Author Topic: Outlining software recommendations? (Read 32649 times)

wraith808 · « **Reply #25 on:** February 02, 2011, 11:10 PM »

^ I think that you might have misunderstood what it is. It doesn't create outlines in Word documents; it organizes Word documents. When you're working on a large project, in a lot of cases, you're working with more than one document. This allows you to organize them, rather than have to manually keep up with several word documents.

J-Mac · « **Reply #26 on:** February 02, 2011, 11:27 PM »

OK then I'm thinking of a program that was recently available that added several pre-built outlining styles in Office 2007, filling the gap left when the outline formats were abandoned by MS.

Jim

johnk · « **Reply #27 on:** February 02, 2011, 11:32 PM »

^ I think that you might have misunderstood what it is. It doesn't create outlines in Word documents; it organizes Word documents. When you're working on a large project, in a lot of cases, you're working with more than one document. This allows you to organize them, rather than have to manually keep up with several word documents.
-wraith808 (February 02, 2011, 11:10 PM)

Yes, Writing Outliner for MS Word is, on one level, a similar product to the excellent free utility Chapter by Chapter, which is a useful tool for organising Word documents.

wraith808 · « **Reply #28 on:** February 03, 2011, 03:14 PM »

^ Oooh... thanks! I'd never seen that before! It looks like a cool piece of software.

...D'oh! I already bought Writing Outliner, so this just gives me a reason to maybe think I spent money needlessly.

jkitc · « **Reply #29 on:** March 30, 2011, 08:35 AM »

NoteTab. I have used for years. It is fantastic.

JohnFredC · « **Reply #30 on:** March 30, 2011, 01:21 PM »

After starting with ThinkTank and growing up on GrandView and PCOutline (both DOS), it has been difficult to find a workable pure outliner that runs in Windows.

PCOutLine for Windows (Google it up) was a project with promise, but Version 1.0 was very buggy and the project appears to have ceased long ago. If it had worked, I would have adopted it.

To make potentially long and frustrating story short (I've been using/seeking software outliners for 25 years) it looks like the Windows component of Natura Bansai might do the trick. Check it out!

mfwiniberg · « **Reply #31 on:** March 31, 2011, 11:20 AM »

I too have been looking for the perfect outliner for years. Grandview was definitely the best of the bunch, and still works in a cmd window (though not on 64bit Win7). After experimenting with many, I settled on Notemap from LexisNexis. It lacks the column features of Grandview (which I used for bug-tracking) but for text outlining is excellent, even if the output formatting is a little limited when transferring to Word etc. Doesn't appear to be being maintained/developed any more now, but is still available.

I keep experimenting with various todolist type programs (including Outlook Tasks) for bug and project activity tracking, but nothing is perfect - TodoList hereabouts comes closest, but it's activity timing is not really flexible enough - I need records of time spent each day readily available (that can be done) but I also need the timer to stop after a certain period of keyboard/mouse inactivity. Using the screen saver to stop the time is pointless when so many windows apps (Outlook for one) will stop the screensaver kicking in if they think you should pay attention to them...

One day, perhaps after I die, I will have enough spare time to roll my own. No, wait...

urlwolf · « **Reply #32 on:** August 06, 2011, 03:47 PM »

Actually, noteliner makes a nice free alternative to MLO.
On top of being a very capable outliner.
I'd say it competes with cintanotes in the search dept. too. If only bullets points were such a turn off for me...

40hz · « **Reply #33 on:** August 06, 2011, 05:13 PM »

About the only old-style general purpose outliner still on the market is MaxThink. I liked the DOS version better than the Windows version, but what ya gonna do?

The late EccoPro borrowed heavily from MaxThink. You can find orphaned copies of EccoPro to download if you Google around. Worked on XP. Don't know if it does on Win7.

I liked GrandView too. I was sorry when that went off the market. Vastly better than it's competitor Lotus Agenda.

Curt · « **Reply #34 on:** August 07, 2011, 07:11 AM »

This one seems promising, called Sain Outliner:
http://www.sainsoftware.com/
-superboyac (January 22, 2011, 04:51 PM)

Current version 1.2
Released 14 Feb 2011.

http://www.sainsoftware.com/

Sain Outliner is currently on sale for the price of "Pay What You Want" (i.e. 50 cents or more). This is a fantastic productivity product at an enormous discount!
To buy:
1. Click the Download link to download Sain Outliner
2. Click the link below to Buy a Personal License to Sain Outliner
3. In the cart screen, set your own price!

Click Here to Buy a Sain Outliner Personal License [PAY WHAT YOU WANT]

Edited:

License: One license entitles you to install the software on multiple computers as long as you are the primary user. Your key will continue to work for minor version upgrades.

urlwolf · « **Reply #35 on:** August 08, 2011, 08:55 AM »

I too have been looking for the perfect outliner for years. Grandview was definitely the best of the bunch, and still works in a cmd window (though not on 64bit Win7). After experimenting with many, I settled on Notemap from LexisNexis. It lacks the column features of Grandview (which I used for bug-tracking) but for text outlining is excellent, even if the output formatting is a little limited when transferring to Word etc. Doesn't appear to be being maintained/developed any more now, but is still available.

I keep experimenting with various todolist type programs (including Outlook Tasks) for bug and project activity tracking, but nothing is perfect - TodoList hereabouts comes closest, but it's activity timing is not really flexible enough - I need records of time spent each day readily available (that can be done) but I also need the timer to stop after a certain period of keyboard/mouse inactivity. Using the screen saver to stop the time is pointless when so many windows apps (Outlook for one) will stop the screensaver kicking in if they think you should pay attention to them...

