We are pleased to announce that we have completely rewritten the screenplay module for NovaMind Platinum for Mac, based on the feedback from our screenwriter users.

Full Screenplay Editing

The new screenwriter has the entire screenplay shown all the time, with the text for the selected branch highlighted. This makes it much easier to create and work with your screenplay, and see how it is attached to the branches. When you move the cursor in your screenplay, the branch for that part of the screenplay is automatically selected. When you select a branch that has no screenwriting attached to it, a line is opened up in the screenplay so you can attach a portion of your screenplay to that branch.

All this makes it a breeze to create your screenplays.

New Control Bar

At the bottom of the window is a control bar which allows you to jump through all the branches with screenwriting text attached to them, see the page and scene numbers, change the element types, change the capitalization of the selected text, see what the next element types are when pressing Tab or Return, and zoom the screenplay for easier reading.

This gives you all the tools you need to work with your screenplay at your fingertips.

Improvements in Basic ScreenPlay Editing

We have made many improvements over the previous screenwriter in the handling of element type selection, completions, mores and continueds, copying and pasting, character and scene completions etc.

In short, the whole screenwriting functionality of NovaMind for Mac has been rewritten to match the needs of screenwriters. It is now in beta testing and will be released shortly. This is a free update for existing NovaMind 4 Platinum users.

Other New Screenwriting Features

In addition, we have many new features which make the screenwriter much more powerful and flexible. These include:

• Scene numbering in the margins
• Ability to configure how the next states on Tab and Return work
• Ability to set the line spacing, capitalization and character positioning of the different element types
• Smart widow/orphan protection of dialogue, keeping it with its scene and character information where required

The new screenwriter requires that you use MacOSX 10.5 Leopard.

This decision was first announced over a year ago, and we now have implemented based on this decision. The reason is because we use a number of new features that were only introduced in version 10.5. It will not run at all in earlier versions of Mac OS X.

Windows version coming soon

We will be introducing a Windows version of the new screenwriter in a few months, and in the meantime any screenplays you write in either the Windows or Mac version of NovaMind will be able to be read and used on the other platform.

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We are pleased to announce that there will be a number of new ways that you can enhance the look of your Mind Maps, in our next release of NovaMind.

This will be a free update for existing version 4 license holders.

The new features include:

• The ability to fit branch images automatically into the branch (scaling them to fit)
• The ability to fill the branch with the image (cropping as necessary)
• The ability to stretch the image to fit the branch by scaling the width and height independently to fit.
• Reflections on the images
• Glassy button styles for branches and connection lines

The new features will be available in both the Windows and Mac version of NovaMind.

All this is currently in beta testing and will be released shortly…hope you like it!

Gideon

 

 What is Mind Mapping?: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 What are Mind Maps? [8:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 What are Mind Maps?: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Mind Maps are diagrams that work the way you think. They make it easy to understand, remember, and communicate complex information.

These days we are bombarded with so much information that it can be difficult to make sense of it all, and we suffer from information overload and overwhelm, which reduces our effectiveness.

Some of the problems we face are:

* inability to solve problems effectively,
* lack of creative thought,
* lack of focus,
* difficulty giving great presentations,
* problems organizing your thoughts,
* poor communication,
* missing out tasks when planning projects,
* forgetting important information, and
* lack of clarity and direction.

If you have suffered from any of these problems, Mind Mapping is for you. Mind Mapping gives you clarity and allows you to:

* organize your thoughts,
* remember information,
* communicate better,
* solve problems quickly and effortlessly,
* brainstorm new ideas,
* increase productivity by 20% or more,
* see the important issues,
* make better decisions, and
* give compelling presentations.

Why does Mind Mapping work?

Mind Maps organize the information in the same way your brain organizes information. This makes it very natural and easy to understand.

Our brains like thinking in pictures. The smooth curves and colorful pictures that are created when Mind Mapping create powerful images for your brain to remember.

We have two halves to our brains which think in different ways. The left half thinks linearly following direct linkages to related ideas. Our right brain likes to see the whole picture with colors and flow.

Mind Maps cater to both sides of the brain at the same time, which makes them a very good way of storing and recalling information, presenting things to other people, and brainstorming new ideas.

The new NovaMind web site is now live with many new features, easier navigation, and better articles about Mind Mapping.

