Second Half of: An Xmind Beginners Thru advanced Guide: A Users Manual, With Hints & Helps (Post Revised 15 Sept 2011)

[Henry Gurr]

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[[THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION; YOU ARE WELCOME TO BROWSE, BUT PLEASE EXCUSE OUR MESS!! ]] 

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Second Page On XMind Form Near total revision & posted110914.

This WebPage is a continuation of an earlier XMind Forum Page, having the same title as above. (See Footnote** for link to this earlier Forum Page.)

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Dear xMind Users Forum

 

For 30 years, I have been a University Physics Teacher, and a Researcher Of Human Functionality. During this time it has been my top priority to research human learning, and apply what I discovered in the class room: I have thought (& researched), a great deal about the best ways to learn.

It is with this background that I wrote my "xMind Guide, With Hints & Helps For Beginners Thru Advanced Users.". And as I did so, I came to realize that I was building INTO this Guide, my own ideas (really a theory), about how a human being, can and should learn new skills & knowledge, the fastest, and most reliable way. In other words my Guide contains within it, what I believe to be the Best:Way To Learn New Skills and Knowledge.

The remainder of this document will spell out the how I think you should approach any learning situation, with emphasis on learning computers, using XMind to provide the specific learning tasks and examples.

Please remember this: The manner with which I suggest you learn XMind, I also recommend for nearly ALL learning situations.

 

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As I said in my first XMind Forum Page:

“Congratulations for deciding to use XMind! You have found a very powerful and flexible tool that will compliment many other applications you are now using on your computer. XMind is remarkably user friendly!! “

 

However: XMind’s power, complexity, & many useful features, correspondingly make XMind a huge learning task!!

And no amount of “user friendly”plus good reliable design, will protect you from frustrations, dead ends, and confusions, which I will call “hang-ups”.

 

What makes XMind powerful and useful is its many automatic “user friendly”features, tools, and unique abilities. But ... such powerful systems having lots of “bells and whistler” ... are necessarily complex. For the beginning beginner, there is a lot going on!! And in fact, much more than the user *even if experienced) may see or even dream about!!! Of what you can see, there must be at least a hundred “buttons” to push and I guess there are another hundred special “tools”, and “odd corners” to learn about.

So, despite all of XMind’s wonderful features, you will need to make huge learning effort to be able to fully (and easily and with skill) use its many features. Other wise you will blindly stumble around, instead of getting your next Urgent Big Job done on time. And unless you take time to fully explore XMind, you will never be able to use XMInd's great features, or even suspect, many of XMInd's multitude of unique abilities.

And without make huge effort to learn the features of XMind and gain skills using it, you will most certainly experience lots of needless frustration, confusion, and wasted time!! Hang-up-Ville!!

In my experience, it is NOT the XMind Software itself that is the source of my “hang-ups”, both minor and major!! It has been mostly my own lack of knowledge of how XMind actually works, that has usually resulted in the problems that I have experienced: A word to the wise: One's own lack of understanding, will produce errors, mis-takes, confusions, blockages, and frustrations. Attention!! Attention!!

And, of course, this is why I wrote my "xMind Guide, With Hints & Helps For Beginners Thru Advanced Users.". This guide is what I wanted (and needed) when I started using XMind. I hope you find it truly helpful. Please let me know what you think.

 

At this point the you might (should?) mouse click on this link, and spend some time scanning around my Guide. As you do so, you should be making plans as to when you will want to do the following steps with XMind: 1) DownLoad, 2) Install, and 3) Do the parts where my Guide says “explore, experiment & play around quite a bit, to see how it works!!

http://ww2.usca.edu/ResearchProjects/ProfessorGurr/Documents/HsgXmindGuide

 

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So faced with the huge XMind learning task, HOW should the beginner approach this new XMind learning situation??

