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Single-pane outliners
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Posted by Dr Andus
Mar 17, 2011 at 07:11 PM
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.
Posted by Cassius
Mar 17, 2011 at 08:46 PM
Add to the list
UV Outliner for Windows. Has rich text and columns.
Posted by MadaboutDana
Mar 18, 2011 at 12:21 AM
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
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Mar 19, 2011 at 08:07 AM
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.
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Mar 19, 2011 at 08:15 AM
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.