NovaMind Mind Mapping Software Adds Microsoft Project Import and Export; Mind Manager Import

Brisbane, Australia July 1, 2008 -- For some time, the Windows edition of the NovaMind Mind Mapping program (http://www.novamind.com) (Platinum edition) has had the ability to add project related information like start and finish dates, percentage complete, priorities, and assign resources to the branches on the Mind Maps.

Unlike the Mac version of NovaMind which can be imported directly into Merlin (http://www.novamind.com/merlin), the Windows edition did not have any way of getting the information over into a project management package.

Now that has all changed with the introduction of both import and export of Microsoft Project XML files. This means that it is possible to carry out the project inception phases in NovaMind, brainstorming your ideas and working out the project's scope and objectives, then export into Microsoft Project format for detailed project management.

The Microsoft Project file format has become the de facto standard for project management (http://www.novamind.com/planning/project-planning.php) applications, so just about any project management software will be able to use the MS Project format.

During the project, if it is necessary to bring someone new on to the project or brainstorm solutions to particular problems in the project, the whole project file can be imported into NovaMind, or a portion of the project plan can be exported from the project management package and opened in NovaMind. Using the Mind Map format makes it easy to see the interrelationships between objectives and requirements and tasks within the scope of the project. This makes it a powerful tool for both understanding where all the different pieces of the project fit together, and also for designing solutions to project related issues.

The Microsoft Project import and export functionality is available immediately as a free update for NovaMind Platinum for Windows users, and will be integrated into the NovaMind Platinum Mac product shortly.

Mind Manager Import

The Pro and Platinum editions of NovaMind for Windows also now have the capability of importing Mind Manager files. A lot of users have old Mind Maps (http://www.novamind.com/mind-mapping/) that they want to convert to NovaMind format and work with in NovaMind, and sometimes people receive Mind Manager files from colleagues. This capability has been built in to the Windows version of NovaMind Pro and Platinum to address this need.

Mind Manager import and export has been in the Mac version of NovaMind for several years, but the techniques used in the Windows product gives a better result, so this code will be ported to the Mac, and it will be available shortly in the Pro and Platinum editions for Mac.

The updates to the Windows versions are available for immediate download through the "check for update" feature within NovaMind or by downloading the software from the NovaMind web site.

About NovaMind

NovaMind has been the top Mind Mapping program available on Mac computers for the last 6 years, and is rapidly gaining recognition in the Windows market. NovaMind makes Mind Mapping intuitive and fun.

For more information about NovaMind, please visit www.novamind.com (http://www.novamind.com) or e-mail Gideon King at gideon(at)novamind.com.

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