New Mind Mapping Videos, Examples, Case Studies and Articles

As part of the new web site, we have a mass of new information by way of articles, blog postings, and case studies on how people us NovaMind, including:

• A powerful new video and article teaching people what Mind Mapping is and how you can use it (on the new home page)
• The case study about Stephen Feber winning the £22m contract using NovaMind (now including video and PDF report)
• Case study about how to use NovaMind for a Legal Practice (updated from our old web site)
• Case study about Jay Abraham’s marketing teachings and how to implement them using NovaMind
• Case study about how Marc Dussault uses NovaMind for setting up business mastermind groups, and has also included mind maps in his books
• A new article and example mind maps about Mind Mapping in general terms, explaining what they are and how you can use them
• A new article and example mind maps about mind mapping for businesses
• A new article and example mind maps about how teachers can use mind mapping
• A new article and example mind maps about how to use NovaMind for presentations
• A new article and example mind maps about how students can use mind mapping for their studies
• A new article and example mind maps about using NovaMind to enhance your personal effectiveness
• A new article and mind maps to help you work through the process of choosing your mind mapping software
• A new article about the cognitive aspects of Mind Mapping (example Mind Maps will be put in this article shortly)
• A new article about generating innovation using mind mapping
• A new article and example mind maps giving general information about using NovaMind for presentations
• A new article and showing how to prepare presentations using NovaMind
• A new article showing how to deliver a presentation effectively
• A new article with tips on giving great presentations
• A new article on business presentations using Mind Mapping
• A new article on presentations in the classroom using NovaMind

…and more on the way…

I will be continuing to add articles, tutorials, and case studies as well as enhancing these existing articles with videos, examples, and PDF reports where appropriate.

If you have any suggestions for enhancements or new articles or case studies that you would like to see, please let me know.

Easy Bookmarking

We have built in the ability to use your favorite social bookmarking site to link to pages on the NovaMind web site, whether it be blog pages, forum posts, or other pages on the NovaMind web site. You can click on the icon for Digg, Stumble Upon, del.icio.us, Technorati, or Reddit to use one of those services. If you use a different service, you can use the general Bookmark button to bookmark that page.

Easier Linking to NovaMind web pages

On each web page we also have the ability to easily create a link to that page. If you want to create blog posts or web pages that link to articles we have on the NovaMind web site, or just send links to your friends or business associates, this system makes it easy. All you need to do is click on the “Link to this page” hyperlink on the right side of the NovaMind web page, and copy the HTML code.

Better Affiliate and Reseller facilities

We have made the affiliate and reseller facilities easier to find and improved the application process, to make it even easier to become a NovaMind affiliate or reseller.

I hope you find the new web site useful.

Gideon

We are very pleased to announce that the Mac version of the new NovaMind screenwriting system has entered beta testing.

The new screenwriter has been completely rewritten from the ground up, and has many new features, and works in a completely different way to the old version.

It has the entire screenplay showing with the script for the selected branch highlighted, and you can move through and edit the script inline, and it will keep the branch selection updated to suit. It has inline scene numbering, new pagination controls to split dialogues appropriately, improved completions, more flexible layout options, and many other new features.

If you would like to join the beta test, you will need to be a NovaMind 4 Platinum licensed user, and you can send an email to our support team and they will point you to the place where you can sign up to be a beta tester. 

I have posted another article about Mind Mapping in your business on Squidoo.

In this article I explain how to use Mind Mapping for creating a company mission statement that everyone can “buy in” to, and then go on to discuss goal setting and achievement, planning a web site, and selling your ideas.

Mind Mapping provides a great tool to clarify what your business is all about, and strengthen your ability to deliver on your vision of the company.

Here is the URL of the article:  http://www.squidoo.com/Mind-Mapping-Clarifies-and-Strengthens-Your-Business 

NovaMind Platinum for Windows was awarded a 5 star rating in the review on innovation tools. In the review, Chuck Frey highlights a number of the features of NovaMind, including:

• The improved “fluent” ribbon toolbar
• Live preview of map formatting
• Feedback when moving branches
• Show/hide map elements
• The Suggesterator
• Map orientation settings
• Color mode wheel
• and the built in Presentation mode 

In conclusion, Chuck says “I don’t know how Gideon King and his development team do it – they continue to push the envelope in terms of new features and functionality that no one has thought of before. This program is a pleasure to use, and I really like the Suggesterator.”

