The new Beta of ConnectedText has introduced two new functions:

1. an outliner that is quite capable and can import and export opml files

2. A new footnote function that does automatic footnotes (which, if I am informed correctly, will in the next version allow the export of automatic footnotes).

This new version seems to provide some of the essential functionality that people asked for in the thread on Outliners with Word Processing capability.

As some of you may know, I have talked about ConnectedText and Wiki functionality before in this forum, praising this program. While I would not want to call myself an "evangelist" for this program, I definitely think it is among the very best for managing research and early drafts. And I am amazed at how the program is developing.

Because I do not want to make the move to Vista, I have bought a MacBook and fooled around with all kinds of Mac Outliners. Let me assurer you that they are WAY ahead of anything that can be found in Windows. In fact, it is ConnectedText that keeps me staying with Windows (and now I have one more reason).

In any case, I think this product is something that some of you "crimpers" might want to take a look at.
Manfred

P.S. I would like to thank those who participated in the discussion of Word Processing and Footnotes. I am now using AppleWorks 5.0 as my Word Processor of Choice (not 6.0, which has some nasty incompatilities with Windows). The main difference to the Microsoft Works word processor (who is also not as bloated as Word) is that it does Outlines and Endnotes as well as footnotes.

The beta is not publically available, but I received a link in a short time after asking for it through contact form (without being a registered user).

Looks interesting. Thanks for the heads-up!

Manfred wrote:

1. an outliner that
is quite capable and can import and export opml files

Is the new outliner a single pane outliner or a dual pane outliner? Can you collapse/expand parts of the outline?

How would you compare ConnectedText to VoodooPad (apart from the graphical view which VP doesn't have)?

Because I do not want to make the move to Vista, I
have bought a MacBook and fooled around with all kinds of Mac Outliners. Let me assurer
you that they are WAY ahead of anything that can be found in Windows. In fact, it is
ConnectedText that keeps me staying with Windows (and now I have one more
reason).

I agree with you. There is much more active development in this area on the Mac platform, and some of the software tools are more mature. (BTW, be sure to check out TAO if you haven't; it doesn't get a lot of press but is probably the most powerful true outliner since MORE.) The nice thing is with Intel Macs is you still have access to all the Windows software too, and with modern VMs, they're integrated with the system and behave just like Mac apps. I no longer worry about platform issues; I just run the best software for my needs, Mac, Windows, or Unix.

P.S. I would like to thank those who
participated in the discussion of Word Processing and Footnotes. I am now using
AppleWorks 5.0 as my Word Processor of Choice (not 6.0, which has some nasty
incompatilities with Windows). The main difference to the Microsoft Works word
processor (who is also not as bloated as Word) is that it does Outlines and Endnotes as
well as footnotes.

If you're using AppleWorks, you may want to look at the most recent version of Pages. They changed the keybindings to make outlining natural; whenever you're in a list, tab indents the whole thing, option-tab un-indents, and when you grab on the bullet, the cursor changes to an outline-rearranging triangle. Unfortunately it still doesn't have a dedicated outline view or collapse/expand, but compatibility with Word is now truly excellent.

-- Chris

For those interested in an open source personal wiki, there's "Wikidpad".

http://www.jhorman.org/wikidPad/

Hello Chris,

I am using AppleWorks in Windows (for now). I don't think Pages works Windows. Eventually I will probably use a Word Processor that works on the Mac only, and run Parallels or Fusion to run Windows from the Mac (mainly to have access to ConnectedText and Above & Beyond, which I prefer over TimeTo).

The outliner is a separate VIew in ConnectedText that looks and works like a single-pane outliner. Collapse and expand are available. You just double-click on the entry line. You can do pretty much everything that you can do in TkOutliner. The outliner files are saved as separate files in ConnectedText

One of things hat makes it most interesting is the way it interacts with the rest of ConnectedText, as you can drag and drop topic names into the outliner and jump from these outliner items to the corresponding topics. When you use it in this way, it behaves like a two-pane outliner. So, you have the best of both worlds.

I actually bought Voodoopad and imported all 5000 entries I have in ConnectedText into it (using Devonthink as a way station to transform them from html to rtf and rtfd. Worked like a charm; even the wiki links work.

What I like about Voodoopad is the graphical interface and that it behaves very much like ConnectedText. One of the things I don't like -- and this is an important thing to me -- is the anemic search function of Voodoopad. It does not allow regular or full text searches, and this alone would be enough to stay with ConnectedText. But outlining and especially the footnote capability that in the future will allow export of automatic footnotes to rtf is also important.

