Asked questions

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Here we collect a list of asked questions and answers related to free mind mapping software FreeMind. Help if you can (see To edit this FAQ). If you're searching for an answer to your question, why don't you just press Ctrl + F in your browser?

Installation

To download Java Runtime Environment needed to run FreeMind.

To download JRE for Windows, go to Download on Sun, go to the section Download J2SE v 1.4. ... and now choose the column JRE, not SDK. The installation file of JRE has approximately 15 MB.

FreeMind cannot detect new version of Java. What can I do?

Let us assume that you have installed a new version of Java, and still, FreeMind complains about having old version of Java. This may occur especially if you installed SDK rather than JRE. SDK stands for standard development kit and contains much more than you need to run FreeMind; you only need runtime environment. It is important that the new version of java is in your path. To check it out on Microsoft Windows, run command ``cmd" using Windows-key + R, followed by ``java -version". You should get something like 

java version "1.4.2_03"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.2_03-b02)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4.2_03-b02, mixed mode)

where the particular version number is not important as long as it is at least 1.4.0.

Additionally, it may be helpful to start freemind.bat and see what messages come.

NOTE: If you have an Oracle database product installed on your computer, check the Oracle Installer to see what version of Java was installed with the database. Versions of Oracle 8, 8i, and later install JRE 1.3.1 and modify the startup path for Windows to ensure the database can start using this JRE. This installation WILL cause FreeMind to report the older version of Java, even if you install the new version (the .ini file for Oracle points Windows to the JRE 1.3.1 directory, places that in memory, and causes the fault). You can modify the .ini file to point Oracle to the newer JRE.

If you don't want to change the Oracle settings: just create a batch file in the FreeMind folder with the following entry "Path-to-your-new-java-runtimes-bin/java.exe -jar lib/freemind.jar" and use that to start freemind.

What Java virtual machines does FreeMind actually work with?

FreeMind works with the virual machines from Sun, from the version 1.4.0 and higher. Additionally, FreeMind has been reported to run on the JDK 1.4.2 from Blackdown. FreeMind also works on Linux with Sun Microsystems 64bit JDK version 1.5.0.

What is a mirror?

A mirror is one of the SourceForge sites from which you can download FreeMind. To download FreeMind, choose any mirror; you would prefer a mirror geographically closer to the place where you live. If you experience problems with one mirror, try another.


Using

To add a new concept

A new concept is referred to as a "node." Use the "Insert" key on PCs to add a new node. MAC users need to set a different key. Nodes are not limited to just concepts. They can also include sentences, paragraphs or even short articles.

Is there an undo feature in FreeMind?

Currently there is no undo feature; however, an undo feature has been incorporated in FreeMind version 0.8 RC2 and should be implemented in the next version. If you are using 0.7, then you the following tips to prevent data loss:

  • Use FreeMind's autosave-feature
This feature is enabled by default... auto saved files will be found in ~/.freemind/
  • Install a clipboard manager, which will make all elements, which you cut from FreeMind, available in its history. A freeware example of a clipboard manager for MS Windows is Yankee Clipper.

=== How much memory do I need? === Keywords: RAM. Experience shows that 64 Mb is not sufficient, while 128 Mb is already ok, provided that you do not run another Java application. Correct me if I'm wrong. I am using FreeMind on Windows 95 + 128 Mb without any problems.

Running FM 0.8RC5 on Windows 95 with 64 MB and Java 1.4.0 is possible and the response time is in acceptable limits.

-- Stefano 02:01, 11 Jul 2005 (PDT)

To create a graphical link

  1. Go to the source node.
  2. Mark it with the mouse.
  3. Press the left mouse button.
  4. Hold this button.
  5. Press Ctrl+Shift buttons.
  6. Continue to hold all these buttons.
  7. Go to the destination node.
  8. Release the mouse button, first.
  9. Then release the keyboard buttons.

You have your link. Alternatively, drag'n drop holding right mouse button.