You can use Mind Mapping to make your opportunities and priorities clear. It makes growing your business easy and systematic.

Many businesses struggle because the owners and managers don’t have the right strategies to grow their businesses in the marketplace, or even if they do know the strategies, they are either not sure how to implement them, or are overwhelmed by the number of different things to think about all at once.

In this article you will learn how you can grow your business using Mind Mapping.

Included in this article is:

• a Mind Mapping case study,
• Mind Mapping tips,
• some ideas to help you with your project planning,
• the results of a Mind Mapping survey,
• techniques to help with getting things done,
• and videos on the 5 business growth factors.

So hop on over to find out how you can grow your business using Mind Mapping.

Gideon

There are a number of key factors in learning how to mind map, like:

• Using just just key words rather than long sentences.
• Using images wherever possible to make your mind maps colorful.
• Start in the center with a clear title and where possible a strong visual image that shows the general theme of the map.
• Use color and boundaries to group branches, and colors to depict themes and make things stand out.
• Make ideas stand out using color, humor, images, fonts etc - it will then stand out in your mind.
• Use link lines (with arrows where required) to show secondary links between different elements.
• If you run out of ideas in one place, just move on to another area of the mind map.
• Record ideas as you think of them, wherever they fit. Don’t judge or hold back.
• Get emotionally involved. Have fun. You remember more when you are having fun.

These are just a few of the important factors to consider when making your mind maps.

I have written a full article about How to Mind Map which gives you everything you need to know to be successful with your mind mapping.

Gideon

This is the final part of a 3 part video series which goes into detail on the 5 key factors of business growth and teaches you how to Mind Map each of the different drivers of growth.

You will learn quick and easy techniques for implementing these strategies in your business.

The presentation is given by Gideon King, Mind Mapping expert, author of two books on Mind Mapping, and founder of NovaMind Software, using the NovaMind presenter…

Read the rest of this entry »

 

 How to grow your business using Mind Mapping - part 3 of 3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 How to grow your business using Mind Mapping - part 3 of 3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Mind Mapping can be used for a very wide variety of purposes within your business. I have just created a squidoo lens showing how you can use Mind Maps to make planning business continuity and disaster recovery processes easier, and more easily understood.

Very often business continuity planning and disaster recovery planning is forgotten in the hectic world of running a business, but unless these plans are in place, your business could be out of action for an extended period of time. Many people balk at the thought of the amount of time they believe it is going to take to get the planning done, as well as the complexity of the plans that have to be created and then explained to everyone involved.

Luckily with Mind Mapping, the process is much simplified, because you start with what really makes the business tick, so you can see what is important to protect and maintain. You then break this down into a straightforward steps for risk / threat identification, risk mitigation, and response planning. Everyone can easily see what needs to be done, why, and where they fit in to the process.

Just hop over to http://www.squidoo.com/business-continuity to get the full story.

This is part 2 of a 3 part video series which goes into detail on the 5 key factors of business growth and teaches you how to Mind Map each of the different drivers of growth.

You will learn quick and easy techniques for implementing these strategies in your business.

The presentation is given by Gideon King, Mind Mapping expert, author of two books on Mind Mapping, and founder of NovaMind Software, using the NovaMind presenter…

Read the rest of this entry »

 

 How to grow your business using Mind Mapping - part 2 of 3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 How to grow your business using Mind Mapping - part 2 of 3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The videos on this blog are now available in iTunes - you can get directly to the NovaMind news podcast at:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=275341730

Enjoy!

Gideon

This is part 1 of a 3 part video series which goes into detail on the 5 key factors of business growth and teaches you how to Mind Map each of the different drivers of growth.

You will learn quick and easy techniques for implementing these strategies in your business.

The presentation is given by Gideon King, Mind Mapping expert, author of two books on Mind Mapping, and founder of NovaMind Software, using the NovaMind presenter…

Read the rest of this entry »

 

 How to grow your business using Mind Mapping - part 1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 How to grow your business using Mind Mapping - part 1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We now have a video available in which Stephen Feber, a long time NovaMind customer tells about how he used the planning and organizational capabilities of Mind Mapping to obtain £22m (US$43.5m) project funding for an urban regeneration project.

In the process, he beat 312 other competitors for the funding, making him one of the top 1% of all bidders on the proposal.

