About images
Images are the magic ingredient of Mind Collected.
Every item in Mind Collected has its own image. (Items without image are shown with a default image.)
Your brain has a powerful visual cortex with 538 million neurons. It excels at processing visual information. Unfortunately, our brain is severely underutilized when we work with walls-of-text (non-visual information).
Since Mind Collected is a visual database, it enables you to use your brain more fully when working with it. You will remember all your visual items much better and longer than you would remember their text-only versions. It is also easier to navigate in visual databases than text-only ones.
By connecting items, Mind Collected also allows you to create new associations. By stimulating your visual mind, thanks to the neuroplasticity of your brain, this helps your brain to literally grow new synapses and neurons.
Finally, you will get new insights and genius ideas more often when you can keep more information in your mind. Mind Collected helps here as well.
Loading images
When you are adding or editing an item, the Add Item and Edit Item windows allow you to load appropriate image, or to auto-find it on the internet.
Please refer to the Items – Finding and Loading Images chapter of the Online Help for more information.
Image editing operations
The image editing toolbar in the Add/Edit Item windows has the following buttons:
- Auto (or Next) – auto find image on the Internet based on item name
- Back – view previous image search result
- 100% – view the image in its original size
- Fit – zoom out or in so the image fits into the image box (this doesn’t modify the actual image)
- Browse – browse for image file on your hard drive
- Tools – display image options, also available by right-clicking the image
- Resolution and zoom – this label displays the image resolution, and the current zoom percentage
Let’s take a closer look at the image editing operations available in the Tools menu or by right-clicking the image:
- Paste – paste image or image file from clipboard, if present
- Browse – browse for image file on your hard drive
- Screen Capture – allows you to select an area on your screen to be used as an image
- Copy – copy the current image into clipboard
- Save to file… – save the current image into a file on your hard drive (export)
- Crop tool – allows you to select a rectangular part of the image that you want to use, and discard the rest of the image
- Rotate 90° – rotates the image by 90°, use repeatedly for 180° or 270°
- Flip Horizontal
- Flip Vertical
- Resize Image – allows you to change the resolution of the image, e.g. to make physically small image larger, or large image smaller. Usually, you don’t have to worry about too large images, as Mind Collected handles that automatically for you.
- Grayscale – converts the image to grayscale version (removes color from it)
- Negative – converts the image to its negative (inverts colors, so black becomes white, etc)
- Undo – undoes the last image change. (Doesn’t undo zooming)
- Redo – redoes the last image change
- Clear – deletes the current image and clear the image box
Viewing images in full-size
To view any image in its full size anywhere, move mouse over it, then click and hold the Middle Mouse Button.
Please refer to the chapter Items – Viewing images in full resolution for detailed explanation and animated illustration.
Adding multiple images into a single item
The best way to add multiple images into a single item is to use sub-items. Please refer into chapter Sub-Items – Creating sub-items from images files or other files.
Alternatively, you can insert the images into notes, by clicking the Inline Picture or Floating Picture buttons in the notes editing toolbar.
Maximum image size, quality of images
In the Options, you can adjust the quality of stored JPG images, and the maximum resolution of images stored in your database. (Larger images get automatically resized down.)
Please refer to the chapter Options – Images for more info.