There are far too many two-pane outliners to begin to list them, but I thought it might be worthwhile to try to put together a list of single-pane outliners, indicating if Windows or Mac, and Text only or RTF-like.

GrandView was probably the last great DOS-based outliner; RTF-like. Worked well through Win 2000, and for some Win XP.

NoteMap for Windows had promise but development discontinued and it had bugs, including one that could lose your material.

Inspiration 9 for Windows has RTF and has diagramming integrated with the outlines. Some of the commands are a little quirky, but I've never found a real bug in the last few years.

...

Opal is for Mac OS X; any topic can contain styled text & graphics. It can also export to RTF ? presumably one of those is what you meant.

(And any member of this forum can get a discount by contacting me.)

Noteliner has become my Windows outliner of choice (see the 'Noteliner 3.0 now available' post on this forum). It has its own text and meta data file format but can save to rtf and txt files. It does external hyperlinking (websites and files) but does not handle images (though you can use hyperlinking to link to image files). Copying and pasting also works well. And its free and actively developed.

www.noteliner.org

Terry

Here are the single-pane outliners I can think of off the top of my head --

Mac-based single-pane outliners:

- OmniOutliner
- Neo / Tao
- Circus Ponies Notebook
- Aquaminds Notetaker
- Opal (nice application, David)

Windows-based single-pane outliners (actively developed):

- Noteliner
- Inspiration
- MaxThink (looks like a two-pane outliner, but is really single-pane; the editor window is really just the window to edit the item titles in)

Windows-based single-pane outliners (stalled development, but still available):

- EccoPro
- Notemap
- TKOutliner

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

Windows-based
single-pane outliners (actively developed):
- Noteliner
- Inspiration
MaxThink (looks like a two-pane outliner, but is really single-pane; the editor
window is really just the window to edit the item titles in)

Windows-based
single-pane outliners (stalled development, but still available):
- EccoPro
Notemap
- TKOutliner

I've been using Natara Bonsai (desktop version) for over 6 years and I've been extremely satisfied. It can be used as a single-pane outliner, but additional panes can be switched on or off (e.g. for file directory and notes). I always wondered why I haven't heard more people raving about it. It might be because Natara have been marketing it as an accessory to the Palm app, which I think is a major marketing blunder, as the desktop version (Bonsai 5 Desktop Edition) is the star product in my view:
http://www.natara.com/bonsai/Download.cfm

Dr Andus wrote:

I've
been using Natara Bonsai (desktop version) for over 6 years and I've been extremely
satisfied. It can be used as a single-pane outliner, but additional panes can be
switched on or off (e.g. for file directory and notes). I always wondered why I haven't
heard more people raving about it. It might be because Natara have been marketing it as
an accessory to the Palm app, which I think is a major marketing blunder, as the desktop
version (Bonsai 5 Desktop Edition) is the star product in my
view:
http://www.natara.com/bonsai/Download.cfm

P.S. Another thing that probably puts people off are the screenshots on the Natara website, which all focus on the bells and whistles of the software (such as various GTD features), when in fact the outliner is the core product.

It's got a highly customisable interface. I turn everything off (such as the other panes, columns, check boxes, status bars etc.) and use it as a pure outliner only. Key strengths are the ease of entering data, promoting, demoting and rearranging items and entire branches, collapsing and zooming in and out of branches (hoisting), filtering out levels of the hierarchy (e.g. looking at top 1, 2, 3, 4 levels only), and my most favourite feature, colour-coding items on the basis of the level in the hierarchy (which really helps with navigating massive outlines).

Dr. Andus,

I've always found Natara Bonsai to feel more like a task manager than an outliner, but I can see that it could function fine as an outliner as you describe it. Bonsai reminds me of another list-manager-type, single-pane outliner call ListPro from Ilium:

http://www.iliumsoft.com/site/lp/listpro.php

I know ListPro has been recommended by others here. I used to use it extensively many years ago, when I used a PocketPC. What I liked about ListPro was that you could completely customize the columns for the data you needed to collect. Don't know where it is at today in terms of development.

