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melitabel:
I use Personal Brain, which is also an information mapper which allows multiple parents and peer relationships between items.  I have looked at Topicscape, but I'm finding it hard to figure out and I don't like the visuals as well.  PB gives me an inherently networked view of my information, which I can't figure out how to get in Topicscape.  Also, while Topicscape offers more choices everytime I click on a node, it always ends up being more steps to take to do something simple, like attach a link to a web site.

PB also incorporates Boolean searching, which is another really important feature. 

PB does have features of a relational database - it has entities to which you can assign properties and relationships.  I happen to prefer a visual interface to a database like SQL Notes.

Vic, I think you used to use PB - I'd be interested in hearing what you like better about Topicscape.

VizAcc, this is a very crowded field.  Look at VicGee's master list - the best I've ever seen - before you invest much time in such a project.

Armando:
>I happen to prefer a visual interface to a database like SQL Notes.

IMO, SQLNotes already has a lot of visual "capabilities" : gantt charting, pivot charts and table. Mindmaps/concept maps are coming soon.

I've always wanted to try personal brain. I'll try to give it a shot during the weekend, if possible.

VicGee:
Vic, I think you used to use PB - I'd be interested in hearing what you like better about Topicscape.
-melitabel (June 04, 2008, 10:11 AM)
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Hi Melitabel,
The difference is visibility.  I have a need to organize a large corpus of information for projects I work on, and I switched from PB to TS because I find I can see where I am in its 3D landscape much better than in the mass of words on a blue (or whatever) background of PB.  TS shows more levels of the hierarchy at once, and once I've got to the right general area for what I'm looking for I recognise where I am.

You mentioned attaching a link to a web site - that's one of the things I use a LOT in Topicscape because it's easy - you click on the little icon in the browser's address bar and drag it to Topicscape.  I use IE (sorry!) and if I right-click and drag, in one step it makes a Web archive for me, puts it in whichever cone I drop it on and makes a live hyperlink in the source field.  That doesn't work in FF though.

If you don't like the visuals as much, well that's just personal taste, but I happen to greatly prefer them - also personal taste! 

BTW to help figure out the relationships press F7.  It shows colour-coded relationship lines.  After using TS for a short time, I stopped needing that.

I think my main criticism of TS would be that it has a lot of features and it takes time to learn them, but I wouldn't go back to PB.

mouser and Dormouse - thanks for the kind words about my site!

Vic
http://www.mind-mapping.org
The master list of mind mapping &
information management software

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