5 Reasons I Reunited with Inspiration

Years ago, before I became enlightened and switched from Windows to OS X, I used a mind mapping application named Inspiration . This was right after I'd begun using The Pyramid Principle to organize my writing and thinking. I was looking for a diagramming tool that would let me build and edit pyramids on the computer instead of by hand. There wasn't much else out there, so I tried Inspiration.

And for the most part I liked it, even though it didn't really let me build idea pyramids the way I want to. That early version of Inspiration lacked the ability to add "free floating" topics, that is, topics not linked to anther topic.

Frustrated, I gave up updating the software and eventually forgot about it.

Then one day Windows crashed one too many times to suit me, and I switched to the Mac and OS X. With my new found love of graphical interfaces, I soon found mind mapping apps for the Mac, seemingly trying all of them at one time or another.

I settled on two: Novamind and Mindcad Incubator. Novamind offers lots of bells and whistles, but still lacks the ability to add free floating topics; everything needs to be connected to the central topic. Incubator offers the independent topics, but skimps on other seemingly standard mapping features.

I'm always on the lookout for information on mind mapping, so when I saw that Chuck Frey was deeply discounting his book on mind mapping tools, I bought a copy. Frey offers links to reviews of many a mapping tool, and Inspiration was among them. Frey's positive review led me to the Inspiration site, a download and eventual purchase of Inspiration.

After these many years, I was back. Here's why:

• It offers free floating topics - You can put topics where ever you want: there's no need to link them to any other topic. This lets me build my beloved idea pyramids to my heart's content.

• It offers more than mind maps - Concept maps, webs, trees, almost anything you'd want. Inspiration offers the ability to add text labels to any link between topics, making it possible to do these other types of maps.

• It has an integrated dictionary / thesaurus - Highlight a word anywhere in a map and up pops a tool with a dictionary that defines the word in one column and a thesauras in another that gives you synonyms and antonyms for that word. Very useful for brainstorming.

• It can generate web sites, not just web pages - Use the Site Skeleton option to generate the makings of entire websites, not just an individual web page or image.

• It's very easy to use - As are most mapping applications. But the design and completeness of functions on the program's toolbar integration sets it apart.

My reunion with Inspiration has been a happy one. In fact, I've used it to compose this blog post in a fairly short time. I'm looking forward to many more.

If you're looking for a mind mapping application, on either OS X or (shudder) Windows, don't overlook Inspiration. Don't let the Inspiration web site's focus on the educational market discourage you, either. Inspiration can hold its own with any other app out there.