iThoughtsX - Mind Map 4+

iThoughts is amazing. It’s one of the two most useful and most used apps on my mac, the other one being omnifocus. iThoughts is an amazing productivity tool. Once you figure it out and how it flows, it’s a great and fast tool for generating thoughts and grouping them quickly and efficiently. It’s easy on the back side of that brainstorming to go back and add more organization by changing the colors of specific groups, changing the way the outline looks, etc. It’s all just so darn easy once you get the groove of it. I’ve probably been using it for five or six years and I have now bought this program for every device I own: mac, windows, iPad, iPhone.

This developer is very responsive with quick answers back by email to questions. There are a couple of things that I think aren’t in iThoughts yet and would be important additions. The first of those is the ability to password protect documents. Much of the information that I put into iThoughts is highly confidential from a business perspective and, since docs cannot be protected, I find myself trying to figure out how I can hide them on thumb drives or whatever. It’s less than ideal. It would also be good if there were a better flow for being able to access documents between computers and portable devices. It is possible now, but it seems tedious and doesn’t flow well.

Those pieces of input aside, I wouldn’t be deterred. iThoughts is the real deal and deserved a great review.

This is so easy to use, and ye so powerful and so feature-rich, and still so beautiful. It’s an amazing accomplishment by the developer and hugely useful for all kinds of projects, from simple to complex.
I do not like the "mark-down” aspect (see negative reviewers’ complaints about this) but at the end of the day it’s not that big of a deal, and the benefits of the app far far far outsrip the mark-down inconvenience, which you pretty much ignore anyway.
I would strongly recommend that the developer write (or hire someone to write) a better, more comprehensive manual, because the app does a LOT more than the online tutorials and guides suggest.
I’d also recommend better integration with either a calendar system (not just export) or with a gantt or with both. Btw, I can’t get the app to import CSV files despite following the instructions.
Anyway, I have my complaints about every app, and my complaints about this one are far fewer, and the app is so much better than the alternatives. It may seem pricey compared to some of the super-cheap ones, but it has features that make it worth the investment.
I look forward to further development of the app — In the meantime, it’s a joy to use.
P.S. The develop is VERY responsive to inquiries (and is very nice even if you ask dumb questions, which I’ve done!).

When I studied for the bar exam I used a mindmapping application which when it came crunch time - failed me. Features I didn't know I needed, until I knew I needed, it provided - but horribly. For example, PDF'ing a mindmap can be incredibly useful, but rarely used. Mindmaps gets that covered.

Mindmaps offers two crucial feature sets: rich visuals with immediate responsiveness; and high-grade technical features. Nodes can be expanded and contracted with a hit of a number, and on my eight year old Mac, still runs like a charm. The simple interface belies the complexity of its rich features. But the most important thing about iThoughts: it knows what it is. It is not looking to be the only application that you use, it's just looking to be the best iThoughts it can be.