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MindNode Pro 1.10

User Guide

Introduction

Sharing

Preferences

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13

Requirements

Basic Concepts

General

13

Mind mapping

Style

13

Nodes

Shortcuts

13

Connections

MindNode Wi-Fi Sharing

Legend

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OS X Sharing

Node Creation

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Using MindNode Pro

Node Selection

14

Creating Nodes

Node Movement

14

Adding Files to Nodes

Branch Folding

14

Adding Web Links to Nodes

Node Editing

14

Formatting Nodes

Inspector

14

Changing the Node Branch Color

Navigation

14

Text Formatting

14

Changing the Node Text Color, Size, and

Font
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Organizing Nodes

Connecting Nodes

Using the Inspector

About Color Styles

Sharing

Keyboard Shortcuts

11

Importing

11

Exporting

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

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MindNode Pro is an elegant, easy-to-use mind mapping application for your Mac that lets you collect and
structure ideas and study and solve problems.
Mind maps can be used for many different tasks, including to-do lists, brainstorming, holiday planning,
research, writing, and project management.

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Requirements
In order to run MindNode Pro, you will need a Mac running Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3 or newer.
To view or edit your shared MindNode documents on an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, the device must be
running iOS 5.0 or later with a copy of MindNode touch installed.
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BASIC CONCEPTS

Introduction

Basic Concepts

of the nodes that radiates from the central nodes,

that node and all its children--but not the central
node or any of the other nodes that radiate from
the central node--will also be selected.

There are several important concepts in the use of

MindNode Pro. If some or all of these look
familiar, feel free to skip ahead--you can always
come back to this section later.

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Mind mapping
Mind mapping is a way of generating,
representing, linking, and organising ideas. It's
especially useful whenever you need to take down
a number of related ideas in a hurry--for example,
when brainstorming, making a quick to-do list or
taking notes for class. Mindmapping allows you to
bring structure to your notes, making it easier to
see the connections between different items and
arrive at novel solutions and new ideas.
Mind maps usually appear as some number of
main topics radiating outward as lines from a
central core idea. These main topics break down
into smaller topics and ideas, which can in turn be
broken out into even smaller concepts as desired.
There's no set limit to how small these branches
can get or how many you can create--if you had
enough time and a large enough workspace, you
could conceivably create a mind map that breaks
the human race down by continent, then by
nations, states, cities, and streets, all the way down
to each individual human being. (We don't
recommend trying it, though.)

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Nodes
Each idea or piece of information in a mind map
is referred to as a node. When you perform an
action on a node, all nodes that were created as
"children" of that node are also affected. For
example, when you select the central node, all
other nodes will also be selected. If you select one

MindNode Pro references nodes in several

different ways:
The main node is the central, highlighted node
from which all other nodes radiate. It is however
possible to have more than one main node (and
more than one main concept) in the same
document, which can be useful for comparing two
big ideas.
A parent node is a node from which other nodes
descend.
Sibling nodes are nodes that both descend from
the same parent node.
A child node is a node that descends from
another node.
Keep in mind that these descriptions are always
relative to a particular node. So a node that
radiates directly from the main node is a child, but
it almost certainly has siblings, and it may very
well have children and be a parent node itself.

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Connections
Connections are exactly what they sound like:
links between different nodes. In traditional mind
maps, connections are usually hierarchical. That
is, each node is linked directly only to its parent
and its children. However, MindNode Pro also
allows you to make special connections between
any two nodes to illustrate relationships that aren't
well-represented by the hierarchical view.

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MindNode Wi-Fi Sharing
MindNode Pro lets you share your mind maps to
your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch so you can use or

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OS X Sharing
The Share button available in the menubar uses
OS X's built in sharing feature. This allows you to
quickly send a map via mail, Messages, or
AirDrop.
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USING MINDNODE PRO

edit them there. You can share documents using

iCloud, Dropbox, or WiFi sharing. This is
separate from MindNode Pro's Export feature,
which lets you save your mind maps in other
formats (including outlines and images).

