Omni Outliner 2.0

Rating:
Summary: Good software, but still needs a little tweaking
Review: I purchased OmniGraffle and OmniOutliner at the same time because I really wasn't sure which product would be best in terms of organizing and presenting ideas. After using both I have to say that OmniGraffle is by far the better product, especially if you are visually oriented in terms of your organizing.

OmniOutliner is intended for a different purpose than Graffle. And that's OK.

It's not just a checklist or a basic word processor that creates bullet points. At its core is a concept of creating headlines with cascading sub-points that can be exposed or hidden depending at the will of the user. These sub-points, either logically or mathematically, create the sum of the headline.

For example:
The checklist: Groceries, Fruit, Apples
The book outline: Book title, Section 1, Chapter One
The Yearly budget: Year, Month, Week, Day, Specific Expenses

It is the math fuction (as used in the budget example) which especially makes this program go beyond your basic checklist. Outliner functions in a way, if you desire, as a basic spreadsheet, one that will keep balances over a period of time or for a specific project or budget. While it's not nearly as adaptable as Excel, it is far and away easier to use and understand.

Another suggested use for Outliner is in the organization of writing a book. No doubt that it would be excellent in organizing one's thoughts for writing either a novel or a non-fiction title. However, it's deep flaw in this regard is that if you're working on a book you're going to want the software to function as a word processor when it comes to time to print. What Outliner does is print the bullet points of your headings, something a book writer does not want. After visiting the OmniGroup web site it appears that they're aware of this issue and perhaps they'll fix it in a later version. I sure hope they do because this is on one of the primary reasons I bought it.

If you're trying to organize your thoughts and write a book you might want to check out the shareware program Z-Write. It's more focused on creating an outline specifically for books. However, it does have the huge flaw of not being able to create sub-headings.

OminiGroup has a demo version that you can download from their web site. You can test the software with up to 20 items in your outline. I recommend this because Outliner does have a slightly steeper learning curve than Graffle (an exceptionally easy to use program).

Despite the criticisms, I'm glad I purchased it. It's good software. I just hope it gets better and they fix that pesty mandatory bullet point printing issue.

Rating:
Summary: Good software, but still needs a little tweaking
Review: I purchased OmniGraffle and OmniOutliner at the same time because I really wasn't sure which product would be best in terms of organizing and presenting ideas. After using both I have to say that OmniGraffle is by far the better product, especially if you are visually oriented in terms of your organizing.

OmniOutliner is intended for a different purpose than Graffle. And that's OK.

It's not just a checklist or a basic word processor that creates bullet points. At its core is a concept of creating headlines with cascading sub-points that can be exposed or hidden depending at the will of the user. These sub-points, either logically or mathematically, create the sum of the headline.

For example:
The checklist: Groceries, Fruit, Apples
The book outline: Book title, Section 1, Chapter One
The Yearly budget: Year, Month, Week, Day, Specific Expenses

It is the math fuction (as used in the budget example) which especially makes this program go beyond your basic checklist. Outliner functions in a way, if you desire, as a basic spreadsheet, one that will keep balances over a period of time or for a specific project or budget. While it's not nearly as adaptable as Excel, it is far and away easier to use and understand.

Another suggested use for Outliner is in the organization of writing a book. No doubt that it would be excellent in organizing one's thoughts for writing either a novel or a non-fiction title. However, it's deep flaw in this regard is that if you're working on a book you're going to want the software to function as a word processor when it comes to time to print. What Outliner does is print the bullet points of your headings, something a book writer does not want. After visiting the OmniGroup web site it appears that they're aware of this issue and perhaps they'll fix it in a later version. I sure hope they do because this is on one of the primary reasons I bought it.

If you're trying to organize your thoughts and write a book you might want to check out the shareware program Z-Write. It's more focused on creating an outline specifically for books. However, it does have the huge flaw of not being able to create sub-headings.

OminiGroup has a demo version that you can download from their web site. You can test the software with up to 20 items in your outline. I recommend this because Outliner does have a slightly steeper learning curve than Graffle (an exceptionally easy to use program).

Despite the criticisms, I'm glad I purchased it. It's good software. I just hope it gets better and they fix that pesty mandatory bullet point printing issue.