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Retrospective outlining
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Posted by Dr Andus
Apr 18, 2012 at 12:10 PM
>Alexander Deliyannis wrote:
>This entry on reverse outlining is useful for reference; I found it via Manfred Kuhn?s blog:
>http://mendota.english.wisc.edu/~WAC/page.jsp?id=51&c_type=category&c_id=32
Thanks for this. Good to see that this has been taken up in the composition teaching world. However, I would still like to make a distinction between reverse outlining and real-time outlining. The former you do after you have completed the draft, but the latter happens simultaneously while you are writing. This is where I thought ConnectedText’s TOC pane is very handy, as well as the “folding” function in edit mode, which allows you to collapse (“fold”) the various headings of the text as you write, thus giving you an overview of the outline (hierarchical structure) as it emerges in real-time.
Posted by Eduardo Mauro
Apr 29, 2012 at 02:10 PM
Dr Andus,
Contact me privately using the Contact form in CT site. There are some improvements in the TOC view that I think you might be interested. I would like you to try them out.
Posted by Dr Andus
May 9, 2012 at 11:47 PM
Dr Andus wrote:
>Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>>would say that ConnectedText is likely the best at this, another reason for
>admiring
>>it.
>
>I think CT is not quite there yet either. The problem at the moment is
>that if you are working on a long document, then the table of contents view gets long
>too, and so switching back and forth between the view and edit mode requires a lot of
>scrolling in the TOC pane. Although you can collapse headings and thus make the TOC
>text appear without the scroll bar, for some reason CT expands the collapsed headings
>every time one saves the document or switches between the view and edit mode
>(switching is required for updating the TOC).
Well, I have just trialled the forthcoming version of CT (I think it will be 5.0.0.11) and Eduardo had not only resolved the above issue but he turned the Table of Contents (TOC) pane into a proper real-time, live outliner. This means that as you type in the edit window, the TOC now automatically displays the developing outline (the hierarchical structure of headings 5 level deep). No need to switch from “edit” to “view” (or hit “save”) in order to update the TOC. The outline (or parts of it) will now stay collapsed or expanded, regardless of the length of the outline. Brilliant!!
The added bonus for me is that I also use the TOC as a qualitative analysis tool for annotating long texts (a process similar to “reverse outlining”), and that now happens live too.
So if I said that “CT was not quite there yet,” now it’s definitely there and probably beyond :) Thanks Eduardo!
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
May 10, 2012 at 07:28 AM
At the end of the day, choosing a program for the developer’s responsiveness over a ‘completely complete’ feature set makes sense.
>the TOC now automatically displays the developing outline
>(the hierarchical structure of headings 5 level deep).
Are the five levels a permanent limitation? I.e. does CT limit the number of levels it displays in the outline? As I understand, the sequence of interconnections itself (which would translate as a hierarchy starting from the home node) is essentially limitless.
Posted by tradercclee
May 10, 2012 at 02:46 PM
I can’t wait to try this!
I bought CT but can’t seem to get into it regularly.
The markup and “edit mode” slows me down quite a bit.
I end up fussing with editing more than just letting my ideas flow like I do in Brainstorm.
Not giving up yet though…
>Well, I have just trialled the forthcoming version of CT (I think it will be
>5.0.0.11) and Eduardo had not only resolved the above issue but he turned the Table of
>Contents (TOC) pane into a proper real-time, live outliner. This means that as you
>type in the edit window, the TOC now automatically displays the developing outline
>(the hierarchical structure of headings 5 level deep). No need to switch from “edit”
>to “view” (or hit “save”) in order to update the TOC. The outline (or parts of it) will
>now stay collapsed or expanded, regardless of the length of the outline.
>Brilliant!!
>
>The added bonus for me is that I also use the TOC as a qualitative
>analysis tool for annotating long texts (a process similar to “reverse outlining”),
>and that now happens live too.
>
>So if I said that “CT was not quite there yet,” now it’s
>definitely there and probably beyond :) Thanks Eduardo!