Steve

Mention should be made of InfoQube. My reservation is that it is still in development, rough and inconsistent in some areas, can be quirky, and ungainly (filters and other features requiring knowledge of syntax).

Now this is going to sound a little crazy, but you can use Ultra Recall as a single pane outliner. Using Data Explorer only, and turn on word wrap. Hoisting, linking, cloning,etc. It's all there with the added benefit of item attributes which you can think of being akin to Ecco's columns.

Ecco is still my favorite though.

Jon

Jon Polish wrote:

Mention should be made of InfoQube. My reservation is that it is still in development,
rough and inconsistent in some areas, can be quirky, and ungainly (filters and other
features requiring knowledge of syntax).

Thanks for mentioning InfoQube Jon. The current version (v0.9.25L) no longer requires using SQL syntax for filtering / sorting. Most common functions can be done through the grid UI (Filtering, Sorting, Grouping, Hoisting)

HTH

Pierre, IQ Designer

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

Dr. Andus,

I've always found Natara Bonsai to feel more like a task manager than an
outliner, but I can see that it could function fine as an outliner as you describe it.
Bonsai reminds me of another list-manager-type, single-pane outliner call ListPro
from Ilium:

http://www.iliumsoft.com/site/lp/listpro.php

I know ListPro
has been recommended by others here. I used to use it extensively many years ago, when I
used a PocketPC. What I liked about ListPro was that you could completely customize
the columns for the data you needed to collect. Don't know where it is at today in terms
of development.

Steve

I used Bonsai on my old Sony Clie and on the desktop of my old PC. It was a reasonably well designed program, especially its Palm client. But, it seems like Natara and IlliumSoft had a tough time keeping their products up to date with respect to smartphones and web-based applications. They are, however, still part of the standards when I judge new Android and web-based applications, just like Ecco is still one of my standards for PIM programs. And while I have found some reasonably simple task management programs that I like, I have yet to find an outliner that has an Android client and is web-based that works as well as Ecco.

--Ken

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

I've always found Natara Bonsai to feel more like a task manager than an
outliner, but I can see that it could function fine as an outliner as you describe it.

Yes, they market it as a task manager and when you first install it, it probably displays all the panes and columns and numbered lists and check-boxes etc., which obscure the fact that there is a really powerful outliner underneath. So I suggest going to View > and disable all the unnecessary tool bars, as well as View > Global Settings and Outline > Preferences to get rid of the other distracting functions.

I love this software because it's so easy and fast to do the actual outlining process, as part of the writing process. The outline then can of course be exported into Word etc.

Add to the list

UV Outliner for Windows. Has rich text and columns.

I've used Natara Bonsai, both on desktop and on my beloved AlphaSmart Dana PalmOS-based keyboard - it's not bad, but suffers (as some have already remarked) from being over-fussy. I also very much like an application that is, I fear, no longer developed: ThoughtManager, also optimised for AlphaSmart Dana, but a very nice application on PC desktop as well. Although I have to say that Noteliner is significantly superior. UV Outliner is quite nice, but given its relatively sophisticated interface, suffers from lack of image/link support. But I'm hoping it will evolve into something closer to OmniOutliner on the Mac.

Iliumsoft's ListPro is still developed, although only slowly - I have it on PC desktop and on iPhone, and it really isn't bad. In fact, I keep all my favourite personal data on it - one of its strengths is the ability to make a spontaneous remote backup at the drop of a hat, something very few outliners support. And the notes now support rich-text formatting, although the process is rather clunky (unlike PhatNotes, ListPro doesn't have a toolbar). But it's well-designed, and I regard its deceptive simplicity as a virtue. The iPhone version is really quite clever, with a neat customisable view editor.