Using MindNode Pro

Now that we have the what out of the way, let's

talk about the how.

with a link to that file. For example, if you drop

Example.txt into your mind map, MindNode Pro
will create a new main node called Example. You
can then simply drag this new node onto another
node to make it a child of that node instead of a
main node.

Creating Nodes

Adding Web Links to Nodes

There are several ways to create new nodes in

MindNode Pro. The simplest and easiest way to
create a new node is to click the plus sign that
appears when you hover your mouse over an
existing node. MindNode Pro will automatically
create a new child node. Alternatively, you can
click and drag the plus sign; the new node will be
created wherever you drop it.

MindNode Pro makes adding a web link to a node

easy. Just double-click the node you want to add it
to so you can edit the title of the node, select the
text you want to turn into a link, and then go to
Edit in the menubar and choose "Add Link" or
press +K. Paste or type the URL you want to
link to in the "Link destination"" box that appears,
and click "OK".

You can also create a node by pressing a keyboard

shortcut. By default, these shortcuts are 'Tab' for a
new child node, 'Return' for a new sibling node,
and 'Shift + Return' for a new main node (there is
no default keyboard shortcut for a new parent
node). You can set these keyboard shortcuts--more
on this in the Preferences section--and you can
always see what the current shortcuts are (and
create new nodes) by clicking on Node in the
menubar.

To remove a link, double-click the node again-making sure not to click the link itself, since that
will open your web browser to that page--and then
select the text again. Go to Edit in the menubar
and choose "Edit Link" (which should now
appear in place of "Add Link") or press +K
again. When the "Link destination" box appears
again, click the "Remove Link"" button.

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Adding Files to Nodes
Sometimes you may want to refer to a file on your
computer in your mind map. In MindNode Pro,
you can add a link to a file to a node simply by
dragging and dropping the file from the Finder
onto that node. You can also add files from your
media library (iPhoto, iTunes, and your Movies
folder) by clicking the Media button on the
toolbar and dragging a file from the Media panel.
You can drag a file into your mind map without
connecting it to a node; in that case, MindNode
Pro will create a new main node titled after the file

You can also simply right-click or Control+click

the link once you've selected it and choose
"Remove Link".
Finally, you can add and remove links using the
Inspector. To learn more about that, skip ahead to
the Using the Inspector section.

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Formatting Nodes
You can change several aspects of any given node,
including the color of the branch it's on, the color
and size of the text in the node itself, and the font
used for that node.

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Changing the Node Branch Color

To change a node's branch color, simply click that
node once, and then click the Colors button in the
toolbar and choose the color you want. Be aware
that that color will also be applied to the branches
that descend from that node.

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Changing the Node Text Color, Size, and
Font
There are two ways to change the text color, size,
and font for a node. One is useful if you only want
to change that particular node; the other is useful
if you also want to change all of that node's
children.
If you want to change only one node, double-click
that node and select the text you want to change.
Then click the Fonts button in the toolbar and
make whatever changes you want just as you
would in any other app.
If you want to change the text of one node plus
all its children, click that node once (rather than
double-clicking it) to select it. All of its children
should also be selected automatically. Once those
nodes are selected, simply click the Fonts button
on the toolbar and make whatever changes you
want.

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Organizing Nodes
One key to useful mind maps is organisation.
Without the right structure and connections, a
mind map can devolve into a jumble of ideas.
MindNode Pro provides several features to keep
your mind maps well-organised.

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Moving Nodes
MindNode Pro makes it very easy to move nodes
between different sections of your mind map. If

you realise that a node would be better placed

somewhere else, simply click and drag that node
onto the node that should be its new parent. It will
immediately become a child of that node.

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Connecting Nodes
If you have two nodes that aren't hierarchically
related to each other, but which still need to be
connected, MindNode Pro has the answer: just
hold Shift and drag from one node to the other.
You can also click one of them and then click the
Connect button in the toolbar (or press Shift--L)
or right-click one of them and choose "Create
Connection"". Either way, an arrow or line will
now follow your mouse from that node; click on
another node, and the arrow will connect the two
nodes.