To remove a graphical link

  1. Right-Click on the curved arrow of the graphical link
  2. Choose "Remove Arrow Link" from the pop-up menu

(Left-clicking on a graphical link does nothing)

To add user icons to FreeMind

Currently, adding user icons is not possible. BUT you can add an inline images to any node. Use the following code example: 

<html><img src="http://www.stumbleupon.com/pics/me.jpg">

in a FreeMind node. This should also work with local files using "file:" instead of "http:".

To open links in only one browser window, rather than several.

To our knowledge this is not possible at the moment.

Firefox allows this option. From the menu, select 1) Tools > Options > 2) Click Advanced 3) Toggle Tabbed Browsing 4) Select to open links from other apps in ...a new tab in the most recent window.


A possible Work Around: There is a way to do this if you use the Firefox browser instead of Internet Explorer, provided you install the Firefox extension called Single Window (available from here). Using this extension, every time you click on an external web link on a mind map, it will open the relevant page in a new tab in an existing Firefox window, rather than a new browser window. I have found this to be a much easier way to navigate the pages opened. I have only tried this with mm files opened from the file system at the moment (ie not served from a web server in the browser applet).

To open external web links in a new tabs in Firefox follow this tip (works both for Linux and Windows). You have to add a line in your user.js file and install Tabbrowser extensions.

=== Is it difficult to provide FreeMind with Java Webstart?=== Well, it's not that easy. Joerg Mueller succeeded in doing just that and has sent his source code to Daniel Polansky, who did not succeed in getting it running; he did not consider that a high priority. What is important is that Microsoft Windows users have a convenient installer, and the users of the other operating systems are already used to not so convenient methods; the installation is pretty straightforward anyway.

To create PDF out of FreeMind's mind map

To create pdf out of FreeMind's mind map, you've got several options.

  • Create DocBook, then pdf. Use XSLT transformations sheets from Christoph Rissner to convert FreeMind's mind map to Mind Manager's mind map, then to DocBook, and create pdf from that DocBook. You can read more on that on Abgeschlossene Arbeiten > Mind Maps.
  • Print to pdf using a pdf printer driver.
    • Use open source PDFCreator. It uses Ghostscript as its backend.
    • Use FreePDF. It has German home page and user interface.
    • Use pdf995
  • Print to pdf using Acrobat's Distiller. Provided that you have full version of Adobe Acrobat installed (not just reader), you can print to a pdf using the Distiller or Writer options in your printer list. Make sure you check the "fit to one page" option under File > Page Setup. Also, make sure you set antialias to all under edit > preferences. This will make it look crisper. The only downside to this option is that it doesn't do the icons very well.
  • First print to postscript, then convert to pdf.
    • In Linux, create postscript by printing to a file using a postscript printer, and convert the postscript file to pdf afterwards, by using the shell-command ps2pdf or using Ghostscript.
    • In Windows, install any postscript color printer (Like AppleColor 600) to print to a file. When printing to that printer, choose a folder and a file that ends with .ps. Then, open that *.ps with gsview and choose File/Convert to PDF (let the program choose it all). Then save the file with the same name, but ending with .pdf. That's all. You might need to read the help files to tune it all up (only once).
  • Export FreeMind's mind map to HTML, paste it into Microsoft Word, format it as you see fit, and convert it to pdf using the techniques decribed above.

To convert mind maps between FreeMind and MindManager

Click here: Import and export to other applications

Who's the development team of FreeMind?

Daniel Polansky: the director of FreeMind is Daniel Polansky, i.e. me. The label ``director" is not quite appropriate, ``parliament" would be better. I test new versions, give advice, sometimes act in the name of FreeMind, forbid versions to be released because of insufficient quality, and approve them when they're ready. Also, I set up mantinels for new directions.

The main actor on the scene is Christian Foltin. We use the label ``code master" to denote his role, and also ``manager". He does most of the work and decides on which code changes are acceptable what concerns the coding quality. He takes care of mergers. Also, he coordinates the developers.



To have brainstorm-like mode similar to one found in MindManager.

