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iMindMapQuickStartGuidePCUsers
CREATINGYOURFIRSTMINDMAP
ThisguideisdesignedasaquickstartingpointforlearninghowtouseiMindMap.Simplyfollow thebasicstepbystepinstructionstocreateyourfirstMindMap.
PleasenotethatthisguideisnotintendedasacompleteillustrationofallthefeaturesofiMindMap.For moreinformationonallofthefeaturesandadvancedtoolscontainedwithinthesoftware,pleaseexplore iMindMapHelpwhichcanbeaccessedwithiniMindMap.

Step1CentralIdea/Theme
UsingacentralimagetohelprepresentyourmaingoalorthemeisamajorfactorineffectiveMind Mapping. (1.1) WhenyouopeniMindMap,selecttheNewDocument buttoninthetoptoolbar. (1.2)SelectaCentralIdeaimagefromthelibraryprovidedbyclickingonit(seeFig1below).

Fig1

(1.3)YourCentralIdeaImagewillthenbedisplayedinthecentreofthescreen.Ifyouclickonthis youcanthentypeyourCentralIdeatext(seeFig2below).

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Fig2 Note:ThenamethatyougiveyourMindMapwillautomaticallybeadoptedasthenameofthe iMindMapfile.Thishastheextension.imxwhensaved.Ifyouwishtouseadifferentnamefor yourfile,gotoFile>SaveAsandamendyourfilename.

Step2MainBranches
Nowyouarereadytoaddaseriesofprimaryideasconnectedtoyourcentraltheme.Yourmain branchesrepresentyourmainideas,theprimaryconceptsorhooksonwhichtohangall associatedideas. (2.1)TocreateamainbranchLeftclickovertheredcircleinthecentreoftheCentralImage (whichwillappearwhenyouhoveryourmousepointerovertheCentralImage)anddragyour mouseoutwardsuntilyourachievethedesiredbranchlength.

(2.2)Toaddalabel/texttoyourbranchImmediatelyaftercreatingyourbranchtypeyourtext andpressEnter.Itwillthenbeautomaticallyattachedtothebranch(seeFig3below).

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Fig3

Tip:ForeffectiveMindMapping,trytoonlyuseonekeywordperbranch.Asinglewordisbetter attriggeringthoughtsandaidingmemoryrecallthanphrasesorsentences. Tip:BoxBranchesaregreatforincludingmorethantwowordsonabranch.TocreateaBox Branch,simplyclickontheBoxBranchiconundertheHometabbeforeyoucreateanewbranch. Nowcreateasmanybranchesasyouliketorepresentyourprimaryconcepts.Pleaseseeexample below(Fig4).

Fig4 iMindMapalsohasaninbuiltfeatureknownasSmartLayout.Themainpurposeofthisfeatureis tocreateiMindMapsinaquickandfastway.

ThinkBuzanLtd. SmartLayoutSettings TheSmartLayoutnaturallylaysoutyourMindMapwithoutyouhavingtoworryabout branches,textorimagescollidingoroverlapping.SmartLayoutisactivatedbydefault,andifany branches,textorimagesgetwithinacertaindistancefromotherbranches,thenthebrancheswill adjustautomaticallytoavoidoverlapping.

