Home - Advanced Q&A
Q. What is this Advanced Q&A section all about?
This section contains answers to questions asked by users who are familiar with MindModel's basic features, and want to know how to get the maximum benefit from the software.
Q. What will I find in the Advanced Q&A section?
If you're looking for an introduction to MindModel's features, refer to the Getting Started section.
If you're familiar with MindModel, but you have a question about a specific feature of the program, refer to the Feature Guide section.
If you've encountered a technical term describing a MindModel concept, and you're not 100% sure what it means, refer to the Key Concepts section.
If you understand MindModel's features, but you want to know how to get the maximum benefit from the software, you should read this section.
The information in this section is divided into four groups:
1) Questions about MindModel's Capabilities
2) Questions about Entering Data
3) Questions about Displaying Data and Creating Reports
4) Questions about the MindModel Grammar
5) Problems with MindModel
Click one of the items in the "Answer" column to learn more about that answer.
1) Questions about MindModel's Capabilities
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Question |
Answer |
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I've created a model that works, and now I need to share it with other people on my local-area network (LAN). What can I do? |
Purchase MindModel Multi-User. |
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I've created a model that works, and now I need to create a database-backed web site based on the same information. What can I do? |
Purchase MindModel Web Server. |
2) Questions about Entering Data
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Question |
Answer |
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How do I link pictures to people or other nouns in my model? |
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I want to copy information related to one noun from one model to another. What's the quickest way to do this? |
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There are a large number of areas of my business I need to keep track of. Should I create one big model, or a bunch of smaller ones? |
Start with separate models. Merge them later, if necessary, using:"File Menu: Export All Statements in the Model to Excel" and "File Menu: Import Statements from Excel by Row". |
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Do you have any suggestions for naming nouns? |
Yes, try these suggestions for naming nouns. |
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Do I need to put quotes around word, phrase, and text nouns when I enter them in the Add/Edit Statement Wizard? |
No. |
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Do I need to put periods at the ends of statements when I enter them in the Add/Edit Statement Wizard? |
No. |
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I created a custom column view template (CCVT) and assigned it to the Add/Edit Noun Form (AENF). When I'm entering data for a multi-line text item (such as description, synopsis, directions, etc.) the return key doesn't seem to work correctly. I hit the return key to insert a carriage-return, but MindModel moves to the next field instead of inserting the carriage-return. How can I tell MindModel to insert a carriage-return instead of going to the next field? |
Hit control-enter (hold down the control key, then with the control key still down, hit the enter key) to insert a carriage-return in a multi-line text field. |
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I live outside the United States, so my country's date format is DD/MM/YY instead of MM/DD/YY. I'm having trouble importing dates into MindModel. What can I do? |
You can enter dates in long format, for example: "January 1, 2004" (without the quotes). If you're importing dates from Excel into MindModel, it may be necessary to format the date columns in Excel as text, to keep Excel from converting the dates to a numeric format. |
3) Questions about Displaying Data and Creating Reports
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Question |
Answer |
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How do I use MindModel to do a mail merge? |
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When should I use the Custom Column View Window, and when should I customize the Noun Summary Window with XML templates? |
When to use the CCVW and when to customize the Noun Summary Window. |
4) Questions about the MindModel Grammar
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Question |
Answer |
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How do I use MindModel to create a dictionary for a foreign language? |
Use the "word: <is translated as> word: [in] language:" statement pattern. |
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How do I express the fact that a person owns two homes? |
Use the "person: <owns> home:" statement type. |
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How do I use MindModel to track the call numbers of books? |
Use the "book: <has the id number> id number:" statement type. |
5) Problems with MindModel
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Question |
Answer |
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I want the benefits that MindModel provides, but using it requires too much typing. It seems like the pile of stuff I need to model just keeps getting larger, and I can't keep up. What can I do? |
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I think MindModel can handle my project, but I'm not sure where to start. What's the best sequence of steps to go from a business requirement to a working model? |
1) Choose noun types. 2) Choose statement types. 3) Enter data. 4) Create custom column views. 5) Create XML templates. |
If you need more help than this documentation can provide, or you would like to suggest an advanced question of your own to be included in this section, please feel free to contact us.