Edges to Rubies The Complete SketchUp Tutorial

Transformation matrix diagram.

Appendix F—FreeMind
FreeMind is software I highly recommend, but it has a major problem. I'll explain the problem, explain the solution and then show you the part FreeMind plays behind the scenes in this tutorial.

The Problem

FreeMind is a tool for producing documents named "mind maps." This is really a hierarchical diagram, the top of what would be an outline is the center of the mind map. It expands to both sides in a hierarchical fashion. The nodes may be linked together per the subject's requirements.

Sample mind map.

The problem is that the help system is, itself, an elaborate mind map. This works very well, once you know how to navigate the mind map. This is a miserable failure if you don't know how to navigate the FreeMind maps.

The Solution

This bugged me. The software is just great. There shouldn't be a big "For Insiders Only" sign on the front door.

I wrote beginners introduction to FreeMind. It's a web page. If you can read this page, you can get started with Freemind.

So grab my document and then get FreeMind. Or peruse the following to see why I recommend it.

One quick note: the examples here show maps with text nodes. FreeMind nodes can also be images, links to webpages, HTML (tables, lists, ...), links to other mind maps and more. Map decoration possibilities are endless. My uses of FreeMind are functional, but boring.

FreeMind Behind This Tutorial

A decent tutorial has two separate outlines. This one has several. Let's begin with basic SketchingUp. One outline is about using SketchUp:

  1. SketchUp's Tools
    1. Model Viewing Tools
      1. Hand
      2. Orbit
      3. Zoom
        1. In
        2. Out
        3. Extents
        4. ...
    2. Geometry Creation Tools
      1. Line
      2. Rectangle
      3. Circle
      4. ...
  2. SketchUp's Windows
  3. ...

The second outline is about the project:

  1. Basement
    1. Walls
    2. Floor
    3. Stairs
      1. Step
      2. Stairs
      3. Bannister
  2. First Floor
  3. ...

These aren't really done as outlines. They are parts of the mind map. As you can see, FreeMind is perfect for dual outlines. (The circles at line ends indicate folded topics.)

Mind map of this tutorial.

Here the Model Viewing topic is unfolded:

Mind map of tutorial, Model Viewing unfolded.

After making the outlines, you plan: where, on the right-hand side, do you cover each item on the left-hand side? Then you work your way down the right-hand side, checking off items on the left and folding topics when they are complete. The end result would look like this:

Tutorial mind map completed.

The reason this tutorial has several outlines is that after the non-Ruby SketchingUp is complete, we introduce several major topics: Ruby, the SketchUp Ruby API, HTML, JavaScript, etc. Each had its own outline. To keep the size down, the map was split in half. Here's a bit of actual map from the second half:

Mind map of the second half, mostly closed.

Do you see File I/O? Unchecked. I'm almost done and haven't mentioned how Ruby reads and writes files. Worse, I've no real need to read and write files. Hmmm. Libraries isn't checked either, but that's not a problem. They are planned for Chapter 17. File I/O got overlooked. A File I/O appendix? Bit of a cop out. By the time you read this, I'll have solved (or not) this problem.

FreeMind was very important in this project. As I write this, version 0.9 is up to Release Candidate 6. I'd try it today, but my snow shovel beckons.

View of apartment contents. Transformation matrix diagram.