Did you notice you can hit Enter and Shift-Enter to create sibling nodes? It is not exactly the behavior of brainstorm mode of MindManager, but still close to it.



On what operating systems have people actually succeeded in running FreeMind?

  • Microsoft Windows. Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP (SP1 & SP2), Windows 2003 Server
  • Linux. Mandrake 9.2 and 10, RedHat Pro WS 3, Fedora Core 2, SuSE 8.2 (using the RPM for 9.0), SuSE 9.0,SuSE 9.1, SuSE 9.2, Ubuntu (Warty), Debian sarge, Debian sid, Slackware 10.2, Gentoo.
  • Other. Mac OS X (10.2.8), Mac OS X (10.3), FreeBSD(5.2.1), OS/2, Solaris 9 and 10.

Keywords: platforms.



Is there a PDA-Version, e.g. for Palm or Pocket PC?

On PDA, you can use FreeMindPDA. It uses cross-platform SuperWaba Open Source SDK. However, it does not use mind map view, but rather plain tree view; it is not a proper FreeMind version in that sense. See also FreeMind and PDA.



How large maps can I edit with FreeMind?

In principle, there are no built-in limits. Practially, the maximum reported size is 7 MB; after exporting to HTML and pasting to Microsoft Word, the very same content had 9,75 MB. For a better practical estimation, experimental tests are needed, as the maximum given so far is only a lower bound on practical limits.



How can I keep FreeMind from opening the last file from the last session?

One way is to disable the changing of the file "auto.properties" (which is in the same folder as user.properties). Be aware that the menu "Edit -> Preferences" will not change anything any more than!
To do that go to the file auto.properties and delete everything behind "onStartIfNotSpecified=" in that line. Now set the file "auto.properties" to read-only.



To change the fill color on bubbles.

There's an icon for it at the main toolbar. Additionally, you can find it in the popup menu at Node > Style > Cloud color.



To remove a cloud.

Press Ctrl+Shift+B to toggle clouds.



To search in FreeMind

Keywords: find. Press Ctrl + F. For finding next occurrence, press Ctrl + G. Searching is restricted to the descendants of the node selected when pressing Ctrl + F. The search is a breadth-first search, first finding occurrences in the nodes closer to the starting node.



===To move nodes around.=== To move them up and down, use ctrl + up and down arrows. To move them wherever you want, use drag'n drop with mouse. Keywords: move around, reorganize.



What does antialias mean in FreeMind preferences?

To antialias means to make fonts or curves look smooth by drawing additional pixels with in-between color. See also wikipedia on antialiasing.

By default, FreeMind antialiases edges only. FreeMind can also antialias text, but with the current state of the technology, it does not look good enough. At least, new Java RE 1.5.0 has better antialiasing of text than Java RE 1.4.x. Also, it is possible to set the whole application to antialiasing, including the menus and editing box; by using the command line option -Dswing.aatext=true of Java 1.5.0. Unfortunately, this is not available if you're using FreeMind.exe to launch FreeMind.



Customizing FreeMind

To set expert settings

Most of expert settings are stored in the user.properties file.



To use another browser

If you want to use another browser, edit the user.properties file and change the following property according to your operation system: 

default_browser_command_windows_nt 
default_browser_command_windows_9x 
default_browser_command_mac 
default_browser_command_other_os

You have to write something like 

default_browser_command_windows_nt = C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe "{0}"

...



To change language

Edit your user.properties in that you replace the line 

#language = en

with the line 

language = de

Don't forget to remove the # character. Restart FreeMind and you have changed the language to German. See also the list of available languages.



To set a different key for new child node on Mac computers

In a manner similar to changing the language, replace 

#keystroke_add_child = INSERT

with 

keystroke_add_child = control shift ENTER

in the file user.properties. Pay attention that you write the key code ENTER in capital letters.

The command ("Apple") key can be referred to as "meta" in these keystroke sequences - in case you were wondering.





Mind maps on web pages with FreeMind's applet

To get FreeMind's applet working.

