Freeplane

Freeplane is a free and open–source software application that supports thinking, sharing information, and getting things done at work, in school, and at home. The software can be used for mind mapping and analyzing the information contained in mind maps. Freeplane runs on any operating system that has a current version of Java installed. It can be run locally or portably from removable storage like a USB drive.

Features and Highlights

• Note–taking with freely positionable, unconnected nodes (post–its)
• Ordering ideas (nodes) into a hierarchy connected by lines (edges)
• Classifying nodes with metadata (attributes) and style types (system styles, user–defined styles, level styles)
• Grouping nodes with visual containers (clouds) and accolades (summary node)
• Connecting nodes with dynamic links, free lines (connectors), and labels;
• Automatically styling nodes (with a bubble, color, edge type, etc.) according to hierarchical level and content (conditional styles, automatic edge color, level styles)
• Structuring nodes in terms of content (text, scientific formula, calculation, icon, image, and hyperlink) and presentation area (core, details, notes, attributes, images, and tooltip)
• Changing views by hiding content (folding branches, filtering, a roll-up of details, and hiding extensions in the tooltip), finding, scrolling, and navigating;
• Tasking with calendar and reminders;
• Password protection of the whole map and of individual nodes with DES encryption;
• Ease of use with inline– and dialog editors, object–oriented main menu, context menus, multi-language support, spell checker, properties panel, drag& drop functionality, hotkeys, options for batch execution, publishing, sharing, and selectable preferences;
• Approximate Search (similarity search) which allows finding search terms in a text, even if there is no exact match (e.g. "setup" = "set up" or "file" = "file").
• Support for LaTeX formulae underneath/in nodes
• Easy extension of functionality with add–ons and homemade scripts;
• Integration with Docear academic literature suite;
• Extensive support through Wiki and Forum; and tutorial and documentation in the form of a mind map.

Note: Freeplane can work on any operating system that has Java Runtime Environment installed.

Also Available: Download Freeplane for Mac and Freeplane Portable