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To edit this new connection's appearance, jump
down to Using the Inspector below. To delete one
of these non-hierarchical connections, either click
it and press the Delete key or right-click it and
choose "Delete".

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Detaching Nodes
Sometimes you may create a node connected to
your mind map, only to realise that it's not as
strongly related as you thought. When that
happens, you can either drag it to another, more
closely related node to connect it there, or you can
detach it and keep it on your mind map as an
isolated node (at least until you can figure out
where it belongs). To detach a node, simply press
'd' while dragging it. Alternatively, you can click a
node and choose "Detach" from the Node menu
in the menubar, right-click it and choose "Detach"
from the contextual menu, or click it and press
Shift--D.

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Folding and Unfolding Nodes

Document

When you want a high level overview of your

mind map without getting into the little details, or
you want to reduce distractions so you can focus
on a particular area of your mind map,
MindNode Pro lets you fold and unfold your
nodes. When you fold a node, all of its children
are hidden; when you unfold it, they return to
their normal location.

The Document tab of the Inspector lets you

change the background color of the document, as
well as metadata like the Author, Title, Keywords,
and Comments.

The easiest way to fold a node is to hold down the

Option key on your keyboard so that the box next
to that node shows several lines instead of a plus
sign, then click that box. Alternatively, you can
click the node you want to fold, then click the Fold
button in the toolbar or go to Node in the
menubar and click "Fold Nodes". Finally, you can
right-click the node and choose "Fold" from the
contextual menu.
To unfold a node again, you can Option-click the
box next to the folded node, click the Unfold
button in the toolbar, go to Node in the menubar
and click "Unfold Nodes", or right-click the node
and choose "Unfold".

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Style
The Style tab lets you change the shape of nodes
between the normal Branch shape and a Filled
shape that resembles a main node, which is
particularly useful for highlighting important
nodes. You can also change the appearance of a
node's branch, making it thinner or thicker,
dashed, or differently colored.

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Text
The Text tab lets you change the appearance of
node text, including alignment, the width of the
node's text field, and creating web links.

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About Color Styles

Smart Layout
A mind map can be a chaotic structure, and
sometimes you find yourself running out of space.
When that happens, you can go to the View menu
and choose Smart Layout, which will figure out
the most efficient way to organise your mind map
and often open up more space for you to use.

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Using the Inspector
Like Apple's iWork applications, MindNode Pro
includes an Inspector pane that lets you get the
most out of your mind maps by making quick
changes to different aspects of them.

MindNode comes with various beautiful predefined Color Styles. They can be found in the
Document tab of the Inspector. To change the
style of all nodes select a Color Style from the
menu. On the bottom is also an entry to select a
Custom Style.
The Style tab in the Preferences allows to select a
Default Color Style. This style will be applied to
all new MindNode documents. This is also where
the Custom Style can be customized. Pick your
favorite style of cross-connections, nodes,
branches, and fonts.
Styling goes beyond just having a global style for
your entire document however. As outlined earlier,
every node can have a different color, font, size,

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SHARING

etc.
When dragging to reconnect, a node normally
takes on the style of the parent node. Holding the
Option key disables this function temporarily. In
the General Preferences is a setting to always
inherit style when reconnecting. Note that pasting
nodes also inherits their style. To paste nodes and
re-apply their style based on the parent node,
select Paste and Match Style from the Edit menu
instead.

Sharing
MindNode Pro can import from and export to
several other mind map and note-taking formats.

To share documents with your other Mac

via iCloud
If the document you want to share already exists:
1. Open the document you want to share in
MindNode Pro.

Importing
Nothing tricky here--just go to the File menu and
choose Open (or press -O), then choose the
Freemind (.mm) or OPML (.opml) file you want to
open. Be aware that some features, like
MindNode Pro's connections, maybe lost when
moving mind maps between different applications.