See the guide. If you'd like to view a mind map published by someone else and have problems, check out in the Internet Explorer if in Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Java > ``Use Java2" is enabled. Of course, you'll need to have Sun Java installed.



To present your mind map on the web

Use FreeMind's browser applet. The following document (thanks to Bob) explains what to do to have a complete testing environment for your applet. The most common problem to see a freemind browser applet is that you have to use Java >= 1.4 in your browser. Check this using the "About plugins" section of your browser (or a similar place).

Quick Java Applet instructions if you are already a code wiz

<APPLET CODE="freemind.main.FreeMindApplet.class" ARCHIVE="freemindbrowser.jar" 
WIDTH="100%" HEIGHT="80%">
<PARAM NAME="type" VALUE="application/x-java-applet;version=1.4">
<PARAM NAME="scriptable" VALUE="false">
<PARAM NAME="toolbarVisible" VALUE="true">
<\!--        ^ this has no effect on my pc -->
<PARAM NAME="modes" VALUE="freemind.modes.browsemode.BrowseMode">
<PARAM NAME="browsemode_initial_map" VALUE="http://www.osde.info/osde.mm">
<\!--                                       ^ Put the FULL path to your map here  -->
<param NAME="initial_mode" VALUE="Browse">
<param NAME="selection_method" VALUE="selection_method_direct">
</applet>

In some cases, it may be necessary to set the ARCHIVE property to also use the Full Path to the .jar file. In the above example, the initial APPLET element would appear as: 

<APPLET CODE="freemind.main.FreeMindApplet.class" 
ARCHIVE="http://www.osde.info/freemindbrowser.jar" WIDTH="100%" HEIGHT="80%">

To view the toolbar automatically after the applet starts

It is necessary to edit the html starter of the applet and change the corresponding property. That is, set toolbarVisible=true. More precisely, add a tag 

<PARAM NAME="toolbarVisible" VALUE="true">

to freemindbrowser.html or whatever name you have changed the file to.

Is there a list of names and values and functions of all params for the applet?

No. Theoretically, all parameters found in user.properties can be used as parameters of the applet.


Is it possible to change or edit the map through an applet?

No. There is no applet for editing mind maps; only for viewing.



Workarounds in FreeMind

FreeMind behaves strange or crashes. What can I do?

First try reinstalling both Java (mostly the latest version is best) and Freemind. Often this solves problems. One of the problems solved in this way was:

My computer crashes, or more precisely locks, when I click on a link in FreeMind, using J2RE 1.4.2_03 on Windows 98. Reinstalling helped. In retrospect, I think what broke it was that I renamed the J2RE directory to something easier to write in the bat file path statement. Broke it.

When I drag files into the FreeMind window, FreeMind just works very long or I get a mind map of the file system

This is a bug which is a least present on FreeMind 7.2 beta and lower on Windows. I only know of a workaround for this: Go to the user.properties and delete ",freemind.modes.filemode.FileMode". This disables the file mode of FreeMind.

Changing the key bindings in user.properties does not work

It seems that capitalization IS important in the keybindings. I wrote "enter" and it didn't work. I changed it to "ENTER" and it worked! (FreeMind 7.2 beta)

Using HTML in long nodes

What HTML tags does FreeMind support?

FreeMind supports basic HTML in its nodes. For HTML to take effect, a node must start with "<html>". What HTML is supported depends on the Java virtual machine. Among others, users have reported the following uses: 

<html><p style="background-color:yellow">the node text</p>

To embed, or more precisely link, images into FreeMind.

You can link images into FreeMind using context menu of a node, accesed using right click (on MAC OS X Panther use Control click). Or type the following: 

<html><img src="image.jpg"></html>

where image.jpg is the reference to an image.

To put the contents of a Microsoft Word document into FreeMind.

  • First paste the Word document into Microsoft FrontPage.
  • Delete the images afterwards as FreeMind does not support them.
  • Remove the <head> ... </head> in the source text view in FrontPage.
  • But leave the <html>! The node needs to start with that.
  • Replace <body> with <body width=600> or similar width specification.
  • Finally, paste the HTML text as a long node into FreeMind.