 

A) In my above mentioned XMind Guide: you will find the following statement: “XMind, by purposeful design, presumes “learning by doing”: As is true for most good software Apps these days, are “user friendly”, where the beginner is supposed to “explore and bump around”, with “”trial and error”, until he / she absorbs, what is needed!! In other words you figure out xMind, by experimenting & osmosis!! This means that: You playfully click on every thing, (there must over 100 click points), and see what happens!! THIS is the fastest way to “get up to speed”. THIS is the fastest way to achieve real & long lasting skill !! This is the fastest way to securely put into your memory (and fingers) what you need to know for the future:. Thus: As you read my Helps & Hints document, keep in mind that it's instructions presumes you have already done your part, by having already DONE MUCH “Explore & Discover” !!

 

B) So .... take my message above “To Heart!! .... and as soon as possible, you should be doing A) above with XMind or any other new project. And as you do the above (and below) Don't forget, what I have said as applied to ANY NEW learning task, especially complex ones like computers!!

 

C) Why?

In order to understand any person's words and instructions, you must have “some familiarity”. Other wise this pile of words will cause more confusion, instead of help!! This is generally true for any Guide or Users Manual! This includes my own words, which you should go to mostly (or only) when you are stuck on a big problem, and need “Word Help”. As an alternate, you could use my words as a “check list”, to see if there is anything you haven't already discovered on your own.)

 

 

D) Yes, I know, some persons think they need to “read first”. ....

Believe me: I suggest the opposite, especially for the up-to-date Computer SoftWare Apps these days: Most especially xMind, because it (behinds the scenes) has so many, many “Bells & Whistles”, it gets complicated fast. On purpose xMind seems (and is) simple as you start off. But, although not evident at first, xMind's capabilities are huge and complex. It's too BIG to read about it!!

So ... you should just start off to be just “pushing the mouse around”, and reading the little signs that “pop up”. And .... on what ever strikes your fancy ...,, “click on it”, and see what happens!! Learning by doing at it's best. You learn faster this way!! And you remember more this way!!!

 

E) Exploring & Learning xMind should be (& with correct attitude will be) FUN & INTERESTING & REWARDING!! But you MUST do this xMind exploration, at a time you are rested, relaxed, and not pressed for time (highly recommended), What more could you ask for!!?? Don't forget, this with ANY NEW learning task, especially computers!!

 

F) Note this: he FUN part ALONE will speed up learning and increase you memory, of what you need tor the next use of XMind!!! Now don't forget, this in ANY NEW learning task, especially computers!!

 

G) You know ... its the old-timey schooling thing: The “Eye - Hand - Brain - Action- Coordination - IN REAL ACTUAL CONTEXT!!” Thing!!

 

H) Reading, by contrast, is not in context, and thus requires the extra step from paper (the abstract), to what you are working on (“the real”). It is bound to be harder, slower, and less effective, and less fun. I hope you believe me. ]]

 

I) So .... Now ....

1) Have you done the above mentioned “explore and bump around”?

2) If YES, then you are only possibly ready to read my Hints & Helps.

3) But first, read and “take to heart” the following

 

[[ is below, updated better formatthan above ??? I think so??/I'm not sure?? ]]

F) So ... you should just start off: Just be“pushing the mouse around”, and reading the little signs that “pop up”. And .... on what ever strikes your fancy ...,, “click on it”, and see what happens!! Learning by doing at it's best. You learn faster this way!! And you remember more this way!!! Plus if you do this xMind exploration, at a time you are rested, relaxed, and not pressed for time (highly recommended), the learning xMind will be FUN & REWARDINGll What more could you ask for!!?? Note this: The FUN part ALONE will speed up learning and increase you memory, of what you need tor the next use of xMInd!!! You know ... its the old schooling thing..... The “Eye - Hand - Brain - Action- Coordination - IN REAL ACTUAL CONTEXT!!” Thing!! Don't forget, this with ANY NEW learning task, especially computers!!

J) Please do NOT read my XMind Guide, UNTIL you are stuck, stumped, blocked, ka-put. You should read for word answers, only after you have experimented around quite a bit to see if you can solve the problem on your own. Read words (abstract) only when is absolutely needed!!

 

In essence I recommend that you NOT READ my Hints & Helps, until you HAVE A PROBLEM, and suddenly MUST READ a document to solve it.

 

Unless you MUST solve some required problem, you should “explore and bump around”, with “”trial and error”, until you absorb, what is needed!! In other words you figure out xMind, by experimenting & osmosis!! This means that, rather than read a User Manual, you playfully click on every thing, and see what happens!! THIS is the fastest way to “get up to speed”. THIS is the fastest way to achieve real & long lasting skill !! Thus, my Helps & Hints document below presumes you have already done MUCH “Explore & Discover” !!

 

 

[[ROUGH DRAFT BEFORE THE IDEAS EVAPORATE:

If you don't read, so what do you do??? Where is my typed statement = if run into a problem don't immediately solve it. just keep going will solve itself .....

.... reading is abstract b/c words are abstract, not the real thing , BUT if you really are stuck, probably words & reading are best or only way, esp or or for no other reason with words can search Google!! Problem solving I don't know of another way (to expand PS channels Visual Audio feel smell taste emotion none have any way to amplify extend what one person can put to the problem What say ZMM ? Dynamic learning in real ... use GPS .... all of it's physical “what you can count on” of my talks past and Ohio APS Oct. ]]

 

2) IfNO, then get xMind running on your computer, and spend an hour or so “playing around”, to get the “feel of it”. Make pencil notes on paper, to help you remember. (You will find this very much easier if you have had considerable experience using ordinary computers, since what you see, such as the names, and many of your steps, will be already be familiar to you!! For the most part, when you are using xMInd, don’t worry that you will ruin your computer or erase/delete something important.

 

4. You should now continue exploring all of the suggestions I have mentioned above until you have gotten comfortable finding your way around. As you explore, don’t get stuck on problems or questions; just make brief notes, and keep exploring. This is how you learn by osmosis! You will see that many of your problems and questions will be answered “automatically” (with no effort) in the following exercises. I think it is the best mode of learning, to just just merely note problems that happen, and then keep on working: You will be pleasantly surprised that the “answer” to the problem will “occur” with no additional effort! It's amazing how this goes! But suppose (despite a your best efforts), you are blocked (or have big problem), that needs an answer right -now. Similar to above, when you reach this “zero point of reality”, it's time to Stop working!! Take a Break: Get coffee or food; Go for a walk; Do some other job; Wait for a better time; Or “Sleep on it!!”. Even IF you are in a hurry, it might be better get some rest or diversion Go talk to some one, or take a run the the bath room. You might try This: Sit, close your eyes, relax, be bored, and “juss wait”!! You will be pleasantly surprised that the “answer” to your problem will “occur”, spontaneously, often in a “flash of insight”, with no additional effort!!!

 

When “answers” like this occur, your mind will also be automatically building this solution in your long term memory, such that if you again come anywhere near to, this same problem, the “answer” will automatically (P) pop to mind. Or at least you will solve the problem (or any similar) much more rapidly!! Either way, each encounter or near encounter, will be automatically increasing your long term memory, hence making you ready for the future!

 

An example observation of the “no effort 'answer' ” process happened to me over an hour after I composed and typed, the “pleasantly surprised” paragraph second above: In that hour, I had: Finished typing that paragraph, gone outside to recorded temperature & weight data for my Desiccant Solar Collector (also set the timer clock), talked thru travel plans with my wife, and prep + eat my lunch. And while relaxing after lunch (P) poped into my mind, the words: “after automatic 'answer' pop to mind, there will automatic reinforcing and building of long term memories”. Here (underlined), were five words new to this document, in a new association, that were needed to increase the punch of this second above paragraph. They came to mind spontaneously, while I was relaxing and not particularly thinking about any thing!! Most certainly farthest from my conscious mind was my writing of this wnd above paragraph. But .... a new and better “answer” arrived “out of the blue”!! Following the prompt of the underlined words, I composed the next paragraph above. And the typing of the previous sentence, automatic prompts another idea, also an “answer”, of the sort being discussed: The process of writing (composition and typing), is another circumstance where the sentence writing problem, is the need to put down “answers”, one word at a time: The words, “answer”, after “answer”, after “answer”, after answer .... and the paragraph is there for all to see!! (New Pop) Ray Bradbury's book “The Zen of Writing” has much illumination about all of this!!

 

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XMIND means: (So long as not dangerous to anyone or any computer!)

 

X = Xplore: Bump around and see how it works!!

M = Memory is automatically built. Makes you ready for future.

I = Investigate what ever spontaneously “jumps in front of your eyes”

N = Never fixate (for long) on a “hang-up”: Just Notice and Move on.

D = Discover, Xplore, Play: With every button & handle you can find.

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[[BELOW IS THE CONTENT THAT WAS ORIGINALLY HERE; ]]

NOTE: This Forum Post System says that my entire post exceeded 40,000 characters.

So I below I post the  second half of my post. Please look for the first half, same date, near by. Here is a  continuation of   My xMind Users Forum "Discussion" Page: 

A NOTE To The New Beginning Beginner: 

To The VERY NEW At Computers & xMind:

As is true for good software Apps these days, xMind will easily and reliably “down load” from the internet, and install in your computer. Click on “download”, and follow the instructions at link next below. With Hi speed internet connection you may download
and install and have xMind going in your computer in ~5 to 15 minutes. With phone line “dial-up” internet connection, this might take several hours for the download, but only 5 min for the installation. The steps you must perform, for download and installation, are fairly clearly stated, and will be quite familiar to anyone who has already done the DnLd & Install for other types of SoftWare Applications (So called Apps). Other recommended
Free & Good Apps are given below. http://www.xmind.net/

 

A) Have you already installed xMind?

B) AND have YOU been experimenting, quite a bit, to see how it works?

XMind, presumes “learning by doing”: As is true for most good “user friendly” software Apps these days,the beginner is supposed to “explore and bump around”, with “”trial and error”, until he / she absorbs, what is needed!! In other words you figure out xMind, by experimenting & osmosis!! This means that: You playfully click on every thing, (there must over 100 click points), and see what happens!! THIS is the fastest way to “get up to speed”. THIS is the fastest way to achieve real & long lasting skill !! Thus, my Helps & Hints document, (if you request it)  presumes you have already done MUCH “Explore &  Discover” !! 

Why?

In order to understand any person's words and instructions (such as my Hints & Helps), you must have “some familiarity”. Other wise the words will cause more confusion, instead of help!! This is generally true for any Guide or Users Manual! This includes my own words, which you should go to mostly when you have problems, and need (or must use) “Word Help”. As an alternate, you could use my words as a “check list”, to see if there is anything you haven't already discovered on your own.

 

I know, some persons think they need to “read first”. .... Believe me: I suggest the opposite, especially for the up-to-date Computer SoftWare Apps these days: Most especially xMind, because it (behinds the scenes) has so many, many “Bells & Whistles”, it gets complicated fast. On purpose xMind seems (and is) simple as you start off. But,  although not evident at first, xMind's capabilities are huge and complex. It's too
BIG to read about it!!

So ... you should just start off & Just be“pushing the mouse around”,
And be reading the little signs that “pop up”. And .... on what ever strikes your fancy ...,, “click on it”, and see what happens!!
Learning by doing at it's best. You learn faster this way!! And you remember more
this way!!! Plus if you do this xMind exploration, at a time you are rested, relaxed, and
not pressed for time (highly recommended), the learning xMind will be FUN & REWARDINGll
What more could you ask for!!?? Note this: The FUN part ALONE will speed up learning and increase you memory, of what you need tor the next use of xMInd!!! You know ... its the old enlightened schooling thing..... The “Eye - Hand - Brain - Action- Coordination - IN REAL ACTUAL CONTEXT!!”
Thing!! Don't forget this, for ANY NEW learning task, especially computers!!

Reading, by contrast is not in context, and thus requires the extra step
from paper to what you are working on It is bound to be harder, slower, and less effective, and less fun. I hope you believe me. It's bound to be harder when you have to understand the words (the abstract), and then apply to what you are working on (“the real”). Any way this is my theory of learning.

 

So .... Now ....

1) Have YOU done MUCH of the above mentioned “explore and bump around”?

If YES, then you are ready to request my Hints & Helps

 

2) If NO, then get xMind running on your computer, and spend an hour or so “playing around”, to get the “feel of it”. Make pencil notes on paper, to help you remember. (You will find this very much easier if you have had considerable experience using ordinary computers, since what you see, such as the names, and many of your steps, will be already
be familiar to you!! For the most part, when you are exploring around, using xMInd, don’t worry that you will ruin your computer or erase/delete/alter something important. (Or course when you are working on a really big important xMind Poject, you should avoid needless experimentation / exploration, IN your BIG PROJECT. It is easey to ask for a new xMind, so yhou can "poke around" to find that new method you need. And you do want to take care to make a Back-up copy, V1, V2, etc. every half hour or so, just in case of BIG MISTAKE!!)

 

However WARNING: ItmIS POSSIBLE to cause changes in you will NOT want!! WARNING: 

No user guide can be foolproof. So when you get into unfamiliar territory, mouse click on “cancel”, if there is one. This is your safest choice, and the one to always use,
unless really want to change something and know what you are doing. (Even if you have, on purpose opened up a so called “dialog” (Frame/window/box) to see what was there, the best (safest) way to “back out”, is to click on  “cancel”l.
This way you avoid an extra & unnecessary“save to memory cycle”. You never know when something will go wrong in computers!So why ask for it, when you can just as easy click “cancel”. In the old days the “esc” = Escape Key, upper left, was also a way back out,  ithout making unwanted changes. Ii is not used much in today's computers. But if you are in a problem situation, you have tried everything you can think of, and nothing seems to respond properly, try “esc”. But be aware that you will probably loose all your data, or typing, and have your current App close without warning. Escape is a last resort. Be clear about this!!

 

And don‘t go around typing text (words) into unfamiliar places, and for God’s sake, 
(unless you know what you are doing), keep away from the: “delete” , “Backspace”, or “Enter”  Keys!! Likewise keep away from Click-Points that Change Things =>
“Accept”, “OK”, "Save", "Update", "Reset", "Revise", "Delete", or "Erase”, unless you know what you are doing. You, the user assumes all risks.

 

AfterThought: I haven't mentioned the (sometimes disastrous) problems that may arise when you install new SoftWare Applications. (Apps), Examples of Apps are the Free DownLoad & Install Apps like: xMind, IrfanView, Audacity, FireFox & Chrome Browsers, ThunderBird Email, 7-Zip, OpenOffice Programs (For Word & SpreadSheets Etc.), These are
great and highly recommended. However Virus, Trojans, & other forms of MalWare, are
also Apps!!! All of these have “  .exe at the end of the File Name.   " .exe " means “Execute”. In other words “Run This SoftWare Program, and make it do what it is setup to do”. To avoid Big Problems, learm to watch for these tiny three letters .exe !! ”You may see the .exe when you do a [ Save-As], or see in in a listing of your files, with word Application” in the  Column Labeled “Type”. So if you see   .exe    either b/c you asked for a New DownLoad, or it appeared “out of the blue”, think twice!! Caution, it might be a Virus, etc!! Hit “cancel unless you are sure. When you hit OK, it's out of your hands!! No way to stop it!! If you are unsure, ask someone who knows about computer. And Good Luck!! 

eml = HenryG __ Aiken.SC.edu 
Home =  http://www.usca.edu/math/~mathdept/hsg/ 

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