Archive for the 'Announcements' Category

Topicscape ‘How-to’ videos on YouTube

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

My big project at present is to build a Topicscape channel on YouTube. I’ve just started and so far have three videos:

  • Dragging folders into 3D Topicscape
  • Turning Limited Mode off, and
  • Topicscape WebView Demo

We already have a mind map of some topics we’re going to cover, but knowing what our users want will be really helpful for us and, we hope, for you.

Please add comments here, or use the form at the foot of this page to send a message.

Argey

YouTube video of how to use Topicscape WebView

Monday, March 1st, 2010

There’s a 4-minute video showing most of the operations of WebView, the online, read-only viewer for Topicscapes, on YouTube.

I would like to have feedback on the video and where it needs improving. 

And you can try a couple of these yourself, once you’ve watched the video:

Roy

WebView Help
What is WebView?
Troubleshooting WebView
3D Topicsight introduction: WebBuild, WebLoad and WebView

  • Sign up to the Topicscape Google Group for brief Hints and Announcement about Topicscape.
  • Follow @roygrubb on Twitter for mind mapping tips.

 

Integrating browser and Topicscape Box

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

During installation of the latest Topicscape Pro (v.2.6 that we just loaded up on line) you will see a new option.  One of the panels asks if you want to install two buttons in your Browser toolbar (Internet Explorer or Firefox).  Here they are:

Press the ‘S’ button: The Topicscape Box will open very briefly and close again.  It will then contain a shortcut to the page you are viewing. 

Press the ‘M’ button: The Topicscape Box will open and use Topicscape’s method to make an Internet Archive (.mht) file in the Box.  As with Topicscape and Topicscape Box, you can carry on surfing, and build a queue of MHT requests, leaving the software to get on with its work.

The MHT file will include the panel that Topicscape adds to show the source of the page.  

Topicscape Box does not need to be open for these buttons to work.

Roy

  • Please sign up to the Topicscape Google Group for brief Hints and Announcement about Topicscape.
  • Follow @roygrubb on Twitter for mind mapping tips.

 

WikIT, the mind mapping wiki in 3D

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

OK now we’re getting there. 

Here is the mind mapping wiki in 3D

Hover over a topic, and if it has a link, you’ll see an ‘open link’ button.  Click that to open the appropriate article in WikIT.

This is Topicscape WebView and it’s getting better all the time with user feedback, like the request to open web pages more easily.

You can fly, zoom, search and re-center the landscape on a different topic, just as with Topicscape itself.

There’s WebView Help here: http://www.topicscape.com/topicscape-wiki/index.php?title=WebView_Help but for an even shorter version try these:

  • To search: Just type.
  • To fly: Use keyboard cursor arrow keys (then add Shift, Alt or Ctrl).
  • Press the Home key to return to the starting position.
  • Slow zoom with + and - on the number pad.
  • Dramatic Quickzoom: Hold Shift, then click on topic cones.
  • Hover over topics to see …
    • details in the Details Panel,
    • an enter button, and
    • sometimes an “open link” button.
  • Click a topic cone to reorganize the landscape around it.

Don’t forget you need an up-to-date driver for your 3D graphics hardware for WebView to work (just like Topicscape).  Here’s reference for Troubleshooting.

Roy

Back to Hodges’ Health Career Model – in 3D

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago.  Now that I have permission from Peter Jones to use the lists on his pages of links organized according to Hodges’ Health Career Model, I can announce that it is on-line and live in the form of a read-only Topicscape.  You can search (just type) and visit the pages (links are in the details panel – just click).  Links to the four main pages of links in the Hodges’ Health Career Model site are in the four main topic cones: Intrapersonal, Political, Science, Sociology.

Give it time to load the Topicscape software first time.  Subsequent visits will be much quicker. 

For you to fly around and explore this you will need a PC with 3D graphics hardware with an up-to-date graphics driver (requirements here).

There’s a wiki page with some helpful pictures that explain the few things you need to know to get you flying and zooming with the best of them.

If you need any help, email me at r dot g at topicscape dot com.

Roy

Major update to Topicscape Student Edition (the free one)

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

At long last, Topicscape’s free Student Edition has been upgraded to version 2.0, with many ease-of-use enhancements, incorporating some of the elements first seen in Topicscape Pro 2.0 :- 

  • Halo menu and associated dynamic help
  • Innovative swinging panels
  • Topic footprints
  • More Association line choices
  • Hotkeys on menus
  • Neighborhood views
  • Customize the Home view position
  • ‘Meaning of structure’ button
  • New demo covering multi-parent topics
  • Verified on Windows 7 

Topicscape Student Edition version 2.0

Here are the What’s New page and the main page of Topicscape SE information where you can download it. 

