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Additional Capabilities of ConceptDraw MINDMAP

Pictures. Drawing. Editing objects.

Now you are familiar with the main features of ConceptDraw MINDMAP, you have the knowledge to create a wide variety of impressive mind maps. Of course there are many aspects of ConceptDraw MINDMAP that we have not covered yet. In the previous lessons our attention was paid to the features, specific to the building of mind maps - such as changing the structure of the map, adding symbols, hyperlinks, using the Brainstorming mode. In this lesson you will become acquainted with the drawing capabilities of ConceptDraw MINDMAP. You can use ConceptDraw MINDMAP as a graphics editor, and add simple drawings to your mind maps.

This lesson has a different structure than the previous lessons. In this lesson we will describe a variety of different tools used for basic drawing, we will not describe creating a specific type of mind map, but rather give some tips on how to use these tools to add information to your map.

1. Inserting ready-made pictures

The easiest way to add impact to your mind map is to use ready-made images from graphic files found on your computer. They can be attached, embedded in the topics or used separately - for instance an object can be used as a background for a map you have created.

To insert a picture from a file, choose the Picture... item from the Insert menu or the Insert Picture... item from the map context menu. A file open dialog will appear, allowing you to locate and choose the desired graphic file you would like to insert into your map. Choose the graphic file and click the Open button. The picture will be inserted in the center of the active window. The picture is now a part of your document and is no related to the file it was taken from.

The picture is inserted as a single object which can be resized, repositioned and attached to the topic.

It's even easier to use the Clipboard to add a picture to your mind map. If the picture is in a document (for instance, in a MS Word document), copy it from your word document , then switch into ConceptDraw MINDMAP and press Ctrl + V. The picture will be inserted into your mind map.

You can also insert the pictures from the Clipart floating dialog. In this case the picture will be embedded in the selected topic or will be added as single object if there is no selected topic. You can choose picture from the clip art objects supplied with program on the tab, or pictures from disk on the tab.

2. Drawing Tools

With ConceptDraw MINDMAP you can also draw by using the built-in drawing tools. On the Drawing Tools toolbar there are Rectangle, Ellipse , Line , Spline tools.

To draw a rectangle:

• Choose the Rectangle tool.
• Press and hold down the mouse button where you want the left top corner of the rectangle to be.
• With the mouse button held down, drag the pointer to the place where you want the bottom right corner of the rectangle to be, and release the mouse button. Holding the Shift key down while dragging will draw a square.

To draw an ellipse:

• Choose the Ellipse tool.
• Draw same as you drew the rectangle. The ellipse will appear inside its alignment box. Holding the Shift key down while dragging will draw a circle.

To draw a line:

• Choose the Line tool.
• Press and hold down the mouse button where the line will begin and drag without releasing the button.
• Release mouse button where you want the line to end.

And finally, we can examine how the Spline tool can be used. This tool is used for freeform drawing and behaves similar to a pen on paper.

• Choose the Spline tool.
• Click somewhere on the map and with the mouse button held down, drag to draw a line. A black line will follow the pointer, showing how the spline will be drawn.
• When the drawing is done, release the mouse button. The resulting object is made up of numerous segments. The control and adjustment handles on the segment allow you to change their form.
• Use these handles to correct the form of the spline.
• You can change the color and width of the line using the Line & Fill dialog.

3. Editing

If you make a mistake while drawing, our graphic editor allows you to edit your drawings. In the previous paragraph we showed how to change the form of the segments by using their adjustment handles. Now we will show you some other ways you can edit objects.

Repositioning

You can reposition any object by dragging it with your mouse. A box that appears when you are dragging an object shows its size and current position.

You can also bring objects to the front or send to the back with Send to Back, Bring to Front, Send Backward, Bring Forward commands from the Tools / Draw menu.

Resizing

Objects can be resized to suit your needs. To resize an object, select it and drag its corner or side.

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