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-   -   Omni 4.0 Suggestions (http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=13844)

markrs 2009-09-13 01:55 PM

Omni 4.0 Suggestions
 
After being away from Omni Outliner for a couple of years I have returned from the land of OneNote (vmware), notebook, devonthink, curio, scrivner, journler, etc-- all good programs -- I must confess that I am a fan of OneNote but NOT the OS it must run in...

but back I am at OmniOutliner Pro... clean interface... flexibility... ui... integration with os x and the "new" services... like returning home... so much so that I have been painstakingly converting all of my information from OneNote to OO...

if not too late what would make OO 4.0 perfect for me is the

1. tab/section structure of OneNote... unless this is a patented/copyright UI, I can't imagine why this isn't duplicated more... this is the genius of OneNote -- let's move away from the iTunes UI... it is feeling old and cluttered to me when used for everything

2. integration with ical and email-- esp todo lists

and

3. the choice of a blank page where you can click and type, paste, whatever objects you want and arrange them...

these 3 features would put OO beyond reach from my POV... but if I had to choose I would prioritize 1 and 2!

would welcome your feedback on these suggestions...

withnail 2009-10-22 07:42 PM

[QUOTE=markrs;66764]
2. integration with ical and email-- esp todo lists

[/QUOTE]

Can't really see this being implemented, seeing as OmniFocus is already such an elegant solution for ToDo lists which already has iCal and email integration (all be it mail.app).

tzero 2009-12-11 08:29 AM

I second markrs' idea. Just today I was working with OO and wishing I could group various OO files together under a single umbrella, with the files appended one to another in a sort of tabbed "project notebook" fashion. I'm working on a book project with a lot of chapters, sub-outlines, and reference notes, and while I love how clean the OO interface is, it's a pain to have to keep several separate OO windows open simultaneously (or close them and risk forgetting about them).

I know I can achieve something similar with Circus Ponies' "Notebook," but I find the UI a little too ... goofy for my taste. I often write in Scrivener, but I find the program's outlining capabilities underwhelming. MS Word for Mac has a very clean "Notebook" view, but aside from tabs it doesn't offer much. OneNote is indeed great but I'm never goin' back to Redmond.

So, yeah, an OmniNotebook -- that would be awesome. I notice that CP's Notebook offers a way to integrate a (crude) to-do list that syncs with iCal; I'd imagine Omni could do something far more smooth and sophisticated by somehow integrating bits of one's OmniFocus list. For that matter, the OmniNotebook could tie into OmniPlan too: I could outline my book, collect notes, create to-do lists (what to research/write next, etc.), then set deadlines and look at it all on a calendar so I'd know what's due when. Sign me up for beta; heck, hire me as a consultant!

Now if only Omni follow my detailed plans for the perfect notecard manager ("OmniNote"?), my dream would be complete ...

Stan Hudson 2009-12-11 09:26 AM

Please, please, some sort of grouping of outlines - OneNote style would be great, just plain tabs ala Browsers would even be good.

Stan

rogbar 2009-12-12 04:27 PM

A related need I have is to be able to have different "structures" for different sections. Currently, if my OO doc has six sections, each one has the same column structure, and this limits my ability to use columns for specific needs without having that column structure imposed on every other section in the document that doesn't need it.

tzero 2009-12-15 07:02 AM

The more I think about "OmniNotebook" (or "OmniProject"?), the more I like it.

I love the clean manner in which an OO outline expands and contracts to show (or hide) elements of the outline as needed. But when an outline becomes very long (as mine often do), and I want to only work on one small section of that outline, I face a set of unappealing choices: stare at the whole outline (which is distracting); or, break the outline into separate, smaller OO files, which I must then track independently yet try to keep synchronized with the main one; or, scroll through the whole thing, clicking on triangles to open/close various elements; or, move the subsection into an altogether separate program (like Scrivener) and now shuffle between the two apps.

A "notebook" approach would solve this dilemma nicely. It might offer to convert the subsection into a separate page, accessed via a tab, so I could work on it without facing the whole gangly outline. Or perhaps the main outline (which would remain, and continue to grow, on its own page, as the "backbone" of the project) would sprout a hyperlink to the new page, rather like in VoodooPad. In addition, I could add different kinds of pages to my project: a stripped-down OmniFocus page, to track project-related to-dos (but which might also link to my main OF database); a stripped-down OmniPlan page, to track project-related deadlines; a page for managing data elements or source material; maybe a stripped-down OmniGraffle, if I want to manipulate my outline in something like a mindmap view.

From Omni's end, I'd think "OmniProject" could offer a way to integrate elements of the other Omni products -- an addictive gateway app, as it were. (I note some interest in trying to integrate OF and OP in this thread:
[url]http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=7949[/url]). Ideally, OmniProject would just be a simple platform, and a way for the user to easily snap together elements of Omni's other excellent programs.

The trick, of course, is knowing where to stop; OmniProject could easily morph into a sweeping, confusing, kitchen-sink-style app. (Curio, anyone?) Then again, done in elegant Omni fashion, such a thing could totally rock. I notice that there's a new version of Tinderbox out ... and it's *still* ugly as sin ...

RickCogley 2010-01-04 08:13 PM

I would love to see the above ability to have tabs, but one thing that would really improve OO is _even_ better HTML export. The current OO Dynamic HTML export is the bomb and really well done, but it could be taken to the next level with, for instance, an RSS feed for the outline.

Also, if the program itself allowed tabs, it would be quite awesome if the HTML export also allowed tabs.

Regards,
Rick


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