Topicscape SE is aimed at students wanting an easy and attractive way to record their web research and revision notes, and prepare homework and term papers.  It can import from FreeMind and export back to FreeMind.

It may not have the 2D/3D, tagging, import/export juicyness of Topicscape Pro 2.5, but it’s a useful tool for study . . . and it’s fun.

Oh, and did I mention it’s free?  . . .  and always will be.

Roy

3D Topicscape Pro Wiki

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

After several weeks of intense work, the online Topicscape Pro User Guide has now been migrated to the Topicscape Wiki and fully covers version 2.5 that was released a couple of weeks ago.

This has been a major restructuring, update, and rewrite, with refreshing of many illustrations.

The list of contents has been made much more functional, with embedded brief comments on what each section covers. This should be useful when deciding which section to open. For those rare users who like to read a user guide from beginning to end, there is a link at the foot of every wiki article to the next section. Here’s the Contents List.

Please let us have feedback and suggestions for improvement.

We hope to release a new installer with an updated Help system later today.

Roy

Release of Topicscape Pro 2.5 into the wild

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Yes, it’s left its Beta status and gone gold:  You can now download 3D Topicscape Pro 2.5.

  • Differences;
  • What’s new;
  • Pro licenses
  • ‘Help’ migrates to wiki;
  • User-made video.

The differences from 2.15 are very significant.  Most noticeable is that it allows an almost instant switch between 3D and 2D views. 

SwingingMap

But also, it has options for flying like Google Earth (in 3D) or Cooliris (in 2D – see above), improved navigation and user controls, much greater visibility of files and file previews from the 3D and 2D views, enhanced MindManager import, and the capability of moving the main “My Topicscapes” folder around without re-installing and manually copying files. It has now been tested for Windows 7 compatibility.

The illustrated “What’s New” page has details of a couple of additional capabilities that weren’t mentioned in the Beta What’s new. 

If you have a Topicscape Pro 2.0 license, you will be able to run vsn. 2.5 straight away – it’s a free upgrade.  A reminder: Topicscape Pro 1.0 users can upgrade for a modest $29.99 charge by clicking the Buy Now button.  If you accidentally load a Pro 1 license into Pro 2, Topicscape will fail to load some components and won’t run.  In that case, you’ll have to uninstall Topicscape Pro 2 and install it again.

With the release of 2.5, we have decided to mostly externalize the Help system.  Topicscape Pro itself now contains a 20-page Help of essential information, but the main help is half-way through being transferred to the Topicscape Wiki – a few more days and we hope to have that done.  It has a fully hyperlinked Contents page.  This means we can update the help without having to release a new installer.  If you still want the Help on your PC for offline reference, you can download the PDF.

One of our users, David Esko, made a great vid: http://is.gd/5phL4 Take a look!

Roy

New Beta installer for Topicscape’s upcoming 2D/3D version

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

SwungMap

 

Fixes in this installer for 3D Topicscape Pro 2.5:

  • Self-running demo problems fixed:
    -     Both 3D and 2D “How Multi-parent topics work” no longer stop working part way through.
    -     “How Multi-parent topics work” 2D only: Placement errors fixed.
    -     2D flight demo: Speed problems tuned.
    -     2D operations demo: Import: The contents list and Halo Help now appear. “Cone” corrected to ”bar”.
  • Minimization and restore preview in Topic Center with some customization settings fixed.
  • Some references in 2D to “‘Scape” corrected to say “Map”.
  • Occurrence context menu in Topic Center – lost items re-instated.
  • Some customization settings made persistent again.
  • “Orphans included” checkbox fixed. Occasional problems with colors appearing in Topicscape Orphans corrected.

Click for information about the Beta.

Click for the regularly-updated page about known issues in the Beta (most have now been fixed) but Beta Users can add their reports.

After logging in, Beta Users can download here.

Apply here to be a Beta User.

Roy

Importing PersonalBrain™ files to Topicscape Pro Beta 2.5

Friday, November 13th, 2009

PBTSECFor those trying out new 2D/3D Topicscape Beta, we just added a note to the wiki about importing PersonalBrain files when using the Beta.

In brief:

If you can run the current live version of Topicscape (licensed or still in trial), import with that, then open the imported Topicscape in Beta v.2.5.

If you don’t use Tags, Labels and Types in PB, import as usual in the Beta.

If your live version trial has expired, and you do use Tags, Labels and Types in PB, download and install the Extended PB Import Installer.

More on the PB import help page.

Roy