MindManager Professional 26.0.208

MindManager Professional is a subscription edition of MindManager, a visual mapping and planning application. It turns ideas, tasks and information into mind maps, flowcharts, timelines and other diagrams. It runs as a desktop program on Windows and Mac. The same subscription also covers web access in major browsers and a Chromebook version. It also covers use inside Microsoft Teams and the MindManager Go viewer for iOS and Android. It is a paid product; a perpetual one-time license is sold separately with a smaller set of components.

Topics as the building block

Every MindManager diagram is made of topics. Pressing Enter adds a new topic, and drag and drop rearranges them. Each topic can carry far more than its label: priority and status markers, tags, resources, costs, notes, attachments and task dates. Text shortcuts speed this up, so typing “@” assigns a resource and “#” adds a tag.

To keep large maps readable, supplementary details can sit in topic info cards that stay hidden until needed.

Diagram types and the whiteboard

A map starts from a blank canvas or from one of the built-in templates. Beyond the classic radial mind map, MindManager Professional offers these diagram forms:

• Organizational charts and concept maps
• Flowcharts with swim lanes
• Timelines and Gantt charts for plans and roadmaps
• Kanban boards for agile workflows
• Fishbone (Ishikawa) diagrams for tracing the causes of a problem
• Venn and onion diagrams, funnel charts and matrix diagrams such as a SWOT analysis

You can combine different diagram types in one file. The whiteboard provides a large open canvas for sticky-note brainstorming. You can later convert a sticky note into a task.

Switching views of the same data

MindManager can show one map in several views because the content lives in topics rather than in a fixed drawing. These views are map, outline, Gantt, schedule, icon and tag. A power filter narrows any view to selected content, for example all tasks assigned to one person.

Planning projects with task data

The Task pane holds start dates, due dates, progress and resources for each topic, and MindManager calculates the duration. A roll-up command sets a parent topic’s start and end from its subtopics, so each project phase shows its total span. Topics can be marked as milestones.

To create dependencies, draw a relationship between two topics and then set the timing. For example, one task can start when another finishes. Moving a project section shifts every dependent date. In the Gantt view these links appear as connected bars, and dragging a bar updates the map.

SmartRules and formulas

SmartRules apply conditional formatting and automated actions based on topic properties. Custom formulas reference topics and their properties for calculations within the map.

Combining maps and building slides

Map roll-ups pull single topics or entire branches from several maps into one master map. This master map can serve as a central dashboard for a program of projects. A slide can draw content from multiple maps. You can refresh it as the underlying maps change.

Microsoft Office and Jira links

MindManager Professional connects with Word, Excel, Outlook, Project, SharePoint, Planner, To Do, Lists and Teams. You can bring tasks, email and contacts in from Outlook. You can also synchronize Outlook and SharePoint data with a map. A separately paid Jira add-on for the Windows edition connects to Jira Cloud and Jira Data Center.

Maps can be saved to SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box or iCloud, or to MindManager Files, the program’s own cloud storage.

Export formats

MindManager exports maps in several forms, with some differences between the Windows and Mac editions:

• HTML5 interactive maps that open in a browser
• Images such as PNG and JPEG, plus PDF on Mac
• Word documents with configurable numbering, table of contents and styles
• Excel, CSV, Microsoft Project and OPML on Windows; text, RTF and OPML outlines on Mac

Sharing and co-editing

Publishing places a map online behind a link, optionally password protected. Recipients can open it in a browser without installing MindManager. The publisher chooses whether viewers may download the editable file and can embed the map in a website or intranet. Sharing links can grant view, comment or edit rights.

Co-editing lets several licensed users edit one map at the same time, across platforms, with changes appearing in real time. It works on files stored in OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Box or Dropbox rather than on local files.

Capturing with Snap

Snap collects text, links and other content from the desktop, a browser or a mobile device. It sends this content to a personal queue or a teammate’s queue. The content waits there until the next time MindManager is opened. The Professional subscription includes shared team queues, which the one-time license lacks.

Professional subscription versus one-time license