Which is the best mindmapping software?

What's "best" depends so much on how you use mind maps. Some people use them for study, some for planning projects, some for organizing information, some for sparking ideas and facilitating brainstorming sessions, some for planning the writing of a report or blog. Some mindmap alone, others mindmap in groups. Most of us probably do all of these from time to time, so we need a quiver full of arrows to choose from.

No one package will support all of those user profiles, so here's my take:

• for study, learning and memorization - the colorful ones are said to help in retaining information: Headcase, iMindmap, Inspiration and for Mac MyThoughts and Mindnode are all worth considering if you study alone; if you're part of a study group that likes mind maps, then software that supports collaboration will be a better fit: Bubbl.us is really easy to learn and use. For students, the question of cost will surely play a part - there is also free software that lets you make simple but colorful maps. Look at this list for one of the free options.
  
  
• planning and managing smaller projects - MindManager with an add-on like Gyronix ResultManager works well, and 3D Topicscape Pro if you have a lot of project information to organize;
  
  
• organizing information - for small amounts of information, MindManager or FreeMind; for larger amounts and especially to cope with information overload, try Topicscape Pro;
  
  
• sparking ideas and facilitating brainstorming sessions - MindManager, FreeMind, or any mindmapper than can be controlled easily from the keyboard. You don't want to be constantly moving your hands from keyboard to mouse;
  
  
• planning writing, reports or blogs - Many writers swear by Scrivener, though it is an outliner not a mindmapper; For small reports I use MindManager to produce a skeleton contents list with some draft content in place, because it can export to Word files. For large reports, where there's a lot of research and reference information needed to develop the report and support points made, I plan and organize the information in Topicscape.
  
  
• designing a web site or other publication - MindManager can export a web site, built from and following the structure of a mind map. There's a simple example here;
  
  
• organizing your tasks - If your life is fairly simple, FreeMind; If you have many projects on the go at once, then 3D Topicscape Lite;
  
  
• if you work in groups a lot, and the group is attuned to a mindmapping approach, then look at the many web based products, like Mind42 , Wisemapping, MindMeister or Mindomo. See which one fits your budget - the first two are free, but the others have more capabilities and are subscription-based. Even the charged-for ones offer a limited-access free account.

Your computer will limit choice to some degree. Mac users have less choice and though some software runs on Windows and Macs, updates to the Windows version will often be released before the Mac.

My experience is that there are two ways of using mind maps: Where the mindmapping process is what's really important - to help you think something through or get new ideas; and where the resulting mindmap is important as a finished product that will be shared with others in some way. You will encounter both at one time or another, depending on why you're making the map, whether others will see it and the life of the project that it's part of.

Mindmapping because of what it makes you think and do - process-oriented mindmaps

In the first case, someone walking up to the map you produce may not be able to make much sense of it, but if you can understand it, that's what will matter most. You're not building it to share. Then, ease of use of the software will be important so that it does not get in the way of the process of thinking. You need to look out for keyboard shortcuts, ease of moving round the map and searching, and ways of connecting maps. MindManager and FreeMind are fairly good for this and provide quite a lot of freedom in layout to suit your own immediate needs. You have to find out how to turn off auto-layout, though.

Mindmapping because you need a presentation tool - sharing-oriented mindmaps

In the second, your colleague's comprehension of the map will be important, so a tool that produces clear and businesslike results is needed. Whether this means it's appropriate to stick to auto-layout and not too much color will depend on the business culture. Publishers of the on-line web application Comapping claim to have researched their left-to-right mindmapping style and found this easier to introduce to mindmap novices, though you may soon want to move on to maps that allow more flexibility. Alternatively, a product that can turn a mindmap into an outline may be useful in winning over people who are not 'visual thinkers'. MindManager and Inspiration can both do this.

Personally I use MindManager 8, 3D Topicscape Pro (naturally as much of it is my design), and sometimes FreeMind. I played with text2mindmap for a while, because it takes a different approach: Key in a text outline and it produces a mindmap from it. It's amusing, but it does confine the user to a rigid hierarchy and that's something I find very limiting.

Finally, I have to mention mind mapping on a mobile phone. Working on these tiny screens is moderately painful (once you've got over the 'Wow!' factor), but there can be times when stuck on a train, for example, you might want to whip out your smartphone and start mapping. Here, then, is a list of applications that you can consider for such moments. Of those I've tried, iMindMap is the standout in this tiny format.

I'm on Twitter as @roygrubb where I frequently answer questions about information mapping and software. I hope I'll see you there! (Follow me on Twitter.)

Roy