AO-Pack: One-Click install for MindReader
Throughout the development of MindReader, the key challenge has been to find ways to make it easier for readers to install, configure, and use it. I have been pleasantly surprised by how taking the “configurable” approach has made the program more powerful and easier to use personally, particularly for use on multiple machines in multiple venues.
The quick start procedure for installing MindReader works fairly well, but some users experience errors when running the “mri” configuration script and many more likely don’t have the time to deal with it so put it on their “someday/maybe” lists.
In order to make the installation a “next action” instead of a “project”, the files associated with the MindReader package have been rolled into a single zip file that you place in your “My Maps” directory and unzip. This installs all the program’s MindManager macros and GyroQ tags along with a default mindreader.mmap file. Note that will overwrite your “daily capture map, your gyroQ.ini configuration text file, and mindreader.mmap file, so use with caution. You should clear your daily capture map or answer “no” when prompted to overwrite it.
The GyroQ.ini file included in the zip file contains the five default GyroQ tags, the mindreader tags, and the “clo” and “fn” tags:
It also contains a beta version of a “aomenu” tag that can be used to run next-action-verb analysis, ao-send-branch, map2wiki, and map2table.
For more information, visit the AO-pack page on the wiki.
Entries 
ActivityOwner said,
August 8, 2007 @ 10:38 pm
Note that the aomenu tag and macros had errors in the initial upload. Revised versions have been added to the zip file and to the libraries.
Ed said,
August 10, 2007 @ 10:46 pm
Hi.
I installed your ao pack last week and now have odd io behavior. When I use the i owe tag in mindreader it puts the persons name first and then my name second in the owner’s field. After I export the queue, when I run results manager, I end up with a waiting for (other person) and an i owe (other person) entry in the relationship central. The automatic delegation flag is checked in results manager dashboard settings. I am new enough to these products that I’m not sure exactly what to do, but this behavior is confusing to me.
-Ed
ActivityOwner said,
August 11, 2007 @ 7:06 am
Hi Ed — It is actually working correctly, but I understand your confusion.
The “I owe” task lives on is a project map with a central topic that is either implicitly or explicitly owned by you as the project manager. All tasks underneath are “owed to you”. The “I owe” task has the other person’s name first, so ResultsManager sees that person as responsible/accountable for completing the task for you, even though they have delegated it to another person. That other person just happens to be you.
They way to avoid this is to create a project branch or dedicated project map that is owned by “somebody else” and placed “I owe” tasks underneath that.
Note that “io” is one of the default Gyronix GyroQ tags rather than a MindReader tag.
Ed said,
August 11, 2007 @ 10:25 pm
Thanks for the help. I modified io and wf to point to a separate map owned by someone else, and that solved the problem. Thanks again.
-Ed
Chuck said,
December 13, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
I decided to spend some time on MR and MM, so removed MM, RM, GyroQ, cleaned everything up, did a clean install of them all, and reapplied the AO-Pack.zip. When I did the “o mrsample…” it worked fine. When I did the “EMail Bob…”, I got a series of warnings/errors:
Sax Basic: You had duplicate entries for –same day– in mindreader.mmap branch –starting– at position 15 And 30. The 2nd was deleted.
Sax Basic: You had duplicate entries for –talk– in mindreader.mmap branch –resourceverbs — at position 2 And 12. The 2nd was deleted.
I then got the first error again. After ok’ing these, everything seemed ok.
I would have thought this was a result of reinstalling or merging, but I deleted my mindreader.mmap file before reinstalling.
Don’t know if this is a one-time thing, a non-issue, a bug… just wanted to let you know!
ActivityOwner said,
December 13, 2007 @ 5:58 pm
Thanks Chuck!
A few versions ago I added some code to detect and remove duplicate entries in MindReader.mmap as people sometimes put in the same item twice by mistake and it can cause some funny mark-up.
Of course, because I don’t use the mindreader.mmap starter template map, I didn’t think to run the code on it and discover that..whoops.. it had the two duplicates you found from the get go!
I just uploaded a cleaned up copy in ao-pack. You should be fine with your as the code has fixed the problem.
Chuck Brown said,
March 27, 2008 @ 8:15 am
The questions that follow are more GTD questions that MR, I guess, but this group seems to have GTD down pretty well, so the placement made sense. I asked earlier how you got moving with all of this. The missing link for me was not having finished the book (started, dropped it, never went back). Well, I had a couple of flights yesterday, and used the time to read the book, end to end. That made a tremendous difference. I actually understand the ‘context’ concept as well as other holes in the whole thing now. But, as usual, it raised even more questions, two in particular. I understand that GTD is not a set of absolute rules, but tools to use to your benefit, but am not comfortable with something key in the Next Step, concept.
We’re told that if something will take more than say, two minutes, stick it in the system. I assume this leads to documenting every step that will take more than two minutes? But it can’t, or we would document going to the grocery store as 200 steps, obviously making the process more laborious than is beneficial. So how do you know how to break projects down? Is it entirely arbitrary? The system is very keen on next steps, but what about all of the ‘other’ steps? So, I’m going to build a house myself, and the Next Step is to draw blueprints. But I know that to draw blueprints I need to buy big paper, and when I have them I’ll need to go to the copy store and make copies, and I’ll need to look in the yellow pages for contractors, and I’ll need to make a list of contractors to call, and I’ll need to call each one, and, and, and… By breaking this into discrete components (especially if I’m going to take the time to enter them into an electronic system), I would seem to exponentially increase the time it will take to get the project actually done. Maybe I’m missing the bigger picture, and I admit, I’m on the very outside edge crawling towards the center of all of this…
Next question: Just want to make sure I understand something about the technology. I understand that MindReader requires MindManager/MindJet and Gyroq, but does it REQUIRE ResultsManager? (I have all of these tools, just trying to wrap my head around what does what). If I understand correctly, RM is really just a reporting tool (maybe an important one, but still a reporting tool). Is this correct?
Thanks in advance for any advice and comments!
GTD and MindReader Q&A » ActivityOwner.Com said,
March 27, 2008 @ 8:36 pm
[…] Brown posted some questions on GTD and MindReader as a comment on AO-Pack blog entry. I thought answering via a post would make […]
ActivityOwner said,
March 27, 2008 @ 8:46 pm
Good questions Chuck — see
http://www.activityowner.com/2008/03/27/gtd-and-mindreader-qa/
for some ideas.
ActivityOwner said,
February 10, 2009 @ 7:57 pm
Note that the preferred way to install these tools is to use the new setup program:
http://www.activityowner.com/2009/02/07/mindreader-20/