One day, perhaps after I die, I will have enough spare time to roll my own. No, wait...

-mfwiniberg (March 31, 2011, 11:20 AM)

Try watership planner. It does exactly what you describe.

rjbull · « **Reply #36 on:** August 08, 2011, 04:13 PM »

Try watership planner.
-urlwolf (August 08, 2011, 08:55 AM)

Expensive. Is this the "new Ecco?"

urlwolf · « **Reply #37 on:** August 08, 2011, 04:16 PM »

Try watership planner.
-urlwolf (August 08, 2011, 08:55 AM)

Expensive. Is this the "new Ecco?"
-rjbull (August 08, 2011, 04:13 PM)

I'm testing it right now. I couldn't find any reviews online. Looks promising. I wonder if there'd be enough interest for a discount?

wraith808 · « **Reply #38 on:** August 08, 2011, 06:10 PM »

I'm interested. I just don't pay full price for these kind of things. A couple others that I've used before are LeaderTask and Achieve Planner, though if this one has a way to automatically fill out time from activities, I'm even more interested.

rjbull · « **Reply #39 on:** August 09, 2011, 03:52 PM »

Looks promising. I wonder if there'd be enough interest for a discount?
-urlwolf (August 08, 2011, 04:16 PM)

I certainly wouldn't buy it at full price, but the other thing that bothers me is the assumption that you're going to run almost your whole life by this single piece of software. I'm not sure anything is quite convincing enough for that, the more so if it isn't portable. Most of us can cover the same areas with things we have already and which we're too used to to be keen to change.

Curt · « **Reply #40 on:** August 09, 2011, 04:34 PM »

The license is per user. You may use the software on as many computers as you want, as long as you are the primary user.

Run from a USB flash drive
Runs without installation on Windows 2000 and up

Unlimited trial period, but has a built in task limit of 30.

60-day, unconditional, money back guarantee, no questions asked.

•   Get free upgrades as they come out for 12 months.
•   Get premium technical support.
•   Eligible for an upgrade price after 12 months.

Current Version: 1.98a, Released August 4', 2011
http://www.watership...anner.com/index.html
-Watership Planner

IainB · « **Reply #41 on:** August 09, 2011, 06:09 PM »

Thanks all for the pointer to Watership Planner. I downloaded it yesterday and tried it out, but it's just a planning tool isn't it? I couldn't figure out how to use it as an outliner anyway.
However, it looked like it could be a pretty useful planning tool, though I didn't really spend much time evaluating it.

Incidentally, I also yesterday downloaded and installed Scholar's Aid (the for Vista version - "SA4V"), which looked like a really great PIM+, but sadly it doesn't run under Windows 7 (64-bit).

It might be moribund - the program files indicate that it's latest development/modification was in 2008.

By the way, in case this is of use to someone: I had a read of this rather extensive List of Outliners in EditPad, which you might be interested in. I found it referred to in this discussion thread at OutlinerSoftware.com

40hz · « **Reply #42 on:** August 09, 2011, 06:16 PM »

One really simple but useful single-pane outliner (very similar to the classic More or Acta outliners) is something called TK Outline. Check it out here.

Outlining software recommendations?

I use this one quite a bit since it's cross-platform.

Oddly enough, it's easiest to install on Windows. Go figure. $:-\$

Note: one really big issue with the current version is the total lack of an undo or revert function. So what you see on screen really is what you've got. For some people this is a showstopper omission. I have never personally had a problem with the fact I couldn't undo something. I just highlight and retype.

J-Mac · « **Reply #43 on:** August 09, 2011, 09:16 PM »

40hz: The problem isn't that you can't undo what you already typed; it's that you can't undo what you accidentally delete!! I have a problem wherein I highlight some text to delete it and if I move my mouse even slightly as I complete highlighting the selected text is unselected and all other text on that line - or sometimes in that paragraph - is highlighted instead! And my fingers are moving faster than my "thought-to-action" reflex, so I hit the delete key a split second after noticing the highlighted test just changed. Undo function usually manages to save me right then! Lack of an Undo function might drive me to drink!

Jim

40hz · « **Reply #44 on:** August 09, 2011, 09:37 PM »

@J-Mac - perhaps you could try thinking a little more slowly?

But seriously, you make a most excellent excellent point. And as I said, the lack of an undo is a showstopper for many.

urlwolf · « **Reply #45 on:** August 10, 2011, 02:15 PM »

Looks promising. I wonder if there'd be enough interest for a discount?
-urlwolf (August 08, 2011, 04:16 PM)
I certainly wouldn't buy it at full price, but the other thing that bothers me is the assumption that you're going to run almost your whole life by this single piece of software. I'm not sure anything is quite convincing enough for that, the more so if it isn't portable. Most of us can cover the same areas with things we have already and which we're too used to to be keen to change.
-rjbull (August 09, 2011, 03:52 PM)

Actually, it is portable. At least moving the settings from appdata to the program folder works.
I think you can safely ignore all the 'values' stuff, and still get what I think is the best todo/organizer that I've tried.

rjbull · « **Reply #46 on:** August 10, 2011, 03:26 PM »

Actually, it is portable.
-urlwolf (August 10, 2011, 02:15 PM)

Thanks - that makes it more appealing.

I think you can safely ignore all the 'values' stuff, and still get what I think is the best todo/organizer that I've tried.
-urlwolf (August 10, 2011, 02:15 PM)

In reality, if I was truly going to get organised, I'd have done it years ago...