Another thing I like about ConnectedText after this experience is how easily it allows one to export one's stuff. (And what I don't like about Windows is how difficult it is to move rtf from one application to the next. The Mac is WAY ahead on that as well.)

Manfred

I did look at WikidPad some time ago, but found it rather buggy and unreliable. Ultimately, I was afraid to entrust it with my research. ConnectedText, on the other hand, has not crashed once in all the time I have used it (since 2005; and I used Notebook before, which is also freeware, and I would still prefer over Wikidpad).

This is not to say that more recent versions are not more reliable (though my occasional visits to the user forums do not inspire that much confidence.


Manfred

Manfred -

Does ConnectedText provide universal links to its content? That is, can you paste a link from its content into another program, which can then invoke ConnectedText and go to the content in question - i.e., to a topic, or piece of selected text?

WhizFolders has this neat feature, which makes it very useful when working in conjunction with Zoot (though not Zoot32 yet).

Derek

Derek,

yes, it does have that feature. I have, in fact, used it to link entries to Whizfolder, where the links look something like this (ct://Aktuell/%28NEHEMAS%202000%29). I used to use Whizfolder as an intermediate stage between note-keeping or very rough drafts (zero drafts) and the final product, which has to be submitted.

Given that ConnectedText does now do real footnotes and outlining, I will skip the Whizfolder stage and keep it all in ConnectedText until I export it to the Word Processor.

As you know, not every application accepts such links equally well, but in my experience it works quite well in the ones I use most.

Manfred

Manfred -

Given that ConnectedText does now do real footnotes and outlining, I will skip the Whizfolder stage and keep it all in ConnectedText until I export it to the Word Processor.

This was exactly what I was wondering about. I was very impressed with WhizFolders for its ability to use universal links to its text.

Just to be certain I've understood you correctly, does ConnectedText allow universal links to its content (selected paragraphs, sentences, and so on) as well as to its "topics" - if this is a valid way of looking at how CT works? For example, in the "Welcome to ConnectedText" file of the CT trial I was able to define a universal link to the section "Navigator" - ct://Welcome/NAVIGATOR - using Menu>Topic>Copy as URL. But I couldn't see a way of lonking to a single sentence (e.g., "Note that each node of the graph has a color indicator at upper left corner.") within the section. Can you do this? Is this feature only available in the new beta?

As you know, not every application accepts such links equally well, but in my experience it works quite well in the ones I use most.

My CT link works in classic Zoot, but not in Zoot32 - so far.

Derek

Derek,
I actually don't know whether it is possible to have universal links to a single sentence. My topics are all fairly short because I find the "granurality" (if that's a word) of between 500-1000 words the best (and divide up topics when they get larger - except for drafts). So I don't need that functionality.

I know that it is possible to link to parts of topics, even words, within CT itself by defining an anchor and linking to that anchor, but I don't know whether that can be used in a universal link. (But I doubt this, as you copy the link from the tab of the open topic (like so: ct://Welcome/LINKING).

One thing that I have found is that the developer of the program is extremely responsive to requests by users. So, it might not hurt to ask whether that functionality will be available in the future.

Manfred
P.S.: One work-around would be to have a topic that links to specific places (words or sentences) in specific pages and link to it. You could then jump from it to the specific place. (Not quite as elegant as the other way, but it would work).

Manfred -

Thanks for clarifying. I think your work-around is a good one, and would be a useful way of dealing with any deficiency with ConnectedText links. It could also be used by other programs that provide links to topics but not to selected content within topics.

Derek

Can the new beta of Connected Text export to rtf?

Thanks!

-c

Cassius,
no, the beta does not allow it, but there is an autohotkey script (by yours truly) posted in the beta forum that allows you to export rtf (including automatic footnotes).

The outliner has been improved and there are now commands for promotion and demotion (before you could do this only by drag and drop).

In the next there will be the ability to link to headings in other topics.

Manfred

I think export to rtf is planned for the next version, 3.0, that is.

Manfred,

Another useful outlining feature that GrandView had (keyboard only--not on a menu) was "force left" and "force right." These commands would move left (promote) or move right (demote) a single outline item without affecting anything else. For example, if an item were "forced left," it, alone, would be promoted and the items that had been below it at the same level would now become subitems of it. Very useful.

Perhaps you could suggest it in the Connected Text forum (of which I am not a member)?

-c