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Scapple

literatureandlatte.com

23 pointsTomte21 comments

A list of other software in this category: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concept-_and_mind-mapp...

Nice list, CharlesW. I appreciate the disambiguation between FOSS and proprietary.

mindtools too

Scapple is very good. My primary use case is making annotated org charts. I have everyone's picture and role with links between them like "X and Y worked on this project" or "Z is really interested in this research". My one wish is that I could link to files in the filesystem without actually embedding them in the document. Add more than like 10 pictures and it starts to slow down a bit.

You should check out Hook app (if on mac) — it creates links to just about anything that you can put anywhere you like. It supports everything I’ve ever thrown at it from the file system.

A good linux alternative is VYM (view your mind). I always have one open to jot down my random ideas.

Scapple is best for organizing bits of information into charts. It is not great at mindmaps or outlining.

If you want an outline organizer then use something like iThoughts or XMind.

One of my favorite tools. ~~Sad it’s in maintenance mode~~ and Mac/Win only. A web and iOS experience would increase reach and share-ability.

Edit: just went over to the forums and read this exciting tidbit:

“ Scapple 1.4.1 is also a milestone in two ways:

A swathe of the core code has been updated from Objective-C to Swift, Apple’s modern programming language. The changes we’ve made in the background pave the way for Scapple’s future.

This is the first Mac release that I didn’t code entirely myself. In fact, the entire update and Swift changes are down to our new(ish) coder, Ian.”

> Sad it’s in maintenance mode

Your "Mac/Win only" comment notwithstanding, I'm pretty sure Literature & Latte said something to the effect of "We haven't released any updates because Scapple does everything we set out to make it do."

I wish more developers took that approach.

Requirements change over time, unfortunately.

The initial realization of the inevitability of bit-rot as the world changes over time was pretty frustrating for me.

Broadly speaking, I believe this has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially for user-facing apps. Yes, some requirements change because they genuinely have to—but many change because there's a business incentive to make use of all those programmers on your payroll.

In this case, I'm perfectly confident that Scapple will be updated to e.g. stay compatible with macOS. But, they aren't going to turn it into something it's not. Scapple knows what it's for and it does it well.

According to its release notes, 1.4.1 was released this month and "is an extensive overhaul of the underlying code, modernising and converting most of the codebase to Swift."

That doesn't sound like maintenance mode to me. https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scapple/release-notes?os=...

New(ish) coder here. Yes, Scapple is still under active development and we have some exciting things lined up for iOS (no time frame as yet).

Does it automatically route edges around nodes if they intersect?

Not sure what you mean by this, Amelius. Could you put this on our forum as a feature request?

Not to be confused with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrapple

Came here for fried pig face and not software. Great book comparing the regional variations: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Country_Scrapple/se3FwA...

I’m in goetta country myself.

At least in the Philadelphia area, the ingredients are often summed up as “everything but the oink.”

Famous words of my scoutmaster.

Why this over a regular mind map like xmind zen?

Mind maps tend to be hierarchical. I think a network diagram like what Scapple provides might be better for less structured thinking.

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