iMapping is a technique for visually structuring information objects. It supports the full range from informal note taking over semi-structured personal information management to formal knowledge models. With iMaps, users can easily go from overview to fine-grained structures while browsing, editing or refining the knowledge base in one comprehensive view.
An iMap is comparable to a large white-board where information items can be positioned like post-its but also nested into each other. Spatial browsing and zooming as well as graphical editing facilities make it easy to structure content in an intuitive way. iMapping builds on a zooming user interface approach to facilitate navigation and to help users maintain an overview in the knowledge space. While a first implementation is being developed, iMapping is still in a conceptual stage. In this paper we describe the iMapping approach and how it tries to combine and extend the advantages of other approaches.