It's not exactly single-pane, but it's not exactly double-pane either - I'm talking about Zim, which has evolved into a very powerful tool on various platforms (started on Linux, and is now available on Windows and - I think - on Mac). It has some nice features, like wordcounts and easy (wiki-inspired) linking. The only downside is that it's a Java-based app, and I have to say I don't generally like Java-based progs. I've been playing with InfoQube, but - I'm really sorry, Pierre - I find it almost ridiculously complex and unintuitive. I think the Ecco model has been stretched beyond what it can bear. Having said that, it's a very impressive technical achievement - just not, I fear, a very enjoyable one.

I hadn't realised UltraRecall could be used as a single-pane outliner - I'll definitely take a look at that!

Cheers,
Bill

A couple of rare birds that IMHO fall into the broader area of one-pane but YMMV. I know that most regulars here are familiar with both but I'm describing them for reference reasons:

1. Brainstorm: it operates in a sort of permanent hoist, i.e. one only sees the level of the items one is working on, plus the item to which those items are subsidiary

[LEVEL 1 ITEM X]
- Level 2 Item 1
- Level 2 Item 2
- Level 2 Item 3
....

It's possible to get a bird's eye view of the outline, but this is read-only. One can however have several windows open, viewing different parts of the same outline at the time.

Brainstorm's rather unique feature is the automatic linking of identical entries (namesakes); I have only found Zulupad to do something similar. I personally find it invaluable.

2. Treesheets; it's a sort of two-dimensional outliner. It's basic concept is to have everything on one page with levels being depicted in ever smaller font sizes, up to 1 pt. The number of levels is thus practically unlimited, though one needs to zoom in to view the lower levels. The logic (and the navigation keys) takes some getting used to but I am gradually finding it very useful for presenting information.

P.S. It's interesting that no one so far has mentioned web-based tools like http://thinklinkr.com/ (unless I missed it). Yet for many people nowadays, software is something you can access from your browser, usually for free. I wonder if it's a generational thing.

Nah, it's a cynical, suspicious grown-up thing. Anybody involved in business is much less likely to store their info on some unknown third-party website which could be raided at any time by some over-the-top, terrorist-obsessed American law enforcement agency...

;-)

Bill

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

P.S. It's interesting that no one so far has mentioned web-based tools like
http://thinklinkr.com/ (unless I missed it). Yet for many people nowadays,
software is something you can access from your browser, usually for free. I wonder if
it's a generational thing.

It's probably partially generational. But also, I suspect most of the people who comment here are like me, sort of obsessed with these tools. So we want to own the ones we use. Additionally, we are not convinced that web-based software is safe or really reliable. What if EccoPro was web-based (forgetting the fact that when it was first introduced, the web was barely begun), it would be nothing but a distant memory. Since it was code you could put on your own computer, it still has a thriving user base 15 years after development ended.

Just to summarise, here is a list of outliners for Windows that are either single-pane or can be used as single-pane outliners and still seem to be available:

ConnectedText
Ecco Pro
InfoQube
Inspiration 9
ListPro
MaxThink
Natara Bonsai
Noteliner
NoteMap
Outline 4D
SplashNotes
TKOutline
Ultra Recall
UV Outliner

bHi Dr. Andus, I was puzzled by the inclusion of Ultra Recall in the list of single-pane outliners, so I was experimenting with it for awhile. If true, it would be great, because UR has many strengths. Then I looked at some of the thread and saw Jon Polish's comment that UR could be used as a single-pane outliner if you enter your notes into the Data Explorer pane (tree), rather than into the Item Details (editor) pane. Unfortunately, the Data Explorer is really designed only to contain item "titles"; in fact in the text that appears in the tree is the text in the "Item Title" attribute that appears in the Attributes pane. And if the Data Explorer pane is used as a single-pane outliner, it's very clumsy and limited.

