Mind Mapping with FreeMind

Mind mapping is a creative way to organize information and ideas. It has many applications, from taking notes, to brainstorming about an idea, to making lists with specific hierarchies. As a student, I have found mind mapping tools to be very helpful for both taking notes on my laptop during class, and for organizing concepts for various projects.One of the best mind mapping tools available today is FreeMind.

FreeMind is a mind mapping tool developed with the intent of being fast and flexible. FreeMind can run Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It is available for free download from the FreeMind website: http://freemind.sourceforge.net and is licensed under the GNU General Public License. FreeMind is also opensource, which means the materials used for developing FreeMind are available to anyone. This allows anyone to develop FreeMind, or use the materials for other projects.

Here is an example of a mind map made in FreeMind:

The items that hold information and connect to other items are called nodes. Using nodes in FreeMind is easy: To edit the content of a node, click on the node and start typing. To add a child node (ie. sub node) use tab on a Mac or insert on a PC. Then begin typing in that node. To add a sibling node press enter.

That covers the majority of what is involved in using FreeMind. For further information visit http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Documentation or click on documentation under the help menu in FreeMind.