4.2 - Choosing <included in this model> from the Noun Type Categories Drop-Down menu
The Noun Types Window is the window in the upper left-hand corner of the MindModel screen.
The following picture shows the Noun Types Window.
The drop-down menu labeled "Noun Type Categories" allows you to select a category of noun types to display in the Noun Types List.
In the picture above, the "basic types" category is selected. Activities, beverages, books, etc. are all in the "basic types" category, so they are displayed in the Noun Types List.
Remember that MindModel uses noun types to classify nouns. "Agnes Levine", "Allison Morales" and "Alonzo Cafarella" are all examples of person nouns. "Acme Technology Corporation", "Microsoft" and "SmartDraw" are all examples of organization nouns.
The Noun Types Window allows you to select a particular noun type, so you can add a noun of that type, or find nouns of that type. To add a person to your model, you would select "people" in the Noun Types List, then click the "Add a Person" button at the bottom of the Noun Types Window.
To find all organizations in your model, you would first select "organizations" in the Noun Types List. MindModel would change the buttons at the bottom of the Noun Types Window to read "Add an Organization" and "Find All Organizations". You would then click "Find All Organizations" to fill the Nouns List with all organizations in the model.
When you first open MindModel, the "basic types" category is selected. This category is useful for adding new nouns to a model, since it contains many commonly-used noun types.
However, if you open a model that someone else created, you may want to know what types of nouns are included in that model.
The "basic types" category wouldn't be much help in that case, since it always contains the same types, whether or not nouns of those types appear in the model you've opened.
In that case, you'll want to choose "<included in this model>" from the Noun Type Categories drop-down menu at the top of the window. Click and hold where you see "basic types" and the menu will appear. Scroll to the top of the menu until you see "<included in this model>". Choose "<included in this model>" from the menu.
MindModel will fill the Noun Types List with the types of nouns used in the currently-open model.
Let's try an example.
Choose "Open" from the File Menu.
After you choose Open Model from the File Menu, you will see the contents of the Sample Models folder. This folder contains sample models for you to browse. If MindModel does not send you to this folder automatically, you can find it by browsing to:
C:\Program Files\MindModel\Sample Models\
The folder you see should look like the picture below.
Open the model "AcmeTech.min."
Then choose "<included in this model>" from the Noun Types Categories drop-down at the top of the Noun Types Window.
After you've chosen "<included in this model>" the Noun Types Window will look like this:
Industries, job titles, languages, locations, etc. are all displayed in the Noun Types List, because the AcmeTech model contains nouns of these types.
Beverages, books, films, etc. are not displayed in the Noun Types List, because the AcmeTech model doesn't contain any nouns of these types.
Power-User Tip: When you first receive a model from someone else, use the "<included in this model>" category to help you browse the model. When you want to add a noun of a type not included in the model, switch to the "<all types>" category. Once you've added the new noun, switch back to "<included in this model>".
Click here to continue.