# Apps Without a Save Function

> Many tools claim to “help you think.” How can we tell which ones actually support the process of thinking?

Many tools claim to "help you think." How can we tell which ones actually support the process of thinking?

## Would it still be useful without a save function?

One clue is to look at the balance between "helping the thinking process" and "helping you store its results."

Both toolmakers and users often lean toward the latter. If you want to focus on the former, try asking yourself: "Would this tool still be useful if it had no save function?"

<Affinity diagrams>, <mind maps>, and <concept maps> are all methods or tools that emphasize supporting the thinking process. Yet I often see them lean too far toward "making pretty documents for reporting and sharing," especially at work. The more people prioritize form over efficiency and effectiveness, the stronger this tendency seems to be.

"Sharing" is ambiguous too. For example, the natural sharing of a process and its insights among participants in a concept-mapping session is different from sharing a finished document with someone who was not there. The latter is only a small subset of the former, yet the two are often treated as the same thing.

Tools I would probably still use often without a save function:

- <Spreadsheets> (Excel)
- A lightweight text editor
- A scratchpad for drawing (FigJam, Paint)
- Text-to-diagram tools ([Mermaid](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Mermaid.txt), [Graphviz](https://wiki.g15e.com/pages/Graphviz.txt))
- Concept-mapping tools
- Post-it notes

Tools I would probably use less:

- Slideware (such as <PowerPoint>), <Figma>