3D Topicscape is a

Personal information manager A personal information manager (often referred to as a PIM tool or, more simply, a PIM) is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. The acronym PIM is now, more commonly, used in reference to personal information manag ...

that provides a template loosely based on mind-mapping or

concept map A concept map or conceptual diagram is a diagram that depicts suggested relationships between concepts. Concept maps may be used by instructional designers, engineers, technical writers, and others to organize and structure knowledge. A conce ...

ping. It presents the

mind map A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. It is often created around a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank page, to which associated r ...

as a 3D scene where each

node In general, a node is a localized swelling (a "knot") or a point of intersection (a vertex). Node may refer to: In mathematics *Vertex (graph theory), a vertex in a mathematical graph *Vertex (geometry), a point where two or more curves, lines, ...

is a cone (or pyramid, or variation on such a shape). It can also display in a 2D format. Nodes are arranged in a way that indicates how they are related in much the same way as a

. In addition to its use for

information management Information management (IM) concerns a cycle of organizational activity: the acquisition of information from one or more sources, the custodianship and the distribution of that information to those who need it, and its ultimate disposal throug ...

it is claimed to be suitable as a

task manager In operating systems, a task manager is a system monitor program used to provide information about the processes and applications running on a computer, as well as the general status of the computer. Some implementations can also be used to t ...

, and for use in

project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...

. A Topicscape is created by importing folders (by

Drag-and-drop In computer graphical user interfaces, drag and drop is a pointing device gesture in which the user selects a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object. In general, it can be used to ...

or menus), importing from other mind mapping software including

FreeMind FreeMind is a free mind mapping application written in Java, which is further developed by the fork Freeplane until today (2021). FreeMind itself was last updated in 2014. FreeMind is licensed under the GNU General Public License Version 2. It ...

, PersonalBrain and

MindManager MindManager is a commercial mind mapping software application developed by Mindjet. The software provides ways for users to visualize information in mind maps and flowcharts. MindManager can be used to manage projects, organize information, and ...

or by hand with mouse clicks or keyboard shortcuts. Import sources may be converted to a new Topicscape or added as a portion of an existing one. The number of levels that can be stored is not limited, but up to seven levels of the hierarchy may be viewed at once. Any node may be chosen as the centre of the 3D scene and choosing one at the edge will cause more to come into view. Topicscape's most obvious difference from 2D mind mapping software is that it provides a zooming interface and simulates flying as noted by ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' columnist Jeremy Wagstaff in his column "Fly through your computer." The

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

and ''

PC World ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...

'' Laura Blackwell

(print edition), April 2008 have also reviewed 3D Topicscape.

Versions

*3D Topicscape public Beta in Jan 2006 *3D Topicscape 1.0, May 2006 *3D Topicscape Lite 1.05; 1.07, Dec 2007; 1.2, Aug 2008 *3D Topicscape Pro 1.2, Feb 2007; 1.3, May 2007; 1.56, Dec 2007; 1.59, May 2008; 1.6, Jul 2008; 1.63, Sep 2008; 2.0, Apr 2009; 2.5 Dec 2009; 2.6 Feb 2010; 2.7 April 2010 *3D Topicscape Student Edition Beta, Sep 2007; 1.0, Feb 2008; 2.0, Dec 2009

File Format

Uses an embedded

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures * Bennu, Egyptian firebird * Huma bird, Persian firebird * Firebird (Slavic folklore) Bird species ''Various spe ...

relational database to store user-provided and operational metadata. Files attached to nodes (topics) may be linked to in their original location or be held in a folder (directory) associated with a given Topicscape. Links to files in a Topicscape's folder are relative. Topicscape folders may therefore be moved without breaking such links. Import file formats supported include

OML OML (Outline Markup Language) is an XML format for outlines. It was originally proposed by Ray Grieselhuber. The specification is designed to build upon the concepts found in OPML, with the goal of fixing some of its limitations. OML has a str ...

versions 5-8, PersonalBrain, and text (outline-numbered); Export file formats can be those for

OPML OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) is an XML format for outlines (defined as "a tree, where each node contains a set of named attributes with string values"). Originally developed by UserLand as a native file format for the outliner appli ...

HTML The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaScri ...

and text structured for re-import, or text for reading.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3d Topicscape Personal information managers Mind-mapping software Concept mapping software Windows-only software

Versions

File Format

See also

References