XMind 3.2.1

Mind maps are a very popular tool for working on projects, studying for exams or organizing notes. They enable us to establish logical relations between various pieces of information, notions as well as to look at certain issues form a different perspective. They are useful in all walks of life. Digital mind maps are equally or even more useful. One of them is XMind.

This relatively large program (its size is more than 51MB) enables us to create mind maps from scratch and develop them. Thanks to using skeletal construction and combining it with the option of spreadsheet (this sounds complicated but is very easy to use), the program allows the user to customize the shape and content of mind maps. The application also allows us to use several spreadsheets combined with one map but also offers the functions of brainstorms or drilldown which facilitate concentration and working on a given issue. Another important element is an option of searching the content of a mind map as well as attaching files and displaying them as subtopics.

The program’s interface is comfortable and works without problems (thanks to the open source technology). Its drawback is the fact that the version available to a private user, though versatile and powerful, does not offer the function of exporting data or cooperating with others on a single map, unlike FreeMind (which allows the user to export maps in the form of .xml files). This function is offered by the paid version of XMind. To sum up, it is an efficient program but not as versatile as its free counterpart - FreeMind.