To have tables in FreeMind

If you have Microsoft Frontpage available, it is convenient to create and edit HTML content there and paste it to and from FreeMind. Beware that the html code has to start with <html>. This way, you can conveniently create tables using the drawing tools of Frontpage. You can create formatted text this way as well; in that case, beware to set <body width=600> or similar. However, FreeMind does not interpret all HTML; especially, it does not interpret inline CSS styling so you have to use hard formatting instead.

If you want the table borders to have a nice two dimensional look rather than bevelled, start the HTML as follows. 

<html>
<head>
<style> td  { border-style: solid } table { border-style: solid } </style>
</head>

Generating mind maps programmatically

To insert a newline into a node

Insert &#xa; instead of plain newline. Example of a map with three newlines: 

<map version="0.7.1">
<node TEXT="New Mindmap">
<node TEXT="A&#xa;B&#xa;C&#xa;D" POSITION="right"/>
</node>
</map>

To use unicode characters in the node text

FreeMind understands and uses &#xnn;, where nn is equivalent to the hexadecimal number representing the character. It does not understand &#nnn;, where nnn is decimal number. An example of a map containing Areté follows. 

<map version="0.7.1">
<node TEXT="Aret&#xe9;"/>
</map>

FreeMind on Microsoft Windows

How do I install a test version of FreeMind?

Just unzip the package to the folder "C:\Program Files\FreeMind". That completes the "installation". You can start it by running freemind.exe (or freemind.bat if the exe does not exist). You can find test versions here.

FreeMind does not seem to be affected by the things I edit in the user.properties. Why?

See user.properties.

To create a screenshot of FreeMind and paste it into Microsoft Word or Microsoft Powerpoint

To take a screenshot of your whole windows screen into clipboard, press Ctrl + Print Screen. To take a screenshot of the active window only into clipboard, press Alt + Print Screen. Select your Word or Powerpoint document and press Ctrl + V. On German keyboard, the key PrintScreen has the label "Druck". However, such a screenshot also contains FreeMind's window frame, not just the map contents. In Microsoft Word and Microsoft Powerpoint, this can be solved by cropping the screenshot; the cropping tool can be found in Picture toolbar..

To export a map to Microsoft Powerpoint

There's no elegant way to export a map to Powerpoint. The only way to do it is to take a screenshot, and paste it into Powerpoint.

To export / import a map to Microsoft Project

Posted from help forum

In order to get the MS Project task list into FreeMind you need to save the project file as csv. Within the save as dialog, after you have selected csv or "excel workbook" from the drop down list, hit save and you will be presented with an "export format" dialog. Click the "new map" button and you will be presented with "define import/export map" dialog. Under the options tab select "tasks". Under the "task mapping" tab select the fields you wish to export (eg: ID and "outline level"). Import the csv file into Excel and use the REPT function to insert spaces infront of the task descriptions (for example, if the "outline level" is in collumn A and task description in collumn B you would use the following formula in collumn C '=REPT(" ", A1)&B1' by inserting the spaces (I usually use 5 spaces - don't ask me why) you are essentially creating an indented list. Copy collumn C into notepad (or equivalent)(just to make sure that everything is ok), then copy from notepad and paste into a new mindmap.

As an aside, the map you use to export the data can be used to import Freemind data into MS Project (indirectly). Essentially the reverse process, that is: get the Freemind data into Excel (cut and paste), count the number of spaces in front of node text, use this to identify the outline level field, create a csv file that matches the import/export map, import into project.

tested probably only with MS Project98

FreeMind on Mac OS X

FreeMind does not use standard Mac OS X key bindings (which is a major pain, since it becomes impossible to use the keyboard), and its window does not feel like a native application. Why is this so?

FreeMind on Linux

Go to the specific page FreeMind on Linux.

Misc

To spell FreeMind correctly.

"FreeMind", with a capital M.

