Getting Started
(tap on the cross next to
a topic to reveal more information)
Create a new map
Tap the + icon on the (left hand end of the) toolbar
Enter a name for the new map
Tap Save and the new map will be created and opened
Create a new topic
Double tap the canvas and a new topic will be created at that point or....
Tap one of the topic creation buttons on the right of the toolbar - corresponding to...
Add new CHILD
Add new SIBLING
Add new CALLOUT
This is a callout
Insert RELATIONSHIP
Inspector
Used to set colour and shape etc.
Edit an existing topic
Double tap the topic and the keyboard will be displayed
Change the text size
Drag the pointy finger horizontally to change the topic width and vertically to change the topic size
The width and font size will be displayed as numerical values next to the topic during resize
Tap on the finger to reset the font size and width to the default
Delete a topic
Tap the selected topic and the cut/copy/paste/delete menu will be displayed
Tap on the Delete option
If the topic has children then there will be an option to delete topic or delete branch.
Delete topic will delete just that topic and reattach the children to the parent of the deleted topic.
Change the shape/colour/icon
Select the topic by tapping it once
Tap the i button on the right hand side of the toolbar to show the Inspector
Set the various attributes as required
Add a note
Select the topic by tapping it once
Pull down the tab just below the title on the toolbar to open the note view window - tap on it to edit.
The + and - symbols can be used to adjust the font size of the note
Just flick the tab upwards to close.
Insert an image
Open the Inspector
Select the Images tab
Select Images from the lower toolbar of the Inspector window (adjacent to the Icons button)
Choose one of the 'stock images' or select the bookmarks button on the lower toolbar to select a photo from the album
To copy an image FROM a topic (eg extract from an imported map) select + from the lower toolbar
Once inserted, drag the pointy finger to resize the topic/image
Re-centre the map
(it's disappeared off the screen)
Tap on the map title in the toolbar to re-centre on the currently selected topic.
Double tap the map title in the toolbar to re-center on the root topic.
Import/export maps
4 basic methods
Cloud (box.net/ Dropbox/ MobileMe/ WebDAV)
Import
Tap on the Send toolbar button
Select "Copy From <service>"
If first time in then select "Sign In To" and enter credentials.
Browse the cloud store folders for the map to download
Once selected, the map will be downloaded and opened.
Once downloaded, iThoughts will remember when and where the file was downloaded from so that it can be re-synchronised later
Export
Tap on the Send toolbar button
Select "Send To <service>"
If first time in then select "Sign In To" and enter credentials.
Select the format to save the map in
If a format is not in the list of options it must first be enabled in Export Options
Browse the cloud storage to an appropriate folder then select 'Use This Folder'
The map will be exported in the required format and then uploaded to the chosen folder
Once uploaded, iThoughts will remember when and where the file was saved so that it can be re-synchronised later
Browser
Import
Ensure that desktop and iPad are connected to the same WiFi network.
Tap on the Send toolbar button
Select 'WiFi Transfer' from the Send menu
Enter the URL displayed into the desktop browser (remembering the five 4s after the colon.)
The browser will display a list of maps available for download in the various desktop formats.
Click on the browse button and browse to the map to import then click 'Upload Here' against the appropriate folder.
Export
Email
Import
Tap on a supported attachment in the Mail app. It will offer to open the map in iThoughtsHD
Export
Open the map
Tap on the Send toolbar button
Ensure that the required format(s) are enabled (in Export Options)
Tap on the Send Email option
iTunes
Import
Connect your iPad to iTunes
Drag a map from your desktop onto the iThoughtsHD App 'Documents' section in iTunes.
This will copy the map into a special 'holding area' on your iPad
Tap on the Send toolbar button
Select 'Copy From iTunes'
Select the map to import (i.e. The map you just dragged onto iTunes)
Once selected, the map will be imported and opened.
Once imported, iThoughts will remember the fact that the file came from iTunes and the format so that it can be re-synchronised later
Export
Tap on the Send toolbar button
Select 'Send to iTunes'
Select the format to save the map in
If a format is not in the list of options it must first be enabled in Export Options
The map will be exported in the required format and then saved into the iTunes 'holding area'
Connect your iPad to iTunes
Drag the map from the iThoughtsHD App 'Documents' section in iTunes to your desktop.
Once saved to iTunes, iThoughts will remember the fact so that it can be re-synchronised later
Undo
To undo the previous operation tap on the toolbar button named undo
To redo an operation (after having undone it) press and hold the Undo toolbar button then select Redo.
Link from one map to another
Open the link tab in the Inspector
Browse to the map to link to and its path will be added to the link field (it's case sensitive)
To follow the link PRESS on the topic with the link
A PRESS is longer than a tap but shorter than a long press...!?
