MindArchitect

When it comes to organizing tasks or sorting ideas, mind maps are the best solution. MindArchitect allows you to focus on your work, rather than burdening you with countless functions, which you may never use. The application is simple and easy to use, but it still provides a decent amount of features to satisfy your needs. It takes only a few clicks to create a mind map and you can save it as an image or as a PDF.

The application is offered free of charge and it is available for Windows and Mac OS X platforms. It comes in a small package and it does not take long to install its core components. The hardware requirements are modest and there is no need to install any kind of prerequisite tools.

When starting a new project, MindArchitect allows you to choose from a variety of map styles. The central node is created automatically and you can create any number of sub-nodes and sub-sub-nodes, by clicking a Plus icon, next to an existing node. The mind map's nodes can be resized and moved anywhere in the editing area by clicking and dragging. You can also type on nodes, change font settings and select different node and connector colors.

Besides creating and customizing nodes, you can also insert images, tables, floating text or new central nodes. Additionally, the application allows you to define new relations between two nodes by drawing an arrow between them. Another useful feature is the possibility of adding web links on any node in the mind map.

If you wish to create several mind maps in parallel or work on a draft before modifying your main map, you can start new projects on the same window, on separate tabs. When adding a new mind map, you can choose to create a blank map or copy an existing one.