping Concept mapping].


==Presentation software==
==Presentation software==


Like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint Microsoft PowerPoint] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org_Impress OpenOffice Impress]. It can be used for drawing ''concept maps'' using boxes and connectors; compared to specialized software for concept maps, its edge is that it helps you keep low the number of pieces of software you have to learn to use.
Presentation software can be used for drawing ''concept maps'' using boxes and connectors; compared to specialized software for concept maps, its edge is that it helps you keep low the number of pieces of software you have to learn to use.
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint Microsoft PowerPoint]  
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org_Impress OpenOffice Impress]
 
See also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentation_program Presentation program] at Wikipedia.
 
==Diagramming software==
 
Graphs, networks and a plethora of other types of diagrams can be drawn in diagramming software. Some instances follow.
 
===Free===
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dia_%28software%29 Dia]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kivio Kivio]
 
See also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_diagramming_software free diagramming software].
 
===Commercial===
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visio Visio]
 
See also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Diagramming_software diagramming software].
 
==Other==
 
* [http://www.topicscape.com/ TopicScape] -- used by some as an alternative. There is an export script or function from FreeMind to TopicScape, allegedly.
* [http://vue.tufts.edu/ VUE] - Visual Understanding Environment. It is a concept mapper of sorts. Open source; license: ECL. Downloadable after registration. See also its [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VUE_(Visual_Understanding_Environment) Wikipedia entry].
* [http://www.officelabs.com/projects/stickysorter/Pages/default.aspx StickySorter] -- Microsoft StickySorter.  It is a good brainstorming tool and visual database.  It is from Microsoft Labs and is considered an evaluation preview of sorts.


[[Category:Main]]
[[Category:Main]]


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Latest revision as of 19:08, 25 March 2023

To achieve that which FreeMind offers, you can use variety of tools.

Mind mapping software

Free

Free-as-in-freedom mind mapping programs:

  • VYM - View Your Mind is licenced under GNU GPL; comparative evaluation to FreeMind is missing. See also VYM for Microsoft Windows and SourceForge project.
  • Kdissert is licenced under GNU GPL, and is not available for Windows; evaluation is missing as well.
  • XMind[1] is licensed under EPL (Eclipse Public License) and LGPL (GNU Lesser General Public License) and written in Java. Eclipse-based, cross-platform, focused on brainstorming and mind mapping, compatible with Freemind. Best Eclipse RCP Application 2008 Award winner.
  • Freeplane is a fork of FreeMind.

Freeware

Freeware though not free-as-in-freedom mind mapping programs:

  • Thinkgraph is not open source licenced, and in our view falls back behind FreeMind in terms of ease of use and look-and-feel.
  • Personal Brain is not open source but is available as a free version for non commercial use. It offers some unique features with "floating" nodes and flexible focus points. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
  • Cayra (also downloadable from Softonic) is a freeware application that allows you to create mind or concept maps. It's remarkable by seemingly absent central node and automatic re-layout so that every node you click on becomes central. Good to see the map from different angles. So far available only for Windows XP SP2 & Vista.

Commercial

Commercial mind mapping programs:

The list is not meant to be complete, listing only some major notable instances.

Links:

Note editor

An alternative to FreeMind are note editors, especially tabbed ones and those featuring a tree-navigation for the notes in a left pane of the main window. Where note editors support rich text formatting, they do so much better than FreeMind 0.8.1, yet FreeMind 0.9.0 is trying to close the gap with its rich text editor.

Some note editors:

  • Key Note
    • Windows
    • Open-source: Mozilla Public License 1.1 (MPL 1.1)
    • Folding
    • Much richer text formatting than in FreeMind 0.8.1.
    • Has many small notes in one file.
    • Is quite easy to reorganize the structure of your notes.
    • Is not so fast when it comes to changing the color of nodes and not so intuitive when you move things around.
    • Is not possible to set a link to a node, only inside the note, which is sort of equivallent of FreeMind's node without children.
    • Is much faster because it is not written in Java, but it runs on Windows platform only.
    • Latest release: 1.6.5, 2003-11-13
    • SourceForge project page
  • BasKet Note Pads
    • Linux
    • Latest release: 1.0.3.1, 2008-06-30
    • Rich text formatting
  • TuxCards
  • gjots
    • Linux
    • Latest release: 2.3.9, 2009-08-08
    • Estimation: plain text formatting
  • KnowIt
    • Linux
    • Latest release: 0.10, 2004-03-31
    • Rich text formatting

See also Category:Notetaking software at Wikipedia.

Text editor with Outline mode

Some text editors with an outline mode:

Outline mode enables you to fold headings and move complete "nodes" (chapters, sections, subsection) around, as well as changing the levels of the nodes. The convenience and speed of operation in the areas of restructuring, organizing, overviewing and adding items does not reach that of FreeMind, but on the other hand: if you already use one of these editors, you can avoid the extravagance of installing and learning to use a new tool and gain part of what FreeMind offers that way.

Text editor with Folding mode

Some text editors with a folding mode:

Folding mode achieves information hiding, but the overheads of using folding mode when compared to FreeMind are considerable.

See also Folding editor at Wikipedia.

Outliner

Outliner is a program that enables editing of hierarchical bullet-formatted outlines. Some outliners allow attachment of notes to the items of the outline.

Some outliners:

Compared to FreeMind, the two programs are rather rudimentary.

See also Outliner at Wikipedia.

Concept map editor

  • CmapTools -- multiplatform freeware,
  • Conzilla -- GNU GPL-licenced one in Java,
  • Compendium -- free software written in Java, relying on database. (GNU LGPL V3+ license[2]. Database is now optional.)

Unlike mind maps, concept maps are general graphs rather than trees. See also Concept mapping.

Presentation software

Presentation software can be used for drawing concept maps using boxes and connectors; compared to specialized software for concept maps, its edge is that it helps you keep low the number of pieces of software you have to learn to use.

See also Presentation program at Wikipedia.

Diagramming software

Graphs, networks and a plethora of other types of diagrams can be drawn in diagramming software. Some instances follow.

Free

See also free diagramming software.

Commercial

See also diagramming software.

Other

  • TopicScape -- used by some as an alternative. There is an export script or function from FreeMind to TopicScape, allegedly.
  • VUE - Visual Understanding Environment. It is a concept mapper of sorts. Open source; license: ECL. Downloadable after registration. See also its Wikipedia entry.
  • StickySorter -- Microsoft StickySorter. It is a good brainstorming tool and visual database. It is from Microsoft Labs and is considered an evaluation preview of sorts.