Mind Mapping

This text is derived from the Mind Map entry in the online Wikipedia.

"A Mind Map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing."

"A Mind Map is an image-centered diagram that represents semantic or other connections between portions of information. By presenting these connections in a radial, non-linear graphical manner, it encourages a brainstorming approach to any given organizational task, eliminating the hurdle of initially establishing an intrinsically appropriate or relevant conceptual framework to work within."

"The elements are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts and are organized into groupings, branches, or areas. The uniform graphic formulation of the semantic structure of information on the method of gathering knowledge, may aid recall of existing memories."

The use of the term 'Mind Maps' is trademarked in the UK and the USA by The Buzan Organization, Ltd.

Mind Mapping in Enterprise Architect

Within Enterprise Architect you can develop Mind Maps quickly and simply, through use of an MDG Technology integrated with the Enterprise Architect installer. The Mind Mapping facilities are provided in the form of:

A Mind Mapping diagram type, accessed through the 'New Diagram' dialog
A 'Mind Mapping' page in the Toolbox
Mind Mapping element and relationship entries in the 'Toolbox Shortcut' menu and Quick Linker

Access

Use any of the methods outlined here to display the Diagram Toolbox, then click on to display the 'Find Toolbox Item' dialog and specify 'Mind Mapping'.

Ribbon	Design > Diagram > Toolbox
Keyboard Shortcuts	Alt+5
Other	Click the icon on the Diagram caption bar to display the Diagram Toolbox

Mind Mapping Toolbox Page

Page Appearance	Description	See also
	Central Topic is the main theme of the Mind Map; you would normally have one or two of these on the diagram, but can add as many as are necessary Main Topic represents the immediate concepts generated by the Central Topic Topic represents the larger divisions of a Main Topic Sub Topic represents the finer divisions of a Topic or Main Topic; you could also have Subtopics of Subtopics to represent increasingly finer distinctions Relationship represents the connection between any two elements; you can have several Relationships per element Each relationship has three anchor points, so you can curve the lines to develop the flow of concepts more easily

Page Appearance

Description

See also

Central Topic is the main theme of the Mind Map; you would normally have one or two of these on the diagram, but can add as many as are necessary
Main Topic represents the immediate concepts generated by the Central Topic
Topic represents the larger divisions of a Main Topic
Sub Topic represents the finer divisions of a Topic or Main Topic; you could also have Subtopics of Subtopics to represent increasingly finer distinctions
Relationship represents the connection between any two elements; you can have several Relationships per element

Each relationship has three anchor points, so you can curve the lines to develop the flow of concepts more easily

Mind Map Diagram

This is the general appearance of a Mind Mapping diagram.

As the elements can represent any concept, object or relationship, you can use the full range of element properties and features to expand on what the element represents, including adding Note elements. However, to preserve the simplicity and readability of the diagram itself, you cannot display the element compartments on the diagram.

Disable Mind Mapping

If you prefer not to use Mind Mapping in Enterprise Architect, you can disable it (and subsequently re-enable it) using the 'MDG Technologies' dialog (select the 'Specialize > Technologies > Manage' ribbon option).

Learn more