Where to request a new App (Mind mapping)for Libreoffice?

users
#1

Hi all:
I think it will be very good if we have a mind mapping application in
Libreoffice.

This would be a very good new feature!

We already have Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math and Base, and how about
add a new application for mind mapping named "Mindmap"?

Do you know where to send this request to the developers?
Thanks~

Minhsien0330

#2

I think some million Dollar or Euro would do the trick. What's wrong
with the existing mind mappers? How is mind mapping related to the Open
Document Format (ODF)?

#3

Hi :slight_smile:
You can always post a "bug report" and mark it as a "feature request".
Although bug-reports are very different from requests for new
functionality they would both be handled by the same departments, or
the same sorts of people. So to minimise the number of different
structures that need to be maintained and tracked we use the 1
system/structure to handle both sorts of requests/reports.

However, as you have seen from the type of responses so far, the
attitude in OpenSource is very different from the proprietary world.

Proprietary products often seem to grow larger and larger taking on
more and more different sorts of functionality. The idea being that
people buy into just 1 tool that does everything, and become dependant
on it so that they can't (or daren't) try anything new. If they can't
fit everything into 1 program then the 1 company makes a few different
programs but each one only works well with other programs from the
same company. If you try to have some programs from MS and some from
Apple and some from Google then they wont work very well with each
other. You kinda have to "throw all in" with just one company.
People tend to only work for one company at a time. As companies
diversify they find some areas are more profitable so they might close
down some areas and thus gradually change their focus. So a company
that started off by making type-writers might end-up doing network
security instead.

OpenSource has a very different approach. It's more like lego. Each
brick can be swapped out for any similar brick without having to
change ll the rest. So you might change the colour of an area without
affecting the functionality or surrounding areas. Some bricks are
extremely specialist but even so there are likely to be a couple of
alternatives to choose from. People tend to work for more than 1
project. If a program becomes unfashionable then it's community might
dwindle and eventually have no-one working to keep it updated.
However if there is a resurgence of interest the project can be
picked-up and used, and maybe even continued from where it left off.

If someone else is already doing something quite well then rather than
trying to start something new and duplicating the horrible or
time-consuming, or boring parts of the job it is better to just let
them get on with it and find ways to hook the 2 projects up to work
together better. It might be good to join in with the other project
and learn from them to help you understand the problems and challenges
they over-came. Eventually you might then start a new project to
compete against them but it's more likely that you would just
fork/copy what they had done already and take it in the direction you
wanted. MUCH more likely is that as you get involved with the new
project you find people take on your ideas and the project becomes
more suitable for what you wanted.

So, we almost never start from scratch without good reason and with no
experience unless we really have to or really want to. If someone
else is already doing something we want to do then it's better for us
to work with them and help them.

It would be good to have a mind-mapping tool. There are many
available and many that are OpenSource. So it's a case of finding
which is the best fit for what you want to do and what fits well
enough with LibreOffice.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#4

add a new application for mind mapping named "Mindmap"?

There is _Export Freemind which can be obtained from
http://extensions.libreoffice.org/extension-center/export-freemind.

Freemind has either a built in tool, or an extension that enables it to
export to ODF format.

If your MindMaps have more than a passing resemblance to Event Driven
Process Chains, then the EPC Gallery
(http://extensions.libreoffice.org/extension-center/epc) might be useful
addition to your MindMapping tools within LibO.

Do you know where to send this request to the developers?

Given the description at
http://mindmapapp.blogspot.in/2007/12/mind-maps-with-openofficeorg-draw.
html
on how to use OOo for mindmapping, what additional functionality would
be needed, for your proposed "new application".

jonathon