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Welcome. I, too, loved loved loved Ecco Pro, from Version 1 until I finally moved to Mac 3 years ago. It was Ecco that kept me tethered to Windows far past my patience for all things Microsoft. So I share your strong desire to find something that matches all of the remarkably useful attributes of Ecco, and I hope I can save you a lot of time by describing my extensive experimenting with what's out there for Mac users.

First, there is no one piece of software that does everything Ecco did. (And I'