MindMap Navigator Released for MindManager 8

One of the features that is often asked for in MindManager 8 is a Map Explorer. For anyone who has used MindManager 8 with large maps you know that it can get rather unwieldy to navigate the map once it gets to large proportions. There was time when Mindjet Labs had put together an exploratory add-in that added a Map Explorer to MindManager 6 but development stopped and it was never upgraded for the current version of MindManager. This week I was excited to see that the Mind2Chart Team had just released a new add-in called MindMap Navigator that adds a full featured Map Explorer Pane to MindManager 8.

MindMap Navigator 8 add-in adds a fully functional Map Explorer to MindManager 8 that allows you to view your map in a Tree structure. Once MindMap Navigator is installed you will find a new pane called MindMap Navigator that you can open and close. Once the pane is opened you will be able to view all of your recent mind maps and open them from the MindMap Navigator pane. MindMap Navigator lets you quickly move from one branch in your map to another via the Tree structure. By double clicking on a branch in the MindMap Navigator pane you can jump to the branch in your map. View a video demonstration of MindMap Navigator by clicking on this link. Additionally, you can click on the Show Branch Alone button to isolate your branch in the map. You can also select branches and set a Relationship which you can format in your map. You also have the ability to Expand and Collapse Branches to help you quickly navigator through your mind maps. MindMap Navigator is a welcome addition and a must have for anyone who creates large maps. Having a Tree structure to navigate through your large mind maps makes it an ideal tool and one that you will say "how did I ever do without it." For more information and to download a trial version of MindMap Navigator click here.

Mind2Chart 1.5 for MindManager is released

We are glad to announce the release of an updated version of our project management add-in for MindManager, with new great features:

• "always ON" mode: You no longer need to open the Gantt pane to have your plan updated while you edit. Mind2Chart recalculates its topics continuously to make sure that you always have correct information.

• Task auto-rollup support: Mind2chart supports disabling editing of task information for group tasks - a new feature in MindManager 8. This allows visualizing group tasks on the map to show that this information is auto-calculated with Mind2Chart.
• Save gantt as image: This feature gives you more flexibility on visualizing your plans - now you can save Gantt chart as an image and then print it with any scale you like, or put it on a webpage.

Although Mind2Chart is well-known for it's high performance, now it works up to 40% faster on bigger maps with complex dependencies.

Along with some fixes we have added improvements according to requests from our customers. In particular, now Mind2Chart saves the positioning and selection of columns in a Gantt view allowing you to customize Gantt according to your preferences.

A good news for existing Mind2Chart users - this upgrade is free of charge, simply install new version over the old one to get great new features. If you are not the Mind2Chart user yet - it is one more reason to try our add-in. Try now !

Mind2Chart Updated

A couple of weeks ago I had reviewed the initial release of Mind2Chart and found it to be a very easy to use MindManager add-in for project planning. I did make some recommendations to the developer for improvements and as a result of my feedback we now see that many of them have been incorporated into the latest version of Mind2Chart 1.3 which was just released.

Mind2Chart has now been upgraded to version 1.3. Mind2Chart 1.3 is an add-in to MindManager 7 and has been tested to ensure compatibility with the latest MindManager 7 build. Mind2Chart includes the following new features:

- Coloring tasks and color synchronization between MindManager topics
and Gantt bars;
- Master Schedule for the whole project and individual resource
schedules, to specify working days, holidays, individual days off and
vacations;
- Project cost calculation based on the resource costs. New report for
project cost calculation;
- Automatic Task Alignment Tool - allows to reorganize the project
schedule depending on the resources assigned, so resources will not be
overloaded and project will finish at earliest possible date.

Mind2Chart was thoroughly tested for compatibility with Mindjet
Connect®. Such compatibility should enhance collaboration within
project teams when planning and tracking task performance.

Mind2Chart- Project Planning Made Easy!

I had shared with you a couple of weeks ago about a new MindManger Pro 7 add-in called Mind2Chart that adds project planning to your visual maps. I had a chance to use Mind2Chart and find it to be a valuable add-in for those of you that want to take your visual maps to the next level and add project management. Mind2Chart uses the underlying MindManager 7 database to drive the application. In a sense they are one in kind- any changes to MindManager Pro 7 are reflected in Mind2Chart and vice e versa. The changes are immediate and Mind2Chart feels very snappy and fast when working with it. I for one know how wonderful a tool MindManager Pro 7 is when brainstorming and setting up the "what" of projects whereas a Mind2Chart is very adept of doing the "when" portion and providing the group with a Gantt Chart to visually see when deliverables are due and how far along tasks are.