2. In the menu bar, go to the File menu and hover

over iCloud.
3. Click Move to iCloud; the file will be removed
from the Finder and saved to iCloud.

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If you're creating the document you want to
share:

Exporting
To export a mind map in another format, go to
the File menu and choose "Export;" (or press
Shift--E), then choose the file format you want
to export. MindNode Pro supports exporting as a
FreeMind document or OPML file for use with
other mind mapping applications, an RTF, or text
file for use as an outline, or a PDF, PNG, or TIFF
for use as an image or standalone non-editable
document.

1. Go to the File menu and click Save or press

command-S to save the document as normal.
2. Make sure that "Move Document to iCloud" is
checked in the Save dialog.
3. Save the document; it will be saved directly to
iCloud.

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To access documents shared via iCloud:
1. Click the iCloud item in the MindNode Pro
toolbar or go to the File menu, hover over iCloud,
and click Open iCloud Document.

Sharing
In addition to exporting mind maps for use with
other applications, you can also share your mind
maps to iPads, iPhones, and iPad touches running
MindNode touch and open mind maps from your
iOS devices on your Mac.
MindNode Pro offers two ways to share
documents. iCloud sharing lets you share
documents between Macs that are signed in to
your iCloud account anywhere in the world, while
WiFi sharing lets you easily share documents with
iOS devices on the same wireless network as your
Mac.

2. Find and double-click your document in the

iCloud Documents browser that appears.

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To share documents with MindNode touch
over WiFi
1. Make sure your Mac and your iOS device are
connected to the same WiFi network.
2. Make sure the document you want to share
with your iOS device is open on your Mac.
3. Click the Sharing button on the toolbar.

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5. On your Mac, click the device where it has

appeared under Devices in the Sharing window.
6. On your iOS device, choose Allow.
7. To share a mind map from your Mac, click
Mac (open documents), select the document to
share, and press Export. The mind map will be
transferred to your device. To import a mind map
from your device, click Mobile Device, select the
document to import, and press Import. The mind
map will be opened on your Mac.

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MindNode touch also offers several other methods
of importing and exporting documents; for more
information on those, please see the user guide for
MindNode touch.
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PREFERENCES

4. Go to the sharing screen on your iOS device

(go to the main document list view, tap the Share
button in the bottom left-hand corner, and choose
"MindNode Pro").

Preferences

MindNode Pro lets you customize a number of

features to provide the best mindmapping
experience for you.

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General
The General tab includes layout and appearance
preferences, as well as how to handle updates and
what MindNode Pro should do when you launch
it.

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Style
The Style tab lets you change the default settings
for new mind maps. If you prefer a darker
background color, thicker branches, different
branch colors. Pick your favorite font for new
main nodes as well as normal nodes here as well.

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Shortcuts
The Shortcuts tab allows you to set your own
keyboard shortcuts for creating new nodes and
editing a selected node. You can also determine
whether pressing the Space key should open
Quick Look on the selected node (useful if you use
files in your mind maps) or turn the mouse into
the hand tool so you can grab your mind map and
easily move around within your canvas (useful if
you find yourself moving around inside one
document a lot).
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Keyboard Shortcuts

Node Editing

Legend

Switch Into Edit Mode

Inspector

Escape

Shift

Control

Alt/Option

Command

Tab

, , ,

Show Document Inspector

Show Style Inspector

Show Text Inspector

Navigation
<

Zoom In

Arrow Keys

>

Zoom Out

Text Formatting

New Child Node

Bold

New Subnode

Italic

Create New Main Node

U
U

Node Selection
Center Main Node

, , , Select Node in Arrow Direction

Toggle Inspector

Enter

Node Creation

Cycle Through Main Nodes

Cycle Through Main Nodes in Reverse

Directions

Increase Font Size

Decrease Font Size

Copy Style

Paste Style

, , , Move Selected Node 1pt

, , , Move Selected Node 10pt
Detach Node

Create Cross Connection

Branch Folding
,

Strikethrough

Node Movement

Underline

Toggle Branch Folding

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