Where can I find a quick reference list of default keyboard shortcuts for the Windows 0.7.1 version?

Here is a list of shortcuts, grouped by function: 

File commands:
New map      - Ctrl+N
Open map     - Ctrl+O
Save map     - Ctrl+S
Save as      - Ctrl+A
Print        - Ctrl+P
Close        - Ctrl+W
Quit         - Ctrl+Q
Previous map - Ctrl+LEFT
Next Map     - Ctrl+RIGHT
Export file to HTML          - Ctrl+E
Export branch to HTML        - Ctrl+H
Export branch to new MM file - Alt+A
Open first file in history   - Ctrl+Shift+W

Edit commands:
Find        - Ctrl+F
Find next   - Ctrl+G
Cut         - Ctrl+X
Copy        - Ctrl+C
Copy single - Ctrl+Y
Paste       - Ctrl+V

Mode commands:
MindMap mode - Alt+1
Browse mode  - Alt+2 
File mode    - Alt+3

Node formatting commands:
Italicize                 - Ctrl+I
Bold                      - Ctrl+B
Cloud                     - Ctrl+Shift+B
Change node color         - Alt+C
Blend node color          - Alt+B
Change node edge color    - Alt+E
Increase node font size   - Ctrl+L
decrease node font size   - Ctrl+M
Increase branch font size - Ctrl+Shift+L
Decrease branch font size - Ctrl+Shift+M

Node navigation commands:
Go to root  - ESCAPE
Move up     - UP
Move down   - DOWN
Move left   - LEFT
Move right  - RIGHT
Follow link - Ctrl+ENTER
Zoom out    - Alt+UP
Zoom in     - Alt+DOWN

New node commands:
Add sibling node   - ENTER
Add child node     - INSERT
Add sibling before - Shift+ENTER

Node editing commands:
Edit selected node        - F2
Edit long node            - Alt+ENTER
Join nodes                - Ctrl+J
Toggle folded             - SPACE
Toggle children folded    - Ctrl+SPACE
Set link by filechooser   - Ctrl+Shift+K
Set link by text entry    - Ctrl+K
Set image by filechooser  - Alt+K
Move node up              - Ctrl+UP
Move node down            - Ctrl+DOWN

To suggest new enhancements of FreeMind

Keywords: additional features, additional functions. At FreeMind's project page, you can submit Requests for Enhancements (RFEs).

Is MindMaster a rip off of FreeMind?

I have been in contact with the author of MindMaster and he has since removed the website and all links to the download. He did infact claim it was released under the GPL and included both the licence and source code in the package, but as I didn't want to shell out $30 I cannot verify this. --Rezzie 23:49, 18 Oct 2005 (PDT)

There is a web site offering a product called MindMaster. This program is a ripped off version of FreeMind. It is not just a clone of FreeMind; it is just FreeMind renamed, and slightly modified. They even use the presentation texts as found on the main page of FreeMind. As FreeMind is licenced under GNU GPL, so must be MindMaster. However, on the MindMaster site and after the installation, they claim that they hold copyright to MindMaster, and that you are prohibited to use MindMaster unless you conform to their licence. This is unlawful. We urge you not to use or recommend MindMaster, and to avoid linking to their site or giving any recommendation. Also, you can write an email to them complaining about abuse of GNU General Public Licence. --Danielpolansky 11:15, 14 May 2005 (PDT)

This FAQ

I have a question not listed here, what should I do?

Post new questions either to some of our forums or to the discussion page of this page. Or specifically, ask your question in FreeMind's Help forum. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that you will get help, still, many users get it.

To edit this FAQ

Edit this page like any other wiki page (click edit or press alt-E). When adding a question to the talk page, imitate the format of already existing questions.

Where can I practice editing pages on this Wiki?

Click on this link and just hit the edit button on the lower right: Sandbox

Questions not yet answered

Post new questions either to some of our forums or to the discussion page of this page.

Is FreeMind also Working under SuSe Linux 9.3 or perhaps already a part of the package?




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