It provides effective mind mapping solutions for problem-solving, brainstorming, knowledge management, business planning, note-taking, and project management. MindMaster is a cross-platform and multi-functional mind mapping software newly released by Edrawsoft. But Edraw Mind Map is well worth the effort. While we found Edraw very easy to use at every stage, there is a lot to this tool, and it takes some time to learn all its features. Right-clicking any element in our map brought up a menu configuring everything from its Shape and Geometry to its Topics, Groupings, and Hyperlinks.
Edraw has all the little touches of a well-configured tool, such as the spectrally arranged color buttons along the bottom edge for superfast changes. Holding our cursor over it produced an expanding panel with a detailed explanation of whatever step or process we were dealing with. We made good use of the Dynamic Help button on the right side of the interface. We chose a Decision Making template, which opened with a finished diagram populated with Process Steps we could click to configure and a left-hand Libraries panel offering a wide variety of Symbols, Mind Shapes, and Clip Art to choose from, plus the ability to add more from our system. We could also choose US, Metric, or Custom units when creating a new map. The free version provides one Template, a Mind Mapping Diagram, but many Examples to go with it, including Decision Making, Life Planner, Marketing Strategy, and even PEST Analysis. The main window displayed a Getting Started page with all the available templates categorized under Mind Map, Clip Art, and More Templates. We could quickly change the layout's color via the Style button. It's free for noncommercial and home users.Įdraw Mind Map's interface takes its visual clues from Office rather than the Explorer-style layout that is typical of modern graphics app, and it gives Edraw a familiar feel. Edraw Mind Map's templates and examples make it easy to create high-quality mind maps and similar diagrams suitable for any use. If you've ever drawn a circle around an idea and then linked it to a bunch of other circles with related ideas, you've created a mind map, which is actually a catch-all term for a wide range of diagrams, charts, and graphical representations that you can use to conceptualize everything from a dinner party to a billion-dollar project.