![]() ![]() ![]() Scapple is a good alternative to paper an pen, enabling you to write down rough ideas and create connections without sticking to a template. Get your ideas down on a virtual whiteboard You can modify the font, the text alignment, indentation, colors borders and the write direction.Ĭreated idea maps can be exported to various formats for easy sharing, including PD, TXT, RTF, Outline Markup or image files. There is a collection of design styles that you can apply to each note, while also giving you the freedom to create your own. ![]() Notes can be automatically distributed over the workspace, modified to match certain dimensions or stacked together to build a compact list. The application features automatic spelling correction, special character substitutions and basic text editing options. Customize notes' appearance and export your maps Making connections is just as easy, since you just have to drag and drop one note on top of another and a dotted line appears between the two. Trying to keep things as simple as possible, Scapple can create a new note anywhere on the canvas and connect them only if you choose to.Ī new note is created by simply double clicking in the work area. You are not forced to start with a central idea and create branches, connect notes or use templates to organize your thoughts. Scapple is similar to mind-mapping software, but it does not follow the exact pattern of such applications. Write down your thoughts and make connections Designed as an alternative to paper and the classic blackboard, it can be used as a freeform text editor that enables you to create simple mind maps and link ideas. Save the perfectionism for the final product, not your notes.Scapple is great for brainstorming sessions and project planning, acting as a virtual whiteboard where you can scribble down ideas, create connections and make notes. ![]() The only person who needs to see your Scapples is yourself. It’s worth it, just don’t let yourself get too distracted. It’s $14 bucks, which cheap in the grand scheme of productivity software and if you’re a visual thinker like I am it’s very handy at getting your plot laid out. Scapple is the best mind-mapping program to fill that niche in the market. Effective at mapping and laying out snippets of text visually. That’s not Scapple’s fault, as I mentioned in my post “ Shut Up and Write!“, if we’re looking for distraction, we’ll find it. You can spend a lot of time stylizing, tweaking, and laying things out. (Which I bet is coming.)Īlso, while not a reflection on Scapple, I should mention that this very much one of those programs that can get in the way of actual work. I feel that a lot of this could be solved with some snap-to-grid system. It’s not as forgiving as some programs, and often I find myself scrambling to lay things out properly. There’s a lot of plot points to juggle in this one so making sure I have everything organized was key for me, and Scapple helped me quickly get my thoughts down so I could progress. Spoilers!) Only a portion of that is the actual story (highlighted in blue), but I wanted to make sure I paid attention to what else was going on. Here’re the first five chapters of my new unnamed project: I can get my ideas onto the screen, make connections between those ideas, and then step back and see the big picture. Everything is drag and droppable allowing for me to work quickly. It really was the product I was looking for: it’s both part mind-mapping and part free-form text editor. Scapple has been on my radar for a while, but it wasn’t until recently that I decided to step in and give it a shot. I’ve even tried using Adobe Illustrator, which has a lot of similar features, but in the long run is too bulky and cumbersome for this type of work. I have even tried lists within a document, but I found it too difficult to step back and get the big picture. I have tried spreadsheets with Google Docs and Apple’s Numbers, but those are too cumbersome for this type of work. Paper is too small to write this sort of stuff out and ultimately a waste. So I have been looking for alternative means to organize my work without sacrificing space. Sadly, I don’t have room in my house for a whiteboard. Be it for wireframes, or just to start hashing out ideas, the temporary nature of a whiteboard allows me to be loose with my thoughts and explore avenues with little to no expense. I am foremost a visual thinker I work with whiteboards all the time for my day job. (I wrote a post about Scrivener as well, you should check it out. I mentioned in my previous post that over the last month I have been exploring Scapple, software from Literature and Latte, creator of my favorite word processing software Scrivener. Robert Goddard at Clark University – via Flickr ![]()
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