UndertheFormattabyoucanselectSmartLayoutSettingswhichwillallowyoutoturn SmartLayoutonoroff. TheSmartLayoutfeatureisalsoagreattooltousewhenyouaremakingMindMapsquicklyusing justyourkeyboard.SavetimeandmoveawayfromyourmouseandlettheiMindMaps SmartLayoutdothehardworksoyoucanconcentrateongeneratingideas. Youcanquicklyinsertnewbranchesandaddatextlabelusingthefollowingkeyboardshortcuts withoutanyfearofthemcollidingoroverlappingandremovingtheneedtouseyourmouse: Insertchildbranch Tab Insertsiblingbranch Enter Insertchildboxbranch Shift+Tab Insertsiblingboxbranch Shift+Enter Navigation UseArrowskeys Note:Inordertochangethefont,colourorsizeofthetext,leftclickonceonthebranchofthe textyouwishtochangeandsimplychoosethesettingsusingtheformattingbarnearthetopof themainwindow.Youdonotneedtohighlightthetexttochangeit. ForfutureuseiMindMapfeaturesaselectionofpresetcoloursandthemesinordertospeedup thecustomisationofyouMindMap.Tousethesequickandeasystylesheets,clickonanyofthe presetstylesnearthetopoftheworkspace,locatedunderDesignasshownbelow(Fig5).You canscrollthroughadditionalpresetstylesbyusingthearrowkeysorthedropdownmenuonthe righthandsideoftheStylesbar.

Fig5 4

ThinkBuzanLtd. (2.3)Modifyingormovingyourbranch Tomodifyormoveyourbranches,leftclickanddragyourmouseoverthebluering foundontheoutsideofanyBranchTargetwhichappearswhenyoupointyourmouseattheendof anybranch.Thisisidealforlengthening,shortening,raisingorloweringbranches.

Step3AddingImages/SymbolstoyourMainIdeas
Usingimagesandsymbolswhencreatingyourmainbrancheswillassistinpromptingyour imaginationandcanaidmemorythroughtheirabilitytotriggerassociationsinyourmind. (3.1)ImageLibraryTheImageLibrarycontainsoverthreethousandofflineimageswhichyoucan browseforinclusioninyourMindMap.ToaccesstheImageLibrary,clickontheInserttabinthe maintoolbar,andthenselectImageLibrary.

Note:IfyoulogintoyourThinkBuzanaccountwithinthesoftware,youwillgainaccesstoour onlineimagedatabasewhichhasoverthirtythousandextraimages.Inordertologinthrough thesoftware,ensureyouareconnectedtotheinternet,clickontheRedlightbuttoninthe bottomlefthandcornerofthemainwindowandselectLogin.Youwillnowbepromptedto enterinyouraccountinformation.Thisaccountinformationisthesameyouusetologintothe ThinkBuzanwebsiteatwww.thinkbuzan.com.Onceyouhavesuccessfullyloggedin,theRedlight willchangetoaGreenlightandyoucansearchtheImageLibraryasyounormallywouldwhilst havingaccesstoalargervarietyofimages. TheImageLibrarywillappearwithinthesidepanelontherighthandsideofthescreen.

TheImageLibraryhasabuiltinsearchtoolwhichrequiresyoutotypeawordorphraseintothe searchbar.Oncethisisdone,clickonthemagnifyingglassicontosearch.Youwillthenbe presentedwithachoiceofimagesrelatedtoyoursearchwordorphrase. 5

ThinkBuzanLtd. (3.2)IconLibraryTheIconLibrarycontainsadiversebankoficonswhichcanbeusedinyour MindMap.Theiconsareclassifiedintocategoriesforeasynavigation.ToaccesstheIconLibrary, clickontheInserttabinthemaintoolbar,andthenselectIconLibrary(totherightoftheImage Library).TheIconLibrarywillappearwithinthesidepanelontherighthandsideofthescreen. (3.3)InsertinganimagefromtheImageandIconLibraries InsertingontoabranchToattachtheimageoricontoabranch,youmustfirstmakethe branchactivebeforeusingtheImage/IconLibrary.Withthebranchselected,doubleclick theimage/iconyouwanttouseanditwillappearattachedtothebranch.(pleaseseeFig6 below). InsertingasaCentralIdeaToinserttheimage(pleasenotethatyoucannotinsertanicon asaCentralIdea)asaCentralIdea,ensurethatnobranchesareselected,chooseyour requiredimageanddoubleclickit.YourimagewillnowbevisibleontheiMindMap workspaceandyoucanstartaddingmainbranches.

