Scapple App Reviews

Doesnt save files. I tried many different methods. So it has 0 utility in my book. There are much better tools like this out there.

This app is absolute tops for brainstorming, working through a problem, or anyting that falls in between flow charting and mind mapping. This program is free form but powerful, so you’re not distracted by a program with strict controls and form. Bargain at this price considering the usefullness. Especially great for people who ar emore visual brainstormers than list makers.

not possible to share on icloud, google drive neither. no possible to view files on ipad or iphone. good app, but these features are earnestly important

I was skeptical about spending 14.99 on an app I was just going to use for notes… but as soon as I started it up and started to put my thoughts down, I was in love. The setup of Scapple is so simple, yet there is so much you can do! I love this app and use it for all my idea, barnstorm, and thought processing needs. I would highly reccomend if you need a visual mind map!

Please update it. I want icloud use, too. Update in mac App Store .

Scapple has no competition when you need to capture and make sense of a lot of ideas or bits of information. Works better than an outliner for problems that do not have a well-understood structure because it lets you visualize things and move around bits and pieces like a mindmapping tool. Scapple works better that a mindmapping tool if the chunks of information you need to visualize are text with dense content (not just one-word concepts), notes, paragraphs, tec. Some people use it as a drafting tool, juggling around paragraphs, for short prose, speeches, essays, etc. The only issue, which is getting really old, is that it has very poor graphical elements. The straight lines and arrows do not blend well unless you have a very rigid layout. It is a pity, because Scapple is great to put together networks of data with lots of connections, and the straight lines become a distracting visual nuisance. A little tweak to use softer curves (simple Bezier or splines) would elevate Spline’s original but dated interface to the level of a killer app. I am consistently more productive using Scapple than any other outlining tool; I can work fast and focused even if the end product is an eye sore.

App is useful but user experiene and UI are not that great. SimpleMind app was better even though it’s much more expensive.

I agree with ‘TheAppsExpert’ in that the application functions alright but the UI and general user experience is lacking and because of that I rarely ever used this app until I uninstalled it permanently.

This is Tinderbox stripped-down, if you know what I mean. Needs: iPad app! iPad! iPad!

If you need/ want ease of seeing a flow of text blocks and annotations of topic sentences for developing a large piece of writing, this is a good answer. It’s an old school interface, and it colorwheels for 5 or 10 seconds when I save to iCloud. But I can get a “big picture” view of my work in progress, and it reduces the conceptual fatigue of re reading the whole text Im working on when it runs to tens of thousands of words. Totally agree with the review that describes it as superb for developing ideas that begin with little immediate inherent structure.

I have tried several Mind mapping programs and they all seem like you need to be a Nuclear Physicist to figure the things out. This program is simple, and takes a few moments to figure out. The only thing I was a bit uncomfortable about was that the images here showed that you can make the freeform board look like it was written by hand. I’ve read the entire manual, and I don’t see how to make the board look like that. Even with this issue, I still give it five stars because that’s not really why I got it. However, if you want it that way, just be aware that I’m not sure if it’s possible or not. Maybe it is and I just haven’t figured it out yet.

The capability of having unlimited canvas for outlining one’s ideas is awesome. To make this app the perfect tool for this purpose is to have a handwriting feature. This will be a game changer

I also have Scrivener, and often find myself using Scapple in place of that apps Corkboard to both organize and goof around with my thoughts. Its amazingly easy to use — even for me, and Im a tech idiot — and I love the way whole chapters can suddenly take shape just by moving a few notes around or reversing connections. If anyone else has ever wracked his or her brain for that one missing sentence or a thought that was in the wrong place, youll know what I mean. Easy, useful, and worth every cent.

I’m a very visual person and use this app all the time at home and work to help me sort my thoughts out. I’ve used it to lay out PowerPoint decks, org charts, complex workflows and much more. Simple, intuitive and it works flawlessly for me. Drag, drop, done. Highly recommended.

I’ve tried MindJet, Concept Mindmap, xMind, Mindnote — probably a few others. They are all basically the same old mindmap, and so not much differentiation. But what I really love about Scapple — and this use case is new and exciting for me — is that I can use it to create whiteboards in Evernote. Most of the other mindmaps are expensive and they also save to a zip-type format. So if you try pasting it in Evernote it just won’t work — you can’t view and Evernote will want to decompress the zip before you open it. With Scapple you have a dynamic view and you can open it, make changes, have those changes viewed in a shared Evernote folder — wow. Then I also add a Whiteboard tag to my Evernote notes that have these files in them and now I can keep track of all my whiteboarding. It’s really transformative and simple. Hey Scapple - please add a “save to Evernote” feature within the app so I don’t have to save the file to the desktop first. I would like to add it directly.

This app does what it says it does well. It is one of those apps that I would like to give a 4.5 because it does what it says cleanly and easily, but it leaves me wanting just a little more. Half of me really wants some more capability, but at the same time I often dislike apps that try to do too much. I think this is just a little shy of being the perfect balance of simplicity and capability. Some things that are great is the how simple it is to get thoughts down, and how amazinly flexible it is. Unlike Mind maps or other items that have a strict structure. This is very freeform. What I am missing is quicker ways to change some of the shapes and colors even if just mindor changes. Maybe a way to have some stored styles. I think that one feature would take the app to another level. Curved lines would be nice but sometmes they can also get annoying. Short answer is, I like this app and I use it.

I found this while looking for a storyboard app (cork board) , my scrivener corkboard is frustrating. This one lets you do anything, tiny boxes that meld to the size of the text, anywhere you want, character maps with lines, and very easy to figure out in a couple minutes. so much better than a cork board, for that use. I actually went to wal mart tonight looking at cork boards! Glad I found this

I expect there are an infinite number of uses for this app. I initially expected it to be useful in drafting story arcs, but within a few weeks I was relying on it for a number of other tasks as well. Character sketches, scene outlines, storyboards … This app is so versatile and easy to use that it’s now among my three favorite writing-related apps. My favorite features include the ability to save “note styles,” and to import images, but it does so much more. It allows me to manipulate text far more than should be expected from an idea-drafting tool. It lets me choose from a variety of fonts, text sizes and text colors. I can place text in any of several different bubble shapes with different background colors and border colors. Scapple lets me align, distribute, group and connect elements in ways so many ways … Scapple is everything I never before realized I needed. I’ve been using it for more than a year, and I can honestly say that I hope there never comes a time when I’ll have to write without it.

kudos! normally i don’t get excited about software but i’m a huge fan of scapple! for me it’s incredibly intuitive and easy to use - almost the perfect combination of features without getting bogged down. most importantly, it’s been a huge boon to the outlining process while writing. i was mind mapping with pen and paper but the ability to update and unlimited canvas size makes this much better. i seriously love this app. thank you!

I’ve tried many mind mapping apps but this iteration is a real step-up from anything I’ve tried. So easy to use, fast, intuitive, powerful and beautiful. It’s like gaining a super power for your mind, brings 3 dimentional thinking to a 2 dimensional space. Buy it, try it, you’ll love it!