Mindjet have just released a "preview" of MindManager 2017 due to be released in September this year which highlights the following features (my comments in brackets):
- HTML5 export of interactive maps which can be opened in most browsers (presumably an expanded and updated version of the current very basic web export facility);
- Export map content to "over 700 leading cloud apps" like Slack, Box, OneNote, Google Docs, and Gmail through Zapier (as I understood that this is already available through MindManager Enterprise, I assume this means this facility is being extended to the standard version. I assume this will address the current lack of OneNote integration which a number of users have been seeking);
- The ability to transfer Gmail items and send content and status updates into maps as topics using Zapier (fortunately, it appears from the screenshots that MM can still communicate directly with Outlook);
- New horizontal and vertical timeline templates which can be filtered (this is a feature which users have called for several years and which is increasingly available on competing products);
- A critical path view in Gantt charts (again, a feature which users have long called for);
- "Simplified flowchart creation" with new tools including a "fly-out topic shape selector", right-angle relationship lines and new calendar display options;
- "Simplified file management" with a unified look covering file storage on the desktop, in SharePoint or in the cloud (Box is the only cloud service specifically mentioned, however);
- A technology guarantee that if you purchase either the English or German current version of MindManager after 15 July 2017 you will receive MM 2016 for Windows and MM 10 for Mac now and MM 2017 for Windows when it becomes available (by implication this statement indicates that there will not be a new Mac version any time soon).
Some of these features are interesting and/or useful, especially if the assumption that the Zapier export availability is being extended to the standard version is correct. However, a number of features which users have long sought to have improved or incorporated in MM appear not to have been addressed in this version, if the preview is a comprehensive guide.
Bjorn Eriksson
Marc Smith
Nigel Goult (Olympic)