MindView 6 from Matchware- Solid Upgrade

When I heard that <a href="http://www.matchware.com/" target="_blank">Matchware </a>was releasing MindView 6, I was excited to find out its new feature set and how it would help me to do my work. For the past several years I have been using MindView 5 to craft my very structured consulting reports that I deliver to the schools that I work with. Over the years I have developed some templates that really have helped me to communicate ideas in a very clear fashion. One of the chief reasons that I go back to MindView time and time again is because I have always found that MindView has some of the best Microsoft Office integration when exporting mind maps to Word, Excel and PowerPoint. <br /><br />The timing of the release for MindView 6 could not have been any better for me since I needed to complete a Request for a Proposal (RFP) for an assistive technology grant that the state was offering. I decided that I would test out the capabilities of this version by using MindView 6 to write up the proposal and estimate the costs for the proposed project. MindView 6 has a much cleaner look and <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hz5tLKFxjl_RvMbZtS-xKFqhHEuca5h0LPGVJoDBk86Cmx1u8qyRyzjiqw0Mn2pGyTFf0L5AdzItzs_L84fnjuPuhIc8jJQl-EPzsUmMZFa_6SMK_aE6B7UZanf8xatonySK4QnYxaw/s1600/interface.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="toolbar in MIndview 6" border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hz5tLKFxjl_RvMbZtS-xKFqhHEuca5h0LPGVJoDBk86Cmx1u8qyRyzjiqw0Mn2pGyTFf0L5AdzItzs_L84fnjuPuhIc8jJQl-EPzsUmMZFa_6SMK_aE6B7UZanf8xatonySK4QnYxaw/s1600/interface.jpg" title="toolbar in MIndview 6" width="640" /></a></div><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="323fe4d5-f292-4317-bd09-fb6f967bb5f7" id="1f1bd704-a9a0-4a90-a33d-738ec10d5db9">now</gs> adheres to the user interface conventions set forth by Microsoft. Users of previous versions will feel right at home using MindView 6 since the Ribbon structure has not been changed. When I am developing an RFP, I really like the ability to brainstorm ideas and what better way to do but in a mind map. Using MindView 6, I can get all my ideas down quickly and then begin to organize my ideas and activities. Moving ideas around MindView 6 is fast and intuitive and the interface shows you exactly where your idea will land-no guess work here. Once I had roughed out my ideas I was able to attach notes to my activities which would become the body of my RFP. The interface of MindView 6 to create notes feels as if you are in a mini version of Word, complete with a full array of formatting tools at your disposal.<br /><br />One of the requirements of any grant is to spell out the costs and this is an area that you would not normally think of using a mind map for but in the case of MindView 6 you would be wrong. MindView 6 has powerful calculation features which <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d61d3f80-f9d3-44d7-8ab6-567a185a321d" id="86713db5-0278-40e6-8061-c80a30ac08bc">enables</gs> the user to create formulas that automatically update throughout the mind map. The ability to see your costs roll up on any activity in <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWig8G8nHV5PHakCkYXWQaBJURJewT73VfcHHw2xVO02uh5Eo2pHcs9fuAb9ElbifllL1J8N2fGwGCY3ytGiuV5M0M1kVPxDZBnJQGVJim6100V3JYlGcMyQts1VT9i0pteOow_014X8/s1600/rollup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWig8G8nHV5PHakCkYXWQaBJURJewT73VfcHHw2xVO02uh5Eo2pHcs9fuAb9ElbifllL1J8N2fGwGCY3ytGiuV5M0M1kVPxDZBnJQGVJim6100V3JYlGcMyQts1VT9i0pteOow_014X8/s1600/rollup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c7bb2e75-1bc3-47aa-92eb-26fbbd04daeb" id="f976d849-8fd8-41ba-9b39-32eb7f375c5b">the</gs> mind map works really well and it lets you do what if's in real time. Using the SUM feature you can easily roll up cost for a particular activity and see the impact it has on the overall estimate for the grant. In MindView 6, like <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="00386938-dddc-4802-ac57-d46df1cde701" id="da22c8cd-af8a-46e8-8fb8-499cea4617d3">it's</gs> predecessor, there is a Calculation panel that lets you create items, cost and formulas. Once you get the hang of it you will find this a handy feature when you need to work with numbers <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="92e90e16-eaed-4e84-a308-a8b79f04e096" id="1de358ef-00d8-46d0-b73d-ce70435147c5">inside</gs> your mind map. With the release of MindView 6 you can now enter and edit <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjojkCzDz2KqMKQVkfxE37hdcpWrKVHLfSGAQshnsPkCPf8XMUXO_hqLE_anshgs4x7p1Risf54eH9zyrUIPTx3boJBQUmmueEtdpUt78B31MY7YHnx3lPQ3hpvE9X2Iz6jZHFfNn5bvY/s1600/excel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Excel Export dialog box" border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjojkCzDz2KqMKQVkfxE37hdcpWrKVHLfSGAQshnsPkCPf8XMUXO_hqLE_anshgs4x7p1Risf54eH9zyrUIPTx3boJBQUmmueEtdpUt78B31MY7YHnx3lPQ3hpvE9X2Iz6jZHFfNn5bvY/s1600/excel.jpg" title="Excel Export dialog box" width="320" /></a></div><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ee913091-ccf8-4181-93da-ccc1088b21d4" id="9179668f-ea3c-43f0-a178-68fb87816c85">numbers</gs> directly on the item itself without the need to go into the Calculation <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ee913091-ccf8-4181-93da-ccc1088b21d4" id="f1871312-489e-4a6d-9ed7-0298f91329f0">Panel which</gs> saved me and inordinate amount of time. It is now easier <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="329529d0-ae12-4c0a-a869-f54cb1f98429" id="15f18d87-9bf8-4da0-b0fa-2de8d9a1c149">then</gs> ever to set currency defaults-which saved me some time as well. While there were <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="5969aa4d-6d57-4dcb-bfad-2f7b1cbb37ab" id="fb07d7f0-9465-4a36-af21-0fe523073856">certainly</gs> a large number of improvements and features in MindView 6 most users will find them to be very subtle and well integrated into the application without feeling overwhelmed by feature creep. Once I had entered all my costs into the mind map I was able to export the <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="4a1e067b-8fe2-4b0e-8ec7-b28cc47f2958" id="e63c8051-e32d-42b4-b837-bd20f49b9487">financials</gs> into a well formatted Excel report that I could attach to the RFP. Hopefully, if I am successful and receive the grant I will be able to monitor the activities in the project management side of this application.<br /><br /><br />All in <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="41468407-c7a1-4efe-b594-007102eafc54" id="8f691c4c-b7f5-42ed-80d1-fe9aa63da48c">all my</gs> experience with MindView 6 was very positive in future posts, I will highlight some of the features that would make this an ideal tool for students.<br /><br />I want to thank the folks at <a href="http://www.matchware.com/en/default.htm" target="_blank">MatchWare </a>for providing me a copy of MindVirew 6 so that I could do the review.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

MindView 6 from Matchware- Solid Upgrade

When I heard that Matchware was releasing MindView 6, I was excited to find out its new feature set and how it would help me to do my work. ...

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