Scapple Beta - New Users Please Read

[AmberV]

Well they aren't technically labels, so this technique should not be confused as such. They are merely notes that you've inserted between two notes. You may visually make them look diminished in relation to the other notes, but the software's design itself doesn't support the concept of a labelled connection line, so don't expect it to be too fancy.

[tchen04]

This is fantastic, thank you! I am using Scrivener to write my dissertation, and I have also been dissatisfied with all of the mind mapping software I've tried. Just tried Scapple, and it is exactly what I have been looking for. You must live inside my brain

One question: Will we lose our Scapple documents created using this beta version once the final retail version is out? Can't wait!

[rupansansei]

I'm going to try and use this to reverse outline a short story I wrote. Going to summarize each different section and see what parts I'm missing. Hopefully will be useful. I'm also interested to know if save files will not be purged. Very cool.

[edjamesauthor]

>The shortcuts use the Control key, not Shift - so it's Ctrl-Alt-Cmd-Down or Ctrl-Cmd-Down.

That's got it. Cheers!

[AmberV]

One question: Will we lose our Scapple documents created using this beta version once the final retail version is out? Can't wait!

While the wording in this article discusses Scrivener, the basic information that it puts forth is generally applicable to all computer software. It is only on mobile systems where data and software are bound together into the same icon.

[nom]

Gruff and quirky or not Kevin (not Keith): you’re a genius (some times, e.g., with Scapple), and when you have fully integrated Scrivener with Endnote or Papers for formatting, I will suggest you for Nobel’s peace prize !

Depending on your definition of "fully integrated" Mekentosj (now part of Springer) may have already done it.
http://support.mekentosj.com/kb/getting ... anuscripts
Sadly, it wasn't at this level when I began my thesis, and I wasn't going to change mid-stream, so I made do with EndNote (which, although it isn't anywhere near as nice to use as Papers, also works well with Scrivener).

[markprussell]

Grand is Scapple. It's proving really useful for rewriting, having mapped and linked the hundred-odd key points of a whole narrative into it. Healthier than the outliner for locating points that should/could change, and how changes fit into the grand scheme. In fact, great to get a visual overview of an entire project.

No bugs found yet, but some inevitable want-to-haves and observations:

• It'd be good to be able to switch the status bar off in full-screen.
• z to zoom could come with the option to zoom back 'as was' as well as centred at mouse pointer (though I see the benefit of this config).
• Be nice to be able to hive areas off with lines/containers ... like I do on my whiteboard/on paper. I think this fits directly with the 'rough scribbles' model. (Though my quick glance through this thread leads me to believe that such suggestions get pooh-poohed post-haste. Either way, +1 for such ability in future.)
• I think the metaphor of a whiteboard works better than the paper one for me. (But I'm me.)

Really handy tool. Thank you. Will keep testing.

[robertdee]

Great!

I can already see the usefulness of it for planning out an early project (I'm on a sequel to a novel so I started using the very bare bones of that to play around with). I'd be interested to see what integration with Scrivener would be possible. I really like the spacebar/hand shortcut to move around though I would like a keyboard +/- shortcut for zooming in and out with an option-0 shortcut for framing selected or (if none selected) everything. That's the photoshop guy in me talking. That said, I'm happy you are doing this at all and would be very interested in buying it when it's available.

Super useful.

Bobby

[KB]

though I would like a keyboard +/- shortcut for zooming in and out with an option-0 shortcut for framing selected or (if none selected) everything.

Cmd-+ and Cmd-- are already in use for making the font size bigger and smaller, as these are the standard shortcuts for this action in OS X text apps. You can zoom in or out using opt-cmd-up/down, and you can always change the shortcuts via OS X preferences. Cmd-* zooms to the selection, if that's what you mean, too.

Thanks for the kind words!

All the best,
Keith

[Nick325]

Just to say...Wow! Love this and will be buying.

One question (forgive me if it's answered elsewhere) - when I drag a text document onto my map(?) I seem only the first page of it - is the whole thing copied across to the file? Just wondering about that in terms of Scrivener integration, so if I have this on my corkboard can I open documents from within it or do the just function as placeholders to jog my memory?

Hope that makes sense and thanks for another brilliant idea/product.

[KB]

Thanks for the kind words!

If you drag something from Scrivener, then it's the title and synopsis of the document that gets dragged across, not the text itself. It sounds as though you have an automatically-generated synopsis in Scrivener that shows the first part of the text.

All the best,
Keith

[AmberV]

If you want to copy the entire text content into a Scapple document, drag the text from the editor instead of the item from the binder. You might want to split it up by paragraphs though, if so just export the item from Scrivener using .txt as the format. When you drag a text file in, it will ask if you wish to split by anything and you can use carriage returns to split by paragraph.

[dhruva]

I have a question. If I copy a part of an image (from Preview), such that it is in the clipboard, I cannot paste it directly to scapple? Currently, Im using Preview's New from Clipboard feature ot make a new file, and then drag the new file to Scapple.

[philm]

Hi Keith,

Scapple is great. I like the functions you added to the alpha version, but most importantly you kept the application clean and simple.

Here are some minor observations:
1. I don't really understand what the Distribute function does. I'm sure I'm missing something clever
2. I instinctively tried to get out of full-screen mode by pressing the Escape key just as I would in Scrivener. Not a big deal, but I just wanted to mention it.
3. I like Scapple stacks. When I add lines to a stack I end up with a spider web of fully interconnected notes, which is often helpful. When I add arrows to a stack, I end up with the top note connected by arrows to each subsequent note in the stack, which is also often helpful. I can see a third manner of connecting a stack that might be helpful, namely an option to consecutively connect the notes in a stack so that note 1 is connected to note 2 which is connected to note 3 etc. This would be useful, for example, for organizing a stack of the days of the week, with Monday followed by Tuesday, etc.

Again, this is a great application that has been very useful to me. I will purchase it instantly whenever it is ready.

Cheers,
Phil

[AmberV]

Distribute works like this, say you've got four notes along the top and you want to distribute them so that they are equidistant from one another. You start with:

Code: Select all

0--0----0-------0

Then use distribute to even them out horizontally:

Code: Select all

0----0----0----0

Of course they might not all be on the same exact level, horizontally, but that is what Align is for.

Another way of putting it, the first and last note within the selected range will not move. Everything in between will move so that the amount of space between each selected note is equal.