GETTING STARTED WITH
INSPIRATION V.8
Provided that you have the software installed on
the computer, once you launch Inspiration v.8 you
will see an “Inspiration Starter” dialog box. This
dialog box will let you select how you want to start
working with Inspiration. For a .pdf copy of the
User’s Guide, click on “Learn to Use”>double-click
the Inspiration Documentation folder>Select
Inspiration User’s Manual>open or save the .pdf
STARTING A DIAGRAM
Click on the Diagram button to start creating a diagram.
Make sure the main idea bubble is highlighted. To change the text from main idea to something else, double-click
on the bubble to activate the text box. You will see your cursor in the text box and can now make changes to your
text, including font and styles. Click outside of the bubble to save your changes.
Highlight the bubble again and click on a directional arrow on any of the CREATE buttons using the CREATE icon
in the toolbar. Type text in the new bubble.
Repeat this process until
you have several bubbles
on the screen.
Add text to all of the bubbles on your concept map.
Clicking on the connecting line between two bubbles will also reveal a
text box where information about relationships between bubbles can be
added. Practice adding text in the links between the bubbles.
DIAGRAM LAYOUT
Click the ARRANGE button and explore the options in the dialog box.
Select the “Auto Arrange” box to have bubbles automatically as you add
them to your diagram.
OUTLINE
Click the OUTLINE button (button on far left of icon toolbar) and see how
your diagram can be instantly changed in to an outline. Your toolbar will also change. Change the outline into a
diagram by clicking on the DIAGRAM button. You can also start an Inspiration document from an outline by
selecting the outline button on the “Inspiration Starter” dialog box.
Use your scroll bars to move the diagram on your screen.
Click the little hand icon at the bottom of your window then click and drag with your mouse to move the diagram.
COLORS
Change colors of bubbles by selecting them and then clicking on the color ovals at the bottom of the screen. You
can change the default colors by first changing the color of a bubble then click on the t/T icon and selecting “set
default”.
You can change text color by selecting the text then open Text menu>colors. You can also set the color for text as
a default. Click on the bubble that has the colors you want as default and follow the directions for setting the default.
Instructional Design, Assessment & Technology
Spring 2012
To alter colors and fill patterns for bubbles, the background, and lines, use the Effect menu to see all of your
options.
HYPERLINKS
You can add a hyperlink to a bubble or a graphic by selecting the item to be a hyperlink and clicking on the
hyperlink icon. You can link to a website, another Inspiration document, another file, or an email.
NOTES
Attaching notes to bubbles is a great way to add instructions, provide additional information, or pose questions. To
attach a note, select the bubble to which you want to add a note, click on the NOTE icon from the toolbar. Type the
text in the note box. Then, click on the “x” to close it. When the bubble is selected, you will see a note icon in the
upper right hand corner. You can view all of your notes by View menu>notes>show all. You can also hide all of the
notes from the same menu.
BRAINSTORMING
When you want to brainstorm without taking the time to create individual bubble, Inspiration has a built in feature
called Rapid Fire that lets users enter text into separate bubbles quickly.
Make sure a bubble is highlighted and click on the RAPID FIRE button in the icon toolbar. Notice a lightning bolt
icon appears in the bubble. Now type your ideas and hit the ENTER key to separate the ideas into individual
bubbles. You can set Rapid Fire to include links or to add unconnected links. Hold the down-arrow next to the
Rapid Fire icon to make your selection.
LINKS
When you use the create tool, links are automatically created between bubbles. You can also add graphics and
bubbles (or other shapes) that are not linked. To link unconnected boxes, select a box, click on the link icon from
the toolbar, and drag the arrow to another box.
You can change the appearance of links through the “Link” menu. You can also modify the
appearance of links by clicking on the line and arrow icons at the bottom of the screen.
DRAWING TOOLS
You can add an assortment of shapes, text boxes, lines or freestyle drawings to documents by
clicking on the icon to the right of the default tool at the bottom of the screen. The icon will
change depending on which tool you
select.
ADDING GRAPHICS
Your symbol palette should appear on the screen when you open a new diagram. Press F8 or
View menu>symbol palette to make the palette appear. The symbol palette has a wide variety of
general libraries with submenus of graphics that can be used to enhance your diagram. You can
also use the search features to locate specific graphics.
Add a graphic to text by selecting a bubble then clicking on a graphic.
SOUNDS
From the Utility menu, select Preferences. Select Audio and put checks in the boxes for Listen
tool and Talking Interface. As you roll the cursor over the options, notice the description of the
tool appearing in the box at the bottom of the dialog box.
Listen tool – adds an ear icon to the icon toolbar which allows you to have text from the bubbles
and notes read out loud. To try this select a bubble with text in it, then click on the ear icon. To
change the voices, go to the Tools menu and select voices. You will be given a list to select from.
Instructional Design, Assessment & Technology
Spring 2012
Talking Interface – Once this box is selected, the program will automatically read all text in the Inspiration interface
when the cursor activates it.
Adding Audio – To add your own
audio to selected bubbles, select
the Tools menu>Insert Video or
Sound. A recording dialog box
appears, and you can record a
sound that will be attached to the
bubble you have selected. To
play the sound, select Tools
menu>play, or click on the sound
icon attached to the bubble. To
remove the sound, select Tools
menu>remove sound.
PRINTING
Printing is easy and Inspiration has several
print features that make printing large
concept maps a breeze.
Under the FILE menu select Print>page
setup.
You can make decisions about the size of
your printed diagram here. This diagram
shows the default option of printing to fit one
page.
Print Preview and Page Setup are available
through the FILE menu.
EXPANDED TEMPLATE LIBRARY
Check out the variety of templates Inspiration offers by selecting
Templates from the Inspiration Startup menu.
To create your own template, access the Utility menu and select
Template Wizard. The wizard will walk you through the creation of
your own customized template.
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Spring 2012
WRITING TOOLS
Word Guide
Word guide is a dictionary and thesaurus.
Words can be pronounced without
activation of the Listen tool.
Auto Spell Check
Auto spell check identifies misspelled words
with dashed red lines. Double-clicking on a
misspelled word automatically activates the
word guide which provides a list of options.
Select the correct spelling and click on
replace to change misspelled words within
the document.
TRANSFER
The transfer option on the icon toolbar permits the moving of Inspiration text, notes, and diagram to word
processing documents. Microsoft Word is the default word processor.
DRAG & DROP CAPABILITIES
Move text, images, video and sound files from other sources into your Inspiration projects.
Instructional Design, Assessment & Technology
Spring 2012