Inspiration Redux
Posted by jellul
on 5/6/2001
jellul
5/6/2001 9:32 am
Lurker coming out of the closet here. I have been a big fan of outlining software ever since I first tried Think Tank in the mid-80s. Grandview for me still sets the standard but I prefer to do most of my work in Windows. (I still use Lotus Agenda on occasion, though, so am not totally hostile to DOS software.) Ecco was a good PIM but it lacked features that I look for in an outliner - especially hoisting and a discrete (collapsible) note feature. I have tried PC-Outline, Max Think in recent beta, and NoteMap (which I rather like.)
I currently use Inspiration as my primary outliner for writing purposes. While it doesn't have the nice cross-referencing features of Grandview, it otherwise feels very Grandview-like when in outlining mode. There are a couple features of Inspiration that, while they may seem minor, are very useful to me. First, the nice integration with Microsoft Word. If you export an Inspiration outline to a Rich Text File and then open that file in Word in its outline view, you get to use some of the limited expand/collapse features of Word's outliner. For me, this is preferable to clip and paste via Windows. The other thing I really like is adjustable background colors. I like each outline level to have its own unique color attributes. For me, these work best on a dark (usually black) background. Inspiration lets me change this on the program level. The other programs I have tried don't (unless I am willing to change global background settings in Windows.)
Just some thoughts. Perhaps others will explain just what it is about their current default outliner that keeps them using it until something better comes along.
I currently use Inspiration as my primary outliner for writing purposes. While it doesn't have the nice cross-referencing features of Grandview, it otherwise feels very Grandview-like when in outlining mode. There are a couple features of Inspiration that, while they may seem minor, are very useful to me. First, the nice integration with Microsoft Word. If you export an Inspiration outline to a Rich Text File and then open that file in Word in its outline view, you get to use some of the limited expand/collapse features of Word's outliner. For me, this is preferable to clip and paste via Windows. The other thing I really like is adjustable background colors. I like each outline level to have its own unique color attributes. For me, these work best on a dark (usually black) background. Inspiration lets me change this on the program level. The other programs I have tried don't (unless I am willing to change global background settings in Windows.)
Just some thoughts. Perhaps others will explain just what it is about their current default outliner that keeps them using it until something better comes along.
tq
5/6/2001 10:06 pm
I surprised that you don't also love the graphic mode.
Sometimes I am just not sequential. The mind-map inspired interface is totally great. Add ideas as they come, in an organization that is as idiosyncratic as you want and then, voila!, it becomes an outline.
I've done some of my best work that way.
Sometimes I am just not sequential. The mind-map inspired interface is totally great. Add ideas as they come, in an organization that is as idiosyncratic as you want and then, voila!, it becomes an outline.
I've done some of my best work that way.
zeoli
5/7/2001 12:04 pm
I have the previous version of Inspiration (5 I think it is). Can anyone tell me if there is much difference in the outlining capability of this version and the newest?
Steve Z.
Steve Z.