It would be great if UR were modified to make the Data Explorer a more capable single-pane outliner - with more text editing functions (formatting, split/join, multiple paragraphs) and with integrated columns. Unfortunately there's not much indication that UR will ever be so modified.

MyInfo is similar in that it's Tree Editor pane could be used as a single pane outliner - and in fact MyInfo's tree editor pane does have integrated columns. It would be great if it were modified to make it a more capable single pane outliner.

jimspoon wrote:

bHi Dr. Andus, I was puzzled by the inclusion of Ultra Recall in the
list of single-pane outliners, so I was experimenting with it for
awhile. If true, it would be great, because UR has many strengths. Then
I looked at some of the thread and saw Jon Polish's comment that UR
could be used as a single-pane outliner if you enter your notes into the
Data Explorer pane (tree), rather than into the Item Details (editor)
pane. Unfortunately, the Data Explorer is really designed only to
contain item "titles"; in fact in the text that appears in the tree is
the text in the "Item Title" attribute that appears in the Attributes
pane. And if the Data Explorer pane is used as a single-pane outliner,
it's very clumsy and limited.

MyInfo is similar in that it's Tree Editor pane could be used as a
single pane outliner - and in fact MyInfo's tree editor pane does have
integrated columns. It would be great if it were modified to make it a
more capable single pane outliner.

Yes, I've only included it because it was mentioned earlier in the thread. As you suggest, there might be other two-pane outliners out there that could be forced to act as single-pane outliners, but what would be the point, when Noteliner and TKOutline are available for free and would be much more suitable.

Some task managers could also be used as single-pane. E.g. MLO even has a Bonsai export filter but I couldn't get it work satisfactorily.

In fact there must be some additional 2-pane outliners that allow you to use the 2nd pane as a single-pane outliner. I've seen one recently but can't recall it now.

I guess MS Word and OneNote could be added to the list.

The main point here is how short this list is, compared to possibly hundreds of dual-pane outliners and PIM. As single-pane outliners are most likely to be used for writing (as opposed to note-taking and organising), writers seem to be poorly served.

Would anyone be willing to add a list of single-pane outliners for other OS's? Perhaps using a virtualisation machine like https://www.virtualbox.org/ might extend the choice for PC users, if there are some good single-pane outliners on the Mac or Linux?

Dr Andus wrote:

Just to summarise, here is a list of outliners for Windows that are
either single-pane or can be used as single-pane outliners and still
seem to be available:

ConnectedText
Ecco Pro
InfoQube
Inspiration 9
ListPro
MaxThink
Natara Bonsai
Noteliner
NoteMap
Outline 4D
SplashNotes
TKOutline
Ultra Recall
UV Outliner

I add Sense to that list; its default layout is two pane, but you switch the explorer pane off and manage everything with the main (full text content) pane.

Alexander, do you have a url for Sense. I searched and found "sense" used in relation to a lot of software products, but couldn't find the Sense you were referring to.

Thanks.

Daly

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

I add Sense to that list; its default layout is two pane, but you switch
the explorer pane off and manage everything with the main (full text
content) pane.

Daly.

You find Sense (no pun intended) here: http://www.silvaelm.co.uk/

Franz

Many thanks, Franz.

Daly

Franz Grieser wrote:

Daly.

You find Sense (no pun intended) here: http://www.silvaelm.co.uk/

Franz

Thanks to Alexander for mentioning Sense, and to Franz for providing the url.

I have downloaded Sense, and in a few minutes only (rush to judgment coming!) I re-experienced what it was like to work with MORE. My hope is that this early exuberance won't be betrayed.

If Sense lives up to my unrealistic expectations, together with Noteliner, it could be possible for me to say that single pane outlining (in each case with a navigation pane which provides for either single or 2 pane outlining) is more alive and well in the Windows world than I had realized.

Daly

Franz Grieser wrote:

Daly.

You find Sense (no pun intended) here: http://www.silvaelm.co.uk/

Franz