A useful new version of 3D Topicscape Pro, the information organizer and 3D mind mapper, is now available that implements four specific requests from our users.  As usual this update is free to all who have licenses or are still in their free trial period.

1. Topicscape is noted for the visibility it gives of tasks and information.  Now you can see even more at one time: Choose the number of columns for Current Topic’s children - previously four, now you can show five or six as well.  This stays at four columns until you change it in the Options panel (User Preferences).

2. Reduce distraction: Minimize the Topicscape window to an icon while you work on other tasks.  This is a customizable option that defaults to Not Hidden, so you need to take action to see it.

3. Get more of your information when importing from PersonalBrain: For PB4 users, we have enhanced PB import to Topicscape beyond the limits of the data exported by PersonalBrain itself.  Importing from the .pba file exported by PB is still an option.

4. Navigate large Topicscapes even more quickly: The programming for “Make Current” has been optimized to provide a faster re-calculation of the scene when the user selects a different topic to be the Current Topic.  This is particularly noticeable with large Topicscapes (several thousand topics).

You can read all the details at the What’s New page:

And you can download the new 3D Topicscape Pro installer from the usual place.

We hope you like the new version, 1.59.  Within the next month, we hope to release an exciting new Beta version those who have registered with our Beta program.

Roy

We check TopicCrunch against all three major search engines daily.   On Saturday April 19^th 2008, TopicCrunch started recording no hits for any search on MSN.  This is because the SERPs (search engine result pages) had changed the part of their format that TopicCrunch uses to extract the results.

TopicCrunch has now been brought into line with the new format and an updated installer version is available at the usual place:

http://www.topicscape.com/TopicCrunch/download-topiccrunch.php

There is no need to uninstall TopicCrunch first, just install the new version on top of the old.

Regards

Roy

The Mindmaps Directory has taken a leap in size.  Now it has 877 maps from all over the web.  Unlike other libraries that make exagerated claims but don’t let you browse to see how many there really are (only search for a term or see  ‘popular’ ones) you can explore our full directory - page by page. 

Hand-picked, classified by map type and tagged, these offer a growing and serious resource for students and businesses.  So you can search by word, click the tag cloud to see all on a given subject, or narrow what you see to just a particular type - concept maps, say, mindmaps, or tree diagrams.

Roy

AN EXTREMELY RARE BUT CRITICAL BUG AFFECTING 3D TOPICSCAPE PRO AND LITE HAS BEEN FIXED

New versions with fixes are now on line: 3D Topicscape Pro 1.57 and 3D Topicscape Lite 1.11

A user reported a problem resulting from an action that we had never anticipated: If you drag a partition (that is, a logical disk drive, not a folder) into 3D Topicscape Pro 1.56 or earlier, or Topicscape Lite 1.10 or earlier, the software gave an error report and lost files and folders.  In the nearly two years that users have been making 3D mind maps and organizing their information with Topicscape, we believe no one has tried this operation on a partition before, or even thought of it.  Fortunately, we were able to help the user to rescue all his files.

Do not try the action described with any versions of 3D Topicscape Pro before 1.57 or Lite before version 1.11 because you WILL loose files and folders.

Using the import functions to make a new Topicscape or a floating topic from a partition was already prevented by earlier versions of Topicscape Pro, but not Lite.

3D Topicscape Pro version 1.57 and Topicscape Lite version 1.11 now detect and prevent such a drag operation and give an explanatory message.

To import an entire partition into Topicscape, you could make a new folder in the root directory of the partition, and drag all the other folders into it.  Then drag that single folder to Topicscape.  Note that generally an entire partition would make a very large Topicscape, and if you chose the move or copy option, the contents of the whole partition would end up as a sub-sub-folder of your ‘My Topicscapes’ folder.

You may download the latest Topicscape installers here:
http://www.topicscape.com/download5.php

Roy

P.S.   A note to avoid uncertainty: This does not apply to the Student Edition, because that does not support dragging in folders.

Dragging and dropping of files and favicons into Topicscape has been re-designed.  Difficulties with this action had been observed occasionally on a few computers and the computer code for this process has been re-written.

Some minor bug fixes have also been done.

The new version is here: http://www.topicscape.com/download5.php

Roy

Staying up to date:
You can sign up to learn about updates to our different products here: 
3D Topicscape Lite
3D Topicscape Pro
3D Topicscape SE

Email addresses given will be used for this purpose only.  We do not spam and we remove addresses for our list when requested.

Topicscape.com’s  amazing mindmaps directory has just grown. More than 700 mindmaps assiduously gathered from across the globe.

This is the only mind maps library that allows browsing, filtering by map type (we have spidergrams, bubble diagrams, concept maps, pure, pure mind maps and other types), and is fully tagged with a tag cloud filter and search by subject capability.  Each map is linked to its original source.

So useful for business mappers, students and creative types, looking for fresh ideas and a new approach.

To see the new maps, go to the end (page 48, with 15 maps per page) and work back to page 39 at least.

Roy

3D Topicscape Student Edition today moved from Beta to live.  Version 1.0 of our free 3D mindmapping software replaced the Beta version on our web site, just before the Beta expired (phew!)

