sweat;59454 said:
I've been using Freemind. How do Compendium and CMap compare?
I like them both.
They both have nodes that are joined or linked by lines. They both allow the lines to point from node A to B, B to A, or with arrows going both ways.
They both permit the linking lines to be labeled. If "John" is one node and "Mary" is another node, they both allow a linking line to go from John to Mary, and they both allow the linking line to be labeled "loves."
But what if John is a bigamist? What if John loves Mary and John loves Jane? In Compendium, you would create two linking lines from the John node. One line from John to Mary and another line from John to Jane. In Cmap you can "split" the linking line. So, there is a line from John to Loves, and there is are two lines emerging from Loves, one line to Mary and one line to Jane.
Compendium allows the user to put in their own images as nodes. If you've been exposed to Tony Buzan concepts of mind-mapping, that is nice. Instead of creating a node by typing the word "John" you can use an image of John.
Compendium has something called "transclusion." If you want to use the same node in different maps, Compendium keeps track of that. And if you change the node or any of the information associated with it in one map, those changes flow through to that nodes occurrences in other maps.
I have found it easier to print from Cmap than Compendium.
I did a free trial of MindManager a few years ago and didn't stick with it. I tried Freemind for a few weeks and didn't stick with that. What I liked a lot about Compendium and Cmap is that you can label the linking lines.
Cmap is slightly more intuitive than Compendium. You can be up and running with it in a few minutes. Compendium takes a little more time.
What do you want to use these applications for? How you use them might determine which one would be most beneficial. My biggest use of these mapping tools is in teaching a class. I teach a 155 minute class once a week. I used to write or type notes on what I wanted to cover. Then I started doing hand-made mindmaps and liked them better. Now I do digital maps and post them online so that the students can see them.