Installing and setting up Mind2Chart was a breeze and once installed you will now notice a new icon on your Home tab called Chart Item. This lets you add items on your MindManager Pro 7 map to Mind2Chart. By doing a select all and then selecting the Chart Item bottom you can add all of your items to your Mind2Chart. To view Mind2Chart you simply click on the Mind2Chart button which is on the View Menu. This splits your MindManager 7 screen and displays your Tasks and Gantt Chart on the bottom of the screen. Any changes that you make in Mind2Chart are automatically updated on your MindManager 7 visual map. Using the Mind2Chart tools you can link tasks and control the dependencies for tasks. You will notice that Mind2Chart keeps the first task item as a Summary item that varies depending on the amount of time that the sub- tasks below take. You have the full complement of dependencies that you can use including: Start to Start, Start to Finish, Finish to Start, and Finish to Finish. To set the dependencies you simply click on two or more tasks and then select from the drop down menu the type of dependency and immediately you will see this relationship show up in the Gantt Chart. You will also notice that your MindManager visual map has a new relationship line with the type of dependency noted on the relationship line. Setting the Start Date is as easy as clicking in the field and selecting the date from the Calendar picker. Now all you need to do is decide how much time the task will take and you are ready to view your Gantt Chart. Using the Resource button on the Mind2Chart application you can easily add the name of resources who will be working on the task. If you prefer you can also add resources within MindManager Pro 7 using the Task Information pane. Once you are done adding Resources and Tasks you can create a Task and Resource Spreadsheet with Excel with a click of the mouse. It is also possible to use the Print Preview command to generate a preview of your Gantt Chart and Tasks.



Overall, I found Mind2Chart to be a very easy and powerful MindManager Pro 7 add-in for project planning. This is an ideal tool for those of you who are not full time project managers but who are using MindManager Pro 7 to orchestrate projects. Its split screen interface makes it very easy to work with when going back and forth within MindManager Pro 7. I have found the Mind2Chart Company to be very responsive to my feedback and they have already added features to Mind2Chart since its initial release. It would be nice if Mind2Chart allowed you to be able to color code your tasks in the Gantt Chart or for that matter to inherit the color from within your MindManager Pro 7 visual map. More importantly, I for one would vote for Mind2Chart to be able to generate the overall cost of the project based on your resource type, cost information and time. With the exception of these issues, Mind2Chart is a powerful project planning tool that continues to impress me. You should be aware that the folks at Mind2Chart are working on some of my recommendations and I hope to be able to report to you soon that the aforementioned recommendations have been implemented within a new release of Mind2Chart. If you are using MindManager Pro 7 to orchestrate projects you will find the Mind2Chart is a little gem to move you towards project planning. Likewise, once you have used MindManager Pro 7 and Mind2Chart to plan your project you can then export it to Microsoft Project to take advantage of its advanced reporting and charting features. You can download a free 14 day trial of Mind2Chart by clicking here. Mind2Chart has a full set of video tutorials on their website for anyone who is interested in taking a look how the application works with MindManager Pro 7.

Mind2Chart Pricing

Several readers had asked me about the pricing for Mind2Chart and Dennis from Mind2Chart was kind enough to email me the information for this MindManager Pro 7 add-in. Below is a screenshot of Mind2Chart running with MindManager Pro 7. I just installed the trial version and will give you my feedback once I had a chance to use it a little more. So far I found it easy to use and the integration is fantastic!
Pricing
The base price for a single copy will be $79 excl. taxes. Volume discounts are
available:
5-19 licenses $69 each;
20+ licenses $59 each.

Mind2Chart-New MindManager Add-in

I just came across a new project management add-in for MindManager 7 called Mind2Chart which I though that you would be interested in learning about. I have emailed the company to see if I can get a copy of the add-in and hope to review it shortly. The text that follows is from the Mind2Chart web site.

With Mind2Chart just a couple of clicks will turn your discussion topics into tasks for plan. Our add-in will display them in the most popular way of graphical representation of projects – Gantt chart.

Mind2Chart add-inlets you:

• Observe the whole scope of work in your project or selected part of it;
• Set key dates of the project,schedule tasks;
• Set any kind of dependencies between tasks, automatically modify plan according to them;
• Distribute and manage all kinds of resources (e.g. human resources) for the project tasks, take in account resource limitations when planning;
• Detect problem allotted works, “bottle-necks” of your project, critical path;
• Get reports about current status of tasks and resource allocation in ready-to-print form;
• Evaluate the current state of the project completion and obtain information about project progress.

Benefits of Mind2Chart:

• Complete integration in MindManager Pro 7, no external applications required;
• Intuitive interface, all common project management tasks are covered, with no redundant extra functionality;
• No additional information; Mind2Chart operates only with information that is visible and editable with MindManager interface. Your colleagues can work with your plan even without our add-in installed;
• Two-way instant synchronization with mind map;

Such pleasant details as automatic time calculation, automatic taking into account task relationships and resource capacity, and also elements of analysis, representation of all obtained information on the chart, printable reports – everything that makes planning process as easy and clear like never before.