Within the course of a recent request to Wouter, the developer of TreeSheets, I quickly scanned this forum for programs that we've discussed that can import/export OPML. My own interest was for Notecase Pro, but among others I found:

- PC software: UltraRecall, ConnectedText, tkOutliner, TreePad, ConceptDraw MindMap, Treeline
- Mac: Omnioutliner, Tree, iLiner, Hog Bay NoteBook, Circus Ponies NoteBook, NoteTaker, MyMind
- Linux: NoteCase Pro (crossplatform)
- Webware: checkvist.com
- iPhone: iBlueSky, iThoughts, MindMaker
- Pocket PC / Windows CE: ListPro (also PC), Natara Bonsai (also PC)

The list is impressive and means that OPML, despite its many limitations, has emerged as a de facto standard among outliners. The alternative, tab indented text, seems to be less supported as far as I've seen, though it is more popular in the 'visual outliner' domain, i.e. mind mapping, supported by the likes of Mind Manager and Freemind.

This post comes with a request to Pierre for adding OPML and tab indented text import/export to InfoQube / SQL notes. I am still learning this powerful outliner but need to start getting more of my data into it; OPML / text are what I can export/import to/from most of my other programs. CSV is unfortunately not an option.

The main reason for posting this request here is to generate interest from other developers as well.

Good points. I would agree that OMPL seems to be the way forward.

Bear in mind, by the way, that OmniOutliner can open tab-delimited outlines as well (and this functionality even works in the unlicensed mode).

Hi Alexander,

Many users ask about importing CSV. It is a simple format and easy to handle but the problem is how to use/format the information contained in a CSV file. For instance, speaking about ConnectedText, the Outline view can import OPML and indented text files. I don't see how to fit CSV data in an Outline (at least in CT). Other programs have more than one column in the outline so CSV contents fits well. CSV could be imported inside a topic and converted into a table (quite easy), but I don't see if it is useful or not.

I think that any software that handles data in a tabular way should have no problem in importing CSV file and make good use of the data.

On the Mac, Opal imports and exports OPML as well.

It's not a perfect format though -- it doesn't really support rich text.

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

This post comes with a request to Pierre for adding OPML and tab indented text import/export to InfoQube /
SQL notes. I am still learning this powerful outliner but need to start getting more of my data into it; OPML / text are what I can export/import to/from most of my other programs. CSV is unfortunately not an option.

This task (at least the Import part) is now assigned. See http://mantis.sqlnotes.net/view_all_bug_page.php

Thanks for your interest in InfoQube

The main reason for posting this request here is to generate interest from other developers as well.

OPML is quite restricted in its capabilities. For example it does not support binary data such as images and files. It is difficult to see how it could be used for many of todays content rich applications, such as our Surfulater. For simple text based outlines it may well be all that is needed, however even there I'm not sure how well it handles content structured in a hierarchical format. Nor the ability to handled structured content.

It would be interesting to see how well Export from Alexander's listed applications and then Import into another application actually worked in practice.

Neville Franks, http://blog.surfulater.com

Neville Franks wrote:

OPML is quite restricted in its capabilities. ... It is difficult to see how it
could be used for many of todays content rich applications, such as our Surfulater.

Yes, I concur that OPML is limited and not suitable for all applications (as tab indented text also is). For one thing, it makes no actual distinction between heading and content, as it was intended for 1-pane outliners. Also, its implementations vary, as each application may add its own attributes to the OPML file and these may not be recognisable or usable by others.

However, I have yet to find an alternative to the two formats mentioned. And some of my outlines are too complex for retyping.

It would be interesting to see how well
Export from Alexander's listed applications and then Import into another
application actually worked in practice.

In terms of import, the most powerful application by far is TreeLine, which recognises all attributes in the OPML file and allows one to chart them appropriately. Yet TreeLine is almost like an XML editor in its concept; programmers will probably feel more at home with it than people like myself.

I use OPML export from my Symbian phone Projekt hierarchical task list (which has a few hundred items) on a daily basis; I import it to Notecase Pro which is flexible enough to recognise Projekt's notes in the OPML file. I also import to ConceptDraw Mindmap for sharing with my partners. In both cases it does what it's supposed to do, saving me a lot of time.