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Core distinguishing features of two-pane PIMs
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Posted by Dr Andus
Dec 7, 2012 at 06:44 PM
I wish there was a dedicated comparison tool for two-pane outliners/PIMs only, just like there is for wikis, such as the WikiMatrix (http://www.wikimatrix.org/). The more two-pane PIMs I see, the more they merge into an undifferentiated mass in my mind.
The only ones that seem to click with me are the ones that offer some specialist uses, such as Scrivener for outlining and writing or Surfulater for webpage capture.
But seeing the proliferation of two-pane outliners, notes organisers and PIM which on the surface seem barely distinguishable, I feel I must be missing something… I guess I’m after a resource that could categorise the 2-pane PIM out there on the basis of some essential distinguishing features.
This problem doesn’t seem to exist for single-pane outliners, as there are so few.
Posted by Dr Andus
Dec 7, 2012 at 06:45 PM
So my question is: what are the main categories (on the basis of core distinguishing features) of two-pane PIMs?
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Dec 7, 2012 at 07:30 PM
Here are a few features that are crucial to me:
- How much like a real word processor is the editor? Can I write in it the way I could in Word? As I’ve written before, that involves a certain nimbleness of editing—extended selection being primary, but also including the ease of adding formatting.
- Is the outline pane the only way to view the organization of your information, or are there other options. For example, can you view your articles in a flat index or sorted by entry date? Can you tag data and filter on tags?
- Can you view the content of more than one article at a time? Can you open separate content windows?
- How quick and powerful is the search? Can you search across databases?
- Does the program facilitate the gathering of text from other sources, such as web capture and e-mail importation.
- Does the program facilitate the exporting of information? Can you export to common file formats? Can you fine tune what gets imported?
- In this day and age, it helps if the information can shared easily with mobile devices.
I’m sure I’m leaving off some features that are also important, but these are the ones that came to mind immediately.
Steve Z.
Posted by Dr Andus
Dec 7, 2012 at 10:04 PM
Thanks for that list, Steve. It made me think that there are at least two ways to approach this classification problem:
1) what the main distinguishing features are (which could be done in a spreadsheet or matrix fairly easily and objectively), and
2) what the software are particularly good for (i.e. possession of certain feature may not guarantee that the software is actually good for carrying out the associated task). I realise this second criterion is less objective and more open to debate. Maybe this could be implemented by user reviews or ranking.
I guess what I’m getting at is that there isn’t a single marketplace (website) where all these features and benefits are laid out transparently enough (for two-pane PIMs). Maybe it’s unrealistic to expect that someone would construct such a place just for 2-pane PIMS, but maybe it could be a subsection of an existing software marketplace(?)
Interestingly some software such as Scrivener or Outline 4D have made it onto Amazon for instance, however, it’s a very niche userbase that seems to be going there to review them (practising or aspiring fiction or script writers).
Posted by Foolness
Dec 8, 2012 at 01:30 AM
Dr Andus wrote:
So my question is: what are the main categories (on the basis of core
>distinguishing features) of two-pane PIMs?
MDI vs. Pane (example split text vs. static sidebar)
Bookmarks and tagging features
Online sync
Portability
Pane resize feature
Speed
Docks
Plugins
Those are the main features but like most things, they tend to be redundant. Useful only for researchers but outliners are more personal than wikis. It’s the “special exemptions” that separates one from the other. Not the robustness or static purpose.
Example in criteria for MDI alone:
The ability for the pane to not just be a tweakable dock like ConnectedText but to be a mindmap/outliner for a mindmap/inbox messaging system is…safe to say, extremely rare but very important. It’s the backbone of why David Allen chose MindManager but it’s such a highly overlooked feature that many GTDers ignore the specifics of MindManager’s pane for your average Mindmap: http://www.gtdtimes.com/2009/10/27/how-david-allen-uses-mindmaps/ at least based on blog articles only. Another underrated feature is Connected Text’s outlining capability which allowed it to be the most talked about software recently in this forum if only because certain limitations which forces Dr Andus to opt to use something like VUE for presentation purposes is ignored.
There are other more complicated variations. Goalscape’s sidebar for example has attachments which are underrated and understated by many users but obviously allows it to have certain file manager properties that expand the power of two pane capability. There is Scrivener’s text being able to be transferred into a sticky notes pane view and an exempted from export view that separates it’s outlining capabilities into two views. There is the way Knowsy Notes guarantees that it’s pane only shows .txts so even if the pane disappears, the text is truly out in the Operating System. There is how Compendium collects the icons which separates it’s pane from other Mindmap panes. There is how Evernote’s pane can store downloadable “Trunks”.
Basically the core is wild and no one has managed to collect everything into a fundamental set of attributes that properly “fundamentalizes” every unique feature into a core feature. It’s a different space from wikis which mostly relies on one major innovation of semantic links. Worse, two pane software is a constant regressive audience. Before Evernote became mainstream, it had to reduce it’s features and accept the cloud. Before certain new outlining features had to be introduced, many old advanced outliners had to die away back into it’s niche.