In this video Stephen shares his secrets of success in detail in an interview with Gideon King, founder of NovaMind.

And without further ado, here is the video:

For further information

Please see http://www.novamind.com/Business/case_studies/stephen_feber.php for further information and a PDF report with details about the project.

 

 Business Mind Mapping Success Story: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Business Mind Mapping Success Story: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Last week I received a question from a NovaMind user, asking me how to make his Mind Maps better through use of single keywords. His question was in response to the NovaMind Lesson 4 which is about brainstorming and Mind Map creation. He is a biology teacher and wants to create better Mind Maps for his class, but finds that they always end up with lots of words on them.

In that lesson, I talk about one of the principles of Mind Mapping where you are to choose keywords and use them on your Mind Maps. This is because it is the combination of the keywords plus the associations between them that both work together to give you a set of neurological connections between the ideas. This way of organizing things also works best for sharing the information because different people have their brains “wired” in different ways, and when you just have the keywords there, it fits in with both their world view and your world view.

Another aspect is that if you have a complete sentence there, there is just passive acceptance of information input - you are not actively making the connections in your brain, and you are also missing out on the natural extension of the ideas to new areas - this is stifled by completed sentences.

Having said all that, let me quote my reply to Lai:
———————-
This is a common issue when people are not used to Mind Mapping.

After having worked with Mind Mapping for many years, I have come to the conclusion that there are some times where you do want to have phrases and sentences on branches rather than just words. This is the exception rather than the rule though.

I suggest you try putting just one or two words on each branch and see how you go. It will force you to think carefully about what ideas are really representative of the point you are wanting to make with the paragraph. In some cases, a paragraph may convert into one main keyword and several sub-branches with a keyword on each.

This really does open up thinking about the core meaning of the topic and the association of the refinements and explanations to the main topic.

Many people I have taught this to have made the switch to this way of organizing their thoughts and although they found the transition difficult at first, now they say they will never go back.

In Mind Mapping, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to organize your Mind Map, so don’t be scared to try things out and find what works best for you.
—————————-
I hope you find this useful to help enhance your Mind Mapping

All the best

Gideon

Here is an article on the basics of how to Mind Map:

How to Mind Map

This is similar to the one I posted on hubpages that I mentioned in a previous blog posting.

I hope you find this useful in increasing your Mind Mapping skills.

If you like it and are a Squidoo member, please give it your preferred score, and if you want to be notified of my new lenses, you can subscribe to the RSS feed. There is also a link on that page to see other lenses by me (as I add them).

If you are on del.icio.us or technorati or stumbleupon or digg etc, there are links to add it to the social bookmarking sites of your choice (under the Save and Share heading).

All the best

Gideon

Brainstorming can be an effective way to solve problems and plan projects, but there are so many brainstorming techniques out there, many of them ineffective. This article shows how you can use NovaMind for effective brainstorming:

Discover the way to increased efficiency—the brainstorming tool you wouldn’t think would get you there

I hope you find this useful in increasing your brainstorming and Mind Mapping skills.

If you like it, please give it the “Thumbs up”, and if you want to be notified of my new hubs, you can subscribe to the RSS feed. If you are on hubpages, you are also welcome to join my “Fan club”.

If you are on del.icio.us or technorati or stumbleupon or digg etc, there are links to add it to the social bookmarking sites of your choice (click on the “Share this page” icon).

All the best

Gideon

Quite often I am asked about the very basics of how to make Mind Maps, so I have written an article and posted it for everyone to see:

How to Create Mind Maps

I hope you find this useful in increasing your Mind Mapping skills.

If you like it, please give it the “Thumbs up”, and if you want to be notified of my new hubs, you can subscribe to the RSS feed. If you are on hubpages, you are also welcome to join my “Fan club”.

This is just the first of many hubs I plan to post.

All the best

Gideon

Stephen Feber, a long time NovaMind customer tells about how he used the planning and organizational capabilities of NovaMind to obtain &pound22m (US$43.5m) project funding for an urban regeneration project.

In the process, he beat 312 other competitors for the funding, making him one of the top 1% of all bidders on the proposal.

Stephen shares his secrets of success in detail in an interview with Gideon King, founder of NovaMind.

Read the full PDF report at:

http://www.novamind.com/Business/case_studies/stephen_feber.php