Fig6 (3.4)RepositioninganimageYourimagecanbeclickedanddraggedtoanyotherpositionon yourMindMap. (3.5)ResizinganimageToresizeanimage,LeftClickontheimage,thenclickanddragonany oftheeightGrabHandlesthatappear.

ThinkBuzanLtd. (3.6)RotatinganimageTorotateanimageclickanddragontherotationtoolwhichappearsin thebottomrighthandcorneroftheselectedimage.Pleasenoteanimationscannotberotated.

Step4CreatingChildBranches
Nowthatyourmainbranchesareinplace,yoursecondaryandtertiaryconceptscanflowquickly andeasilytofacilitateaharmoniousthoughtstructure. (4.1)Addingchildbranches Youcancreatechildbranchesfromyourexistingmainbranchesbyclickinganddragging fromtheredcentrecircleofabranchtargetthatwillappearwhenyoupointtowardstheendofa branch.iMindMapwillautomaticallycreatethinnerbranchestocharacterisethisnextlevelof ideasandassociations(seeFig7below).Itisrecommendedthatyou: Usekeywordstodevelopandexplainyourmainideas. Againtryandonlyuseonewordoneachofyourbranchestohelpyourmindsparkoffnew ideasandthoughtskeepitsimple. Keepexploringallofyourmainbranchesuntilyoufeelthatyouhaveaddedenoughchild branchestoreflectallyournextlevelofassociations.

Fig7 Youcandelveintoyoursubjectfurtherbyaddingmoresubbranchestoyourchildbranches torepresentyourtertiarythoughtsandconceptsandsoon. Remembertoincludeimagesandsymbolswhereappropriatetoengageyourimagination, clarifytopicsandaidyourmemory. 7

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Step5EmphasisingRelationshipsandCreatingBoundaries
(5.1)AddingRelationships Theremaybetimeswhentwoconceptsarerelatedtoeachotherevenifonedoesnotfollowthe other.Tomakeconnectionswithinandacrossthebranchpatternorbetweendifferentmapson yourworkspace(ifyouhaveMultiMaps),youcanusetheRelationshipfeature. ToaddRelationships:

FirstlyselecttheHometabonthemaintoolbarandthenselectRelationship. Selecttheendofoneofthebranchesthatyouwishtoconnectwithanotherandthenclick anddragtotherelatedbranch. Whenyoureleasethemouse,yourRelationshipwillappearconnectingthetwoideas. ToaddtexttoyourRelationship,simplytypewhenitisselected/active. Tomodifytheshapeofthearrow,simplyclickanddragyourmouseovertheControlPoints (bluecircles)thatappearinsidethelengthoftheRelationship.Youcanaddmorecontrol pointstomakethemmoreflexiblebyholdingdowntheshiftkeyandclickingonthespot whereyouwantthenewcontrolpointtoappear.

TochangethecolourofyourRelationship,ensuretheRelationshipisselectedandmodify thecolourusingtheBranchColourSelectorTool. YoucanformatyourRelationshipfurtherbygoingtotheFormattabandselecting Relationship.

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Fig8 (5.2)AddingBoundaries Addingboundariescanmakespecifictopicsstandoutmakingthemeasiertorememberand communicatetoothers.Theyalsoallowyoutogroupideastogetherwithavisualboundary.To addaBoundary: EnsurethebranchtopicthatyouwanttoaddaBoundarytoisselected.

OntheHometab,selectBoundary.ABoundarycloudwillnowsurroundyourselected topic.PleaseseeFig10below.

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Fig.10 IfyouwanttoamendthecoloursandshapeofyourBoundary,makesurethebranch theboundarysurroundsisselected.ThendoubleclickwithintheBoundary.Thiswill giveyouoptionstoselectfillandlinecoloursaswellastheoptionstoadjustthe Padding,AmplitudeandFrequencyoftheBoundary.Makesurethebranchthatthe Boundaryisassociatedtoisselectedinordertomaketheoptionsavailable.

