| Developer | Literature & Latte |
| License | Trial |
| Download | Free Download |
Various mind-mapping apps already exist out there but if you’d like to find one that’s less about structuring ideas and more about gearing towards getting them out of your head then you should consider Scapple from Literature and Latte, the developer of Scrivener. This freeform mind-mapping app is designed to help you put your ideas in one place and draw logical conclusions. It lets you record and find connections among your ideas easily. This brief yet the all-embracing review of Scapple outlines why this tool can take your work/project to the next level.
Scapple Overview
The app is designed in a super simple way for it literally is only a blank piece of paper. There is no weird shifting or any kind of formatting rules whatsoever. You are free to type things down anywhere on the blank page. Just type your ideas however they come to you!
The features of Scapple include:
- Easily creating a note by double-clicking anywhere on the page. You won’t run out of paper. Scapple offers unlimited connections and structures for it doesn’t require you to start from a central topic like how the usual mind-mapping apps do.
- Making connections between your ideas by dragging and dropping one note onto another. You don’t even have to follow the hierarchy structure. Simply use dot lines, double-headed arrows or solid lines arrows with the drag-and-drop feature to build connections among any ideas.
- Customizing the display of notes with various colors, shapes, etc. This particular feature is what’s missing in your notepads or a regular piece of paper. You can use different colors for every blob that represents different focus, e.g. social media, metrics, etc., so you don’t have to scan through every note like you usually do with your yellow pad.
- Creating background shapes in order to group notes. You can still do this even if they are connected in a criss-cross. You will always be able to create new room for new connections and ideas. Moreover, it’s easy to edit, delete, and resize
- Full-screen mode. The Z key allows for zooming out on a long-press so the whole canvas is displayed
- Printing or exporting your ideas. To top it off, you can drop your notes over to Scrivener to add them to the latter’s corkboard.
Scapple Platform
This software initially was only available for MacOS users (107+). But Windows die-hard fans now can breathe in relief for the app can now run on Windows as well, although it still requires Windows XP (SP3) +. As for now, the app is available for $ 12 – $ 14.99. However, it also offers a 30-day active-use trial which means you download the app, scribbles your ideas on it for 5 days and then goes inactive (as in not using the app) for the rest of the month, and you still have 25 days left for the trial. When comparing this app with other professional mind-mapping tools available, Scapple is quite affordable.
Furthermore, it also offers two different versions:
- The standard version ($ 14.99) which is a download product and is a license for the full version of this app.
- Educational license ($ 12) which is reserved for academics and students as well as requires institutional affiliation.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for an app that can definitely increase your work productivity, then Scapple is the answer. Moreover, since it has very simple functions along with simple UI designs, it only takes 80 MB of your disk space.