For example, PRESS this topic to jump to the What's New map
After jumping to a link, press the back button to return to the original map (the map picker toolbar button will change to a back button automatically)
To open a map when the toolbar is showing the back button press and hold the back button.
Futures?
More desktop formats
Attachments
Calendar and ToDo sync
Search/Filter
Outline View
More online collaboration
Quick Tips
Keyboard shortcuts?
Hit SPACE 3x to create a new child
Must be quick - 3 in under a second
Hit RETURN 3x to create a new sibling
Hit SPACE/RETURN 3x in the middle of a topic to split it.
Hit BACKSPACE 3x in an empty topic to delete it
Single tap the canvas to cancel (or complete) what you are doing.
Double tap the canvas to create a new topic
The first time it will create a child, subsequent times it will create a sibling
Press and hold one of the topic create toolbar buttons for more otions - for example to create a parent or sibling above the selected topic
Press and hold a topic to copy, move, merge or float it
The link to the parent will disappear after a second or so
Drag the topic over another topic and let go for more options
Drop it on a blank area of the canvas to delete or float
Merge 2 topics by dragging one on top of the other
Deleting a map
Bring up the map list
Tap Edit
Tap on the No Entry symbol next to the target map
Tap on Delete
This cannot be undone
Relationships (links between topics)
To create...
Tap the first topic
Tap the 'chain link' icon on the toolbar
Tap the second topic (and a relationship will be created)
To cancel the operation tap anywhere on the canvas
To edit/remove
Tap one of the linked topics
Tap the 'chain link' icon on the canvas
Double tap the expand/collapse icon next to a topic to show 1,2 or all sub topics (good for slowly revealing information)
To override the back button (after following a link) press and hold it - this will display the map list.
Extract images from imported maps for later use
To copy an image FROM a topic, select + from the lower toolbar when viewing the image library
Paste Tricks
Paste Style
Copy a topic which has attributes that you'd like to propagate
Select another topic then 'Paste Style'
Choose the individual styles to paste
Choose which topics to apply the style to (select, children, siblings etc.)
...enables 'template topics'
Great way to assign resources and other task info to a group of topics
Copy text from another app and...
Paste directly into a topic text
Paste onto a topic itself - resulting in child topics being created to contain the information
New child topic for each newline
Paste a branch and then...
Tap the pasted topic and select 'Delete' and then 'Delete Topic'
...provides a way to move a bunch of sibling topics
Copy images from the web
Press and hold the image in Safari
Open up iThoughts then tap on a topic and choose paste.
Take a look in the iThoughts section of the Settings App (there are lots of config options to tweak!)
Set word/sentence capitalisation options
Turn on/off various ui elements such as tapered links.
Configure WebDAV settings
Email outline options
etc.etc.etc
FAQ
The crosshair - why?
Importing/Exporting
Methods
ITunes Sharing
Email
WiFi/browser
Cloud
WedDAV
MobileMe/iDisk
Dropbox
Box.net
Save Image to Camera Roll
Formats
Freemind 0.8.x / 0.9.x
Mindmanager 6 / 7 / 8 / 9
Novamind 4 / 5
XMind
Mindview 3 / 4 (Windows ONLY)
iMindmap4
ConceptDraw MINDMAP 6 / 7
OPML
Omni Outliner
Scrivener
PDF (export only)
PDF exports are not available over wifi/browser transfer (only email or cloud upload)
When emailing a large PDF (by area) the mail composition screen may not display the PDF (displaying a white question mark in a blue rectangle instead.) This is down to a restriction within the mail app - the PDF attachment will still be sent.
PNG (export only)
Caveats?
Not all attributes are supported in all formats.
Unsupported/recognized attributes and data will be discarded.
Old versions
Maps are auto-saved and periodically snapshot'd - previous snapshots can be recovered.
Backup
Select 'Email Archive' to email yourself a zip'd up copy of all your maps
Do NOT rely on iTunes backups - they are overwritten each time - please take the time to email yourself a backup regularly.
Synchronisation
Synchronised maps will have an icon representing their status (to the left of the disclosure button on the right)
In-sync
Local copy modified
Cloud copy modified
Both modified (i.e. conflict)
Unknown
Network connectivity problem?
Remote file deleted/renamed/moved?
Tap the 'Sync' icon in the bottom right of the map picker popup window.
Select 'Check For Updates'
This will check to see if a newer version of the map exists in the cloud.
Select 'Synchronise'
This will check for updates and then update the local or cloud copy as necessary.
If both copies have been modified independently (i.e. there is a conflict) then no action is taken.
To resolve a conflict (i.e. local and cloud copy have changed)
Tap the icon (with a yellow triangle)
Choose whether to upload the local copy or download the cloud copy.
If you find iThoughts useful then please do leave a review on the AppStore...any issues, queries or suggestions just email me (I can't respond to AppStore reviews - Apple doesn't tell me your email address!)
Press this topic to leave a review on the AppStore