Fig.11

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Step6MovingBranchesviaDragandDrop
(6.1)Movingbranchestonewpositionsusingdraganddrop Tomovebranchestonewpositionsselectthebranchyouwishtomoveandwhilstholdingtheleft mousebuttondowndragtothedesiredbranch.Whenyoucaninsertthebranchontoanew branchyouwillseeasmallgreyedoutsilhouetteofthebranchlockingontotheendofthenew branchasseeninFig12below.

Fig.12 Thebranchanditschildbrancheswillthenbemoved.Pleasenote:whenmovingbranchesor cuttingandpastingbranchesiMindMapwillautomaticallyflipthebranchessothattheycontinue tohavethesamestructurebuttheyalsofollowthecorrectdirectionoftheirnewparentbranch. SmartLayoutwillensurethatanybranchesthataremoveddonotcollideoroverlapwithanyother branches,textorimages.

Step7InsertingInformation
Tofurtherexplainandexplorespecificconcepts,youmaywishtolinkfiles,hyperlinksornotesto someofyourbranches.Thesecanbeaccessedforreferencepurposesatanytime. (7.1)Attachingfilesandlinks Toattachalinktoabranch,ensurethebranchyouwantthelinktoappearonisselected,then clickontheHometabonthemaintoolbarandthenselectLink.Alternatively,youcanrightclickon thebranchandselectInsertLink.TheHyperlinkssidepanelwillnowappeartotherightofthe screen. 11

ThinkBuzanLtd. YoucanaddalinktoafilebyselectingtheFoldericon andlocatingthefile.

YoucanaddalinktoawebsitebyclickingontheChainicon andenteringtheURLintothe box. (7.2)AddingTextNotes Youmaywanttoassignanotetoatopictoaddfurtherinformationordatatoyourbranch.Usethe NotesEditorforthis:

NotesEditoriMindMapincludesawordprocessorthatwillallowyoutoaddnotestoyour branches.Ensurethebranchyouwanttoattachthenotetoisselected.Then,simplyclickonthe HometabinthemaintoolbarandselectNote.Aboxwillopenuptotherightofthescreenforyou toenteryournotes(Fig13).

Fig.13

(7.3)SmartCells SmartCellsallowyoutoinsertSpreadsheets,FlowchartsandevenyourownSketchesontoyour branches. ToinsertaSmartCell,selectabranchandgotoInsertonthemaintoolbar.

FromhereyoucanchoosewhichtypeofSmartCellyouwouldliketoinserttoyourbranch. 12

ThinkBuzanLtd. ToinsertaSpreadsheet,selecttheSpreadsheeticonandtheSpreadsheetEditorwillappear.

FromthiseditoryoucancreateabasicSpreadsheet,idealforshowingstatisticalinformationin yourMindMap. Fromtheformatbaratthetopoftheeditoryoucanchoosefontcolourandstyle,cellcolour,and borderstyle. YoucanusetheSum()andPercentageiconstocreateformulasinyourSpreadsheet. AfteryouhavecreatedtheSpreadsheet,clicktheSavebutton andclose .YourSpreadsheet shouldnowappearonyourbranch. ToinsertaFlowchart,selecttheFlowcharticonandtheFlowchartEditorwillappear.Dragand droptheshapesintothecanvasandusetheconnectortoolsinthetoolbartolinkthesetogether. SavethisusingtheSavebutton andclose . (7.4)MultiMaps YoucaninsertanumberofdifferentMindMapsontoyourworkspace.Thisfeatureallowsyouto havemultiplecentralideaswhichyoulinktogetherandconnectifyoushouldwish,seeFig.14.

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Fig.14 ThisisareallyusefultooltousewhenyouwanttoconnectlotsofideasorifyouMindMapis gettingbig,youcancreateanothermainideainsteadofmakinglotsofchildbranches. Itcanalsohelpyoutomakeitvisuallyclearerandeasiertomakeconnectionsbetweenideasas youcancreaterelationshiparrowsfromabranchofonecentralideatoabranchofanotherone. Tocreateanothercentralideayoucaneither: a) GototheInserttabandselectCentralIdeaunderMapElements. b) DragabranchoranimagefromyourMindMapintotheworkspacethiswilldefaulttobe anewMindMap.Ifthebranchhaschildbranchesthesewillnowbecomeanewmain branches.

