OmniOutliner Professional 3.6.2
The Omni Group
Price: $69.95 (upgrade pricing available)
Pros: Organize all your ideas in a simple manner.
Cons: Take some time to get used to.
by Sean McPhilamy, SCPO, USCG
Getting Things Done. On the Mac. That is why I'm writing a review of OmniOutlinerPro.
My goal. And my path. Whether under the guidance of David Allen or following the work of Merlin Mann. I love my Mac, and Getting Things Done just felt right.
And in my estimation, one of the best ways to begin is to pick up a tool. Choose pen & paper, or OmniOutlinerPro. I choose the latter.
So, allow me to start with Omni Group's own catch phrase for OmniOutliner Professional: "Capture your ideas, organize your universe."
Bundled with Intel Macs, the baseline version of OmniOutliner is available to most users. I won't attempt to cover the specifics between the two, other than to mention the following notes from the web.
My interests vary from jogging to military history and zen buddhism to personal finance. And in my variety of interests, I enjoy a variety of different types of outline templates. By starting with a different template for each interest, I frequently find my efficiency served by the Pro feature of multiple saved templates.
The pro version of OmniOutliner also features both audio capture and a clipping service (which can transfer text directly form any other application to your Outline. These features help me outline better when I am multitasking.
A feature in both the basic and pro versions of OmniOutliner is that of the hoist. By hoisting, the section being worked on can be brought to the full frame of the open window. This feature is useful to help me focus on the topic at hand. But in the Pro version, the Hoist is further refined by allowing all topics in the document to be available for faster finding.
But what is OmniOutliner really? An outliner is a simple way of "getting your information onto the page" as mentioned in the online screencast. This brain-dumping is grand. I've been able to get ideas down but seldom follow through with them. Using this idea organizational tool, I am much more effective.
This outliner allows the movement of ideas by organizing the thoughts into Parents and Children, building a genealogy of ideas. Further organization is into Levels, Rows, Columns. And with the ability to use visual styles to refine your thoughts.
So, I compare the application to four different "applications". The first is the "Hipster PDA", a pen and paper – a 3"x5" note card, if you will. Better minds than mine will document the pros and cons, but I leave off with my buy-in to my Mac. And I move along.
Compare now to a word editor. Most common now is Microsoft Word; the editor allows very similar functions without the functionality. Visually the end product may be similar, but the pathway, the easement, is much smoother.
In a similar way, the last two applications that are useful to mention are databases in the form of Excel and FileMaker. By the use of both, organization is "amp'd up" tremendously. In these, information can be similarly manipulated. Yet once again, the difference is in the manner. OmniOutliner Pro gives the end user both a nimbleness and effectiveness that the other two don't match.
As I was (and in many ways remain) an exceptionally entry-level user, I highly recommend reviewing the user manual first; this fifty page document helped me slowly immerse myself into OmniOutliner Pro.
Further, the online screencasts from ScreenCastsOnline were fantastic! A tutorial in seven parts, they gave me a chance to "look over the shoulder" of an experienced hand. Through this guided approach, I began to apply the software and more efficiently organize through outlining.
One example of my work began during planning meetings at work for an upcoming ceremonial transfer of command. This event involves much brainstorming and requires an eye be kept upon both the Forest and the Trees. Notes were being kept in an Excel spreadsheet. I quickly found that OmniOutliner Pro met my needs far better. Between fluid assignment of levels, rows and columns, the plans soon came together. With multiple folks working together, the notes were much easier to document and revise as an outline than as a spreadsheet. Thanks to these advantages, the vision soon reflected reality.
Just remember that, as when approached any new program, there is a learning curve. It isn't Word, not Excel, not FileMaker, but in fine Mac fashion, it is easily approachable. And if you are willing to spend a few minutes (either by playing around in the application, or over the web with the screencasts), I suspect your will soon be in love with OmniOutliner Pro.
Go Get Things Done!
System Requirements:
* Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher