| The All-in-One Information Manager. Amode V2. |
| Why work with separate applications? Why not combine it all into one flexible workspace? |
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The Amode Tree |
| The Amode Tree is the core of the system and it displays information in a uncluttered, visually consistent format. It consists of topic branches, which are placed in a hierarchical structure. Each topic can contain any information you like, allowing you to visually group together related ideas and concepts.Tree mode allows large volumes of information to be stored without becoming cluttered or messy, yet still provides powerful visual indicators to help you harness the power of visual information management. | |
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Detailed Notes |
| Write detailed Notes, format, apply styles and fonts, insert tables, insert graphics, hyperlink to files/web/topics, drag n drop PDFs/Excel/Word*, spell check plus a range of other advanced Word processing functions! | |
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Tickler Notes |
| Tickler Notes are used as a short summary for the topic they are connected with. They are designed to be a half way point between the simplicity of the topic title and the complexity of full scale Notes. Typically they are used to hold short summary, memory cues, comments, keywords for text filtering, abstracts or record of communication regarding the topic. | |
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Multiple Embedded Attachments & Links |
| Attachments are stored within the Amode file, meaning when you email or move the Amode file the attachments will go with them. External links are usually set for references to web pages or centrally located files (on a shared server). When you set a external link, nothing is embedded within the Amode file, it is simply a link another destination. Amode offers the flexibility to associate multiple attachments with a single topic or ThoughtPad shape, and also provides a project Master List for easy management of your embedded files and external Links. | |
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Multi Project Work Space |
| Amode allows you to work on multiple projects, all contained within the same file. A convenient tab bar enables you to tab through projects, reorder them by dragging, hide projects, undo/redo hide actions or show all previously hidden projects! If you order your project tabs or hide certain tabs and save, the layout will be saved between sessions! | |
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Solution File Architecture |
| As
opposed to other applications that simply allow you to view multiple
files, Mindsystems Amode allows you to create even closer connections
between projects by containing everything in one master file. This is
an incredibly stable and effective way to handle your information all
in one place, and it also makes transporting your work much easier due
to the 'self-contained' nature of the Amode Solution File. The Solution File contains inside any number of Amode Projects.
The advantage to the Solution File is you can have multiple projects
that can share resources, attachments, relationships and many other
functions, all contained in the one master file. The Solution File can
then be shared with others without the need for them to setup anything
new or fall victim to broken links or missing information.
Additionally, because you can open multiple sessions of Amode you can
even work on several different Solution Files (with multiple projects
inside) on the same PC. |
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Split / Merge Files |
| The Split/Merge function enables you to extract specified projects and split them off into new Solution Files. You can also extract projects within other Solution Files and bring them into your existing Solution File. | |
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Search & Filter |
| Flexible
search functions enable you to locate information quickly, either in a
specific project or across multiple projects. There is a Quick Topic
Search and an Advanced Search option. The Filter Bar is located at the
bottom of the Tree Mode area. Show tasks due (today / this week / this
month or custom period) for you or your whole team with a single click!
Filter your topics on variety of search parameters such as task
start/finish, work time, person/resource assigned to tasks, priority,
percentage done/not done, icons or free text filter. With a single click split filter results off into a new project within your current Solution File or create a whole new file. Ideal if you want to create a separate project just showing this weeks tasks, allowing you to focus on meeting your objectives. |
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Filter Bank (filter on icons) |
| The Filter Bank enables setup of custom filters based on combinations of icons. This highly flexible method of filtering enables you to setup predefined filter searches based on system icons or your own custom icons. You can later re-use these over and over to save time. Additionally, if you send your solution file to someone else to work on, all the icons and filters you setup will be available to them without any additional configuration! | |
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Grey-Out |
| Custom Icons and Relationship Icons have a unique inbuilt feature called 'Grey Out'. Rather than drawing messy lines between related topics, Amode uses Grey Out to instantly highlight related items. With a single click you can visually see which items are related to each other. |
ThoughtPad provides the user
with more than just a simple visual pad. Integrated functions such as
adding multiple attachments to files, multiple links and adding Tickler
Notes to shapes enables your visual to take on a dynamic 'living'
aspect. You can also export your visuals in a range of ways including
export as image and export as Amode Pad File (.tpd)
ThoughtPad
ThoughtPad
enables you to create visuals to help explain your information and to
capture ideas using the power of visual information mapping. You can
create all the most popular visuals such as diagrams, flow charts and
maps. ThoughtPad does not impose any fixed methodology on the user (ie.
only mind maps or only diagrams), but instead gives the user a wide
variety of visual tools and the flexibility to create anything that is
required. You can specify ThoughtPads on a topic by topic basis. For
one topic a flowchart may be best and for another a map may be better
suited. You can have multiple visual types existing in the same
project. If you need to specify a visual like a map to describe the
whole project, you can also do this in the Summary ThoughtPad area.
Examples of the types of visuals that can be created:
Extra Graphics Library
Add
a little colour to your Notes! Choose from over 1500 inbuilt graphics
or import your own (accessed from within Notes panel).
Indicator Icons in the Amode Tree
Choose
from system icons or design your own! Apply visual icons to topics to
act as visual ques/reminders. Build complex filter searches based on
these icons or just click the icon and all other topics with the same
icon are displayed and the rest greyed out.
Symbolic Relationship Icons
Symbolic
relationships indicate a connection or association between two topics.
Most planning software uses 4 main relationship types and these are
associated with Gantt planning and timelines (see the Project
Management section below)... but Amode has 8 Relationship types to
choose from.
The 4
symbolic relationship types (inward/outward/neutral/2 way) are used to
indicate relationships that are not necessarily connected with
timelines/gantt or project management. This offers great flexibility in
defining common relationships between topics. To show the relationships
in more clarity, just click the icon in Tree Mode and all but the
connected topics are greyed out (you can also see a full summary of
relationships for each topic in the Relationships tab).
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Chart Mode (formerly Gantt Mode) |
| Expert
project management without the complexity of MS Project! Create multi
task projects with start/finish dates and times (right down to the
minute mark), Gantt charts, progress, priority, resources, milestones
and relationships. Share resources across multiple projects and view work loads as percentages or hourly. Create unlimited custom calendars for different working hours/scenarios. Use the Gantt Mode total bar to instantly see resources assigned to to project, time, progress to date and total cost (including ability to set a custom tax rate such as GST/VAT). Generate project cost quotes for your clients in PDF or Excel! |
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Gantt Relationship Icons |
| Formal
Gantt relationships are used to help structure your project timeline.
For example, Finish to Start may be applied between two relationships
to indicate one task cannot be started until the other is completed.
These relationships help your project stay on track and if dates change
will cause other 'downstream' tasks to automatically adjust their
dates. You can see these relationships types displayed as connecting arrows in Chart Mode. To show the relationships in more clarity, just click the icon in Tree Mode and all but the connected topics are greyed out (you can also see a full summary of relationships for each topic in the Relationships tab). |
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Flexible Timeline Function |
| Control resources, start/finish dates, progress, priority within the same workspace. Take advantage of advanced functions like custom working calendars and timeline <> work time alignment. | |
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Minute based Planning |
| Briefcase View enables you to view multiple projects side by side. You can expand/contract branches, add tickler notes, change topic text, see visual icons, drill down into detail and even group projects into logical groups called 'Project Stacks'. This unique function enables you to quickly gain insight into cross project issues. | |
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Gantt Total Bar |
| The Gantt total bar provides a clear visual summary of your project's resource numbers, total project time and cost (including ability to set custom tax rates). The Gantt bar also provides a Zoom in/out slide bar to alter the Gantt chart view from minutes to months. | |
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Critical Path |
| See the Critical Path to completion displayed in red across your chart, all at a single click. | |
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Create Quotes |
| Planning a project for a client? Create your project(s) in Amode and then generate a cost quote in either PDF or MS Excel! | |
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Project Summary |
| See a project summary displaying all tasks, completion status and costs. | |
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Individual Resource Summary |
| See a summary of tasks and costs that are associated with a single resource. | |
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Multi Project Management |
| Amode allows you to plan multiple projects in the one workspace. Resources and many other common elements can be shared across multiple projects, which is ideal if you manage a variety of projects/tasks. View projects individually or side by side using Briefcase Mode. | |
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Briefcase View |
| Briefcase View enables you to view multiple projects side by side. You can expand/contract branches, add tickler notes, change topic text, see visual icons, drill down into detail and even group projects into logical groups called 'Project Stacks'. This unique function enables you to quickly gain insight into cross project issues. |
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Calendar Mode |
| View
tasks and alarms in a familiar Outlook style calendar format. Set
tasks/alarms using simple right click function then zoom in and out of
day/week/month or adjust time scale. You can also add random sticky
notes to take note of appointment information or phone numbers. Each Topic in your Amode Tree can have start/finish values set against them in the Task tab. When you add this dimension to Tree Topics they begin to have meaning in Calendar and/or Chart Modes. Task start and finish dates can be adjusted by drag and drop or you can edit the titles using left click. |
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Alarms |
| Alarms
are notifications that remind you of task deadlines, appointments or
anything other time based reminder you require. They can be sent to you
in 3 forms: Desktop, Email or SMS. Desktop alerts flash up a reminder on your PC screen and play a alarm bell. Email alerts send a email with content that you specify at the time you create the alarm. For both these types of alarms to fire, your PC must be switched on and the Alarm Manager system tray icon must also be running (Amode itself does not have to be running). SMS alerts send a message to a mobile/cell phone, and your PC does not need to be switched on at the time the alarm is fired. These alerts can be scheduled up to 1 year in advanced. |
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Clean Up Alarms |
| Expired alarms remain as visible icons to visually show you have gone past a deadline. The clean up function enables you to either clean up expired alarms for a specific topic or clean up expired alarms across the whole project (if accessed from the ribbon toolbar) |
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Microsoft Office 2003 & 2007 |
| Import from Microsoft Word, Excel & Project. Export to Microsoft Word, Excel, Project. PowerPoint & Outlook. Large array of configurable import/export options to include/exclude selected information, also use Word templates. | |
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Microsoft Outlook Plugin |
| Send Emails including attachments to Amode from within Outlook. Also link Outlook folders to Amode Projects. | |
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OpenOffice 2.0, 2.6 & 3.0 |
| Import/Export from OpenOffice Writer & Calc (open source free word processing and spreadsheet software http://www.openoffice.org). Large array of configurable import/export options. | |
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KnowledgeLink V4 / V5 |
| Use import functions to control what is imported or open .klp/.kl files natively in Amode. | |
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MindManager 7 / 8 |
| Import/Export from MindManager 7 or 8. Large range of configurable options for both import and export. | |
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PDF Export |
| Export to Adobe PDF document. Configurable options to exclude/include information. | |
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Web Export |
| Export to web ready files. At launch templates are limited but extras will be provided free in updates approximately 1 month after launch. |
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Multi-User File View & Editing |
| An
Amode file (.ame) can be worked on by several users at the same time.
The file can be opened by several users and all can make changes
without the others needing to exit. This is ideal for small groups
wanting to mount group work files on local share directories. |
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Locking Functions |
| Locking enables you to lock the whole project or just particular topics and/or Notes. This is great for distributing surveys or asking for contributions from team members on selected aspects of a project while still protecting the integrity of the entire project. This is also especially useful when combined with the Multi-User editing capabilities. | |
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Visually Consistent Format |
| For
visual information management, the primary view style is the Amode
Tree. This Mode offers a visually consistent but also visually engaging
presentation style. This style is familiar to almost anyone that has
used a computer before, and ensures that new and existing users know
exactly what to expect each time. If there are no set standards for visual presentation, group work can easily become chaotic and counter-productive. When it comes to handling complex/detailed information, the Amode Tree viewing style provides significant advantages. |
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Brainstorming in Groups |
| With Amode (used via a laptop and a projector) a whole group can take part in a spontaneous discussion in which random ideas are captured. After 20 mins the ‘random’ branches are grouped and ordered using Drag & Drop techniques. Within just a minute or two patterns start to emerge from the random thoughts. | |
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Using Templates for Best Practice |
| Templates can be setup to give group members a consistent starting point each time. A variety of templates can be established for every task area of your business. |
The Learning Module is designed to get you up and running with Amode as quickly as possible. You can download it to your desktop and then run it at any time.
This module contains a combination of written descriptions and videos. All videos are non-verbal to ensure they can be viewed unobtrusively in a variety of shared environments. No audio is required for each video but a backing track is provided to indicate the video is playing.
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PC Requirements: XP, Vista or Windows 7 Software Req: Mindsystems Amode V2 Time: 25-35 minutes of free time.
Instructions:
Trouble downloading .exe files? Try the .zip download [ Here ].
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Requirements
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Supported Operating Systems:
Windows Emulators: Mindsystems Amode generally will work on Windows® emulation applications, but this method is not guaranteed under the EULA. Mindsystems will support this, but only on a best effort basis. Other Optional Options Microsoft Office® (optional) Microsoft Office® Word®, Excel®, Project® & Outlook® required for some import/export functions. Versions 2000 (may encounter issues), 2003 (stable) and 2007 (stable). OpenOffice® (optional) OpenOffice® Write, Calc required for some import/export functions. Versions 2.0, 2.6, 3.0 Adobe® Reader (optional) Adobe® PDF Reader 7+ or equivalent Adobe® product required for some PDF font types in PDF exports and quote generation functions. KnowledgeLink® (optional) KnowledgeLink® V4 or V5 required for some import functions. Versions 4 (all builds), 5 (all builds) MindManager® (optional) MindManager® 7 or 8 required for some import functions. Versions 7 (all builds), 8 (all builds)
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System Requirements:
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QUICK FEATURES
Seamless integration ...
Create different visuals on a topic by topic basis, allowing many
different styles (maps, diagrams, charts) to be used in the same
project. Create multiple visuals within the same topic using the pad
feature.
Amode offers you the freedom to create visuals without imposing any fixed method on the way you should create them.
Create flow charts, thought maps, diagrams or free form visuals. Brainstorm and present in groups dynamically.
Get to the point (quickly)...
Flexible search functions enable you to locate information quickly, either in a specific project or across multiple projects.
The internal Amode search engine has recently been re-factored to increase speed and targeting of search terms across a single project, or multiple projects within the same Solution File.
Extracted results are displayed using a 'jump and expand' method that brings you to the location of the result.
Linear searching can be combined with Filter searches to cut through detail quicklyThe Filter Bank...
The Filter Bank enables setup of custom filters based on combinations of icons.
This highly flexible method of filtering enables you to setup predefined filter searches based on system icons or your own custom icons.
You can later re-use these over and over to save time. Additionally, if you send your solution file to someone else to work on, all the icons and filters you setup will be available to them without any additional configuration!
Choose from system icons or design your own! Apply visual icons to topics to act as visual ques/reminders. Build complex filter searches based on these icons or just click the icon and all other topics with the same icon are displayed and the rest greyed out.