Step8ViewingyourMindMapin3D
3DViewoffersacompletelynewwaytopresent.Theworldsfirst3DMindMapviewtakesyour MindMapandturnsitintoa3dimensionalobject,allowingyoutoglidearounditfromdifferent angles,zoominondifferentareasandturnMindMappingintoawholenewexperience.Youhave watched3Dfilms,youveperhapsseen3DTV,nowpresentin3Dtheultimateofcool.Impress, stunandgripyouraudiencewhichatotallyfreshwayofpresentingthatisfuntouseand mesmerizingtowatch.

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Toenter3DMindMapView,gototheHometabatthetopofthemaintoolbarandselect3D MindMapunderDocumentViews. Therealbeautyof3DViewistheeasynavigation.Youcanuseyourkeyboardarrowkeys,the simple3DControlPanel(inthebottomrighthandcornerofyourworkspace)orevenyourmouse. YoushouldnoticethatiMindMapgracefullyanimatesasyoupanaroundyourworkspace,zooming inatanyangle. KeyboardArrows:Thiswillallowyoutojumpfromonebranchtoanothereasily.Thiszoomsinon theactivebranch,givingthebranchfocus. 3DControlPanel:Theleft/right&up/downarrowswillchangetheangleofyourperspective,so youcanchangethe3Dplanesofyourmap.ThecentralcirclebuttonwillrepositionyourMapto itsoriginalposition. Mouse:Clickonabranchtogiveitfocus,ornavigatetothewhiteworkspacetosimplymovethe Mapintoanewposition.

Step9ExportingyourMindMap
ThereareseveralexportoptionswithiniMindMap,givingyouchoiceinhowyouwanttoshare andtransportyourMindMap.Theseinclude: ExportingasanImagefile. ExportingtoanSVG 15

ThinkBuzanLtd. ExportingtoPDFandDocument ExportingasaWebPage ExportasaSpreadsheet ExportasaPresentationandInteractivePresentation ExporttoMicrosoftProject

TheExportMenucanbeaccessedbyclickingonFileandthenselectingExport Fromthere,thelistofexportoptionwillappearforyoutoselect. Note:TheExportfeaturesarelimitedfordifferentiMindMapEditions iMindMapBasic: ExporttoImage&PDF iMindMapElements:ExporttoImage&PDF iMindMapPro: ExporttoPack&Go,TextandWebpage iMindMapUltimate: SVG,Presentation,Spreadsheet,Project,Audio

Step10PrintingandSavingyourMindMap
(10.1)Printing YoucanprintyouractiveMindMapbyselectingtheprinttoollocatedundertheFiletabatthetop leftcorneroftheiMindMapwindow.Fromhereyoucanchoosethenumberofcopiesyouwantto printandwhichprintertouse.Youcanalsochoosewhetheryouwanttoprintthefullmap,just thecentralideas,orjustthemainbranches.Youmayalsochooseotheroptionssuchaspage layouti.e.portraitorlandscapeaswellasscalingoptions. (10.2)Saving RemembertosaveyourMindMapbeforeexitingiMindMap. ToSave,clickontheDiskiconattheverytoplefthandcornerofthescreen. Ifnecessary,selectthefolderinwhichyouwanttosavethedocument. ClickSave

AlternativelyyoucanclickonFileonthemaintoolbar,andclickonSaveorSaveAs,ifyouwishto changethenameofthecurrentMindMap. Note:AlliMindMapdocumentsareautomaticallysavedwiththeextension.imx. WhynotwatchourvideotutorialsforamoredetailedlookatiMindMapanditsfeatures?

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