Archive for the 'Topicscape' Category

Marriage made in heaven?

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

Sean West bought a Fujitsu ScanSnap* and found that it was easy to integrate with Topicscape.

He comments on Topicscape’s depth of features, robustness and, when allied with this scanner, finds it superior to “commercial document management systems costing in the hundreds and thousands of dollars, making Topicscape a bargain for its features, in my mind.”

A nice marriage of hardware and software, Sean!  We’re pleased to hear that it gives you what you need without spending a bundle.

Roy

* I don’t know which model Sean is using - maybe not the one pictured here.  The Fujitsu ScanSnap range runs from small, light portables to heavy-duty desktop models.

New Topicscape Pro installer

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

A new Topicscape Pro installer is now online here.

The Outlook connection to Topicscape Pro was not working in 64-bit versions of Windows. The symptom: Outlook objects in Topicscape, like Tasks, Contacts or Calendar events, were not opening in Outlook when double-clicked from inside Topicscape.

Fixing this required a change in Windows Registry handling and that change was made in the Topicscape installer.  As Topicscape itself has not changed, its build number is the same.

You only need to download the latest version if you are using Outlook with Topicscape and you are running 64-bit Windows 7 or 64-bit Windows Vista.

Roy

The new Topicscape Pro (v.2.7) – what it does

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Two of Topicscape users’ most frequent requests have been these:

  1. We want to be able to control manually the order in which topics are shown under their parents.
  2. We want more control over what level of detail is shown under each topic with children, individually, in each separate information landscape.

We listened, and have now changed the database to hold the necessary information and give users the control they asked for.

Version 2.7 of 3D Topicscape Pro, is now on-line for download and has a ”What’s New” page.

Try it today!

Roy

New video: Re-organizing information in Topicscape

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Added a demonstration to the new Topicscape Channel covering multi-parent topics, making new connections between topics and moving topics.

Re-organizing information in 3D Topicscape.  This is a follow-on from Dragging folders into 3D Topicscape

Roy

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

University of Dundee medical mind map links

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

University of Dundee medical mind maps links in 3D information landscape on-line.  The first time you visit, please give the program time to download.

These Dundee Uni mind maps cannot be linked to directly, or downloaded, but a read-only viewer for the software needed can be accessed from a link at the same site and this allows the mind maps to be explored dynamically.  This Topicscape WebView shows what is available but you will have to go to the web site to view the maps themselves.  The structure in the 3D WebView reflects the way the maps are organized at that site.

Roy

AllergyCases.org in a 3D Topicscape

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

The medical mind maps source Allergy Cases has maps about allergies and immunology.  Links to all the allergycases.org mind maps can now be found organized in an on-line 3D Topicscape.

Roy