Just to be perfectly plain, the live version never expires.

Roy

You may know that we are based in Hong Kong. 

We are part-way through implementing an improvement for users in the Americas and Europe by providing a server in the USA, which should give faster downloads to you if you are not in Asia.

These will come from our embryo site InformationTamers.com

We have great plans for that site as a source of reference on organizing information in the age of info overload.  Meanwhile, we shall take advantage of it to save you time when downloading from us.  So if you’re in the Americas or Europe and see a link on our site that offers to download from there, don’t be surprised when the download shows up as from informationtamers.com  

For users in Asia, Australasia or Africa, the download will be faster directly from Topicscape.com’s site.

Right now, only 3D Topicscape Student Edition is on there, but we expect to add others soon.

Roy

3D Topicscape is the extraordinary 3D mindmapper, concept mapper and information organizer that is increasingly being taken up by people who have never tried mindmapping before.  We’ve been getting questions about mindmapping from people who have bought Topicscape, so just recently, we added a mindmapping Q&A section to our website here: http://www.topicscape.com/mindmapping/37

Back in the development area, all three versions of 3D Topicscape (Pro, Lite and SE) have just been updated and the new versions are available for download now.  Here are the changes:

3D Topicscape Pro

1. If you have Windows Desktop Search, you can choose to use it from inside 3D Topicscape to speed your file content searches. This will give more reliable results from searches of .MHT files, MS Word .DOC files and Excel .XLS spreadsheets.   This does not affect normal searches in topic and occurrence names, descriptions, authors, etc.   Keep in mind that when you first install Windows Desktop Search, it needs time to index your disk, and make sure My Topicscapes (or wherever you keep you Topicscape files) is included in WDS Options as areas to index.  3D Topicscape Pro has for some time been able to work with Google Desktop but at the time of writing, GD is unable to search MHT files and doesn’t update its index when files are moved (for example when they are imported into Topicscape).
2. There is now a much simpler, more user-friendly search panel. You can still see the Advanced Search Panel at any time, using a checkbox on the Simple Search panel, and there’s an option to allow you to see this every time, if you prefer.
3. Topicscape will watch how new users use it, and if they stay in Limited Mode, or don’t try flying with the mouse, will show a reminder after a few uses that they can switch other features on. It will also offer to do that for the user.  By the way, that’s all it watches and, as ever, it doesn’t send us any information.
4. Some elements of the 3D scene have been hidden when not in use or when in Limited Mode.
5. If you minimize the DP panel, as you may know, it pops up again when you hover over the minimized panel. Previously it popped back to the place from which you minimized it. Now it pops up close to the minimized panel, which is more convenient for quick text changes or reference. If you click the restore button, it will go back to the original location.
6. Some tidying, consistency improvements and bug fixes have also been done - all minor.

Pro is available here: http://www.topicscape.com/download5.php

3D Topicscape Lite

1. Topicscape Lite will now watch how new users use it, and if they stay in the mode where mouse flying is switched off, will show a reminder. It will also offer to do that for the user.
2. There’s a quick way to show the Options panel now: Alt+O
3. Some elements of the 3D scene have been hidden when not in use.
4. Some tidying, consistency improvements and bug fixes have also been done - all minor.

Lite is also available here: http://www.topicscape.com/download5.php

3D Topicscape Student Edition

This is on track to come out of Beta by the end of the year as scheduled. It has already proved itself to be as robust as other versions of 3D Topicscape.

1. Topicscape SE will watch how new users use it, and if they stay in the mode where mouse flying is switched off, will show a reminder. It will also offer to switch it on for the user.
2. There’s a quick way to show the Options panel now: Alt+O
3. Some elements of the 3D scene have been hidden when not in use.
4. There is now a _much_ simpler search panel. You can still see the Advanced Search Panel at any time, using a checkbox, and there’s an option to allow you to see this every time, if you prefer.
5. Some tidying, consistency improvements and bug fixes have also been done - all minor.

SE is available here:
http://www.topicscape.com/student-edition.php?display=5

Whichever edition you’re using, we hope you’ll want to bring your Topicscape up to date.  And if you’re using Pro, we hope the Windows Desktop Search makes Topicscape even more useful.

Roy

At last, our Student Edition is ready for release!

We’ve been working on this for over a year and it got pushed to the background with all the updates to 3D Topicscape Pro, and other developments that we’re not ready to uncover yet.

This is a fun Topicscape with brilliant, glowing colors, stars, galaxies and planets in the sky, but the underlying serious ability to make 3D concept and mind maps to support students in their homework, term papers and research on the web.  And did we mention it’s FREE?  This is a Beta version, but that’s not why it’s free.  It’s going to remain free when it comes out of Beta and goes live.

You don’t need a Beta User’s account, just read all about this new 3D mindmapper, download it here and off you go. 

Worried about the expiry at the end of this year?  Don’t — that’s just to encourage our users to move on to the next version, or to the live version when it’s available.   We don’t want you using an old version when there’s a new one available.  Oh, and it’s a little bit selfish: We’d rather not receive reports of known and fixed bugs from people using out-of-date versions.

We hope you like it, and we look forward to your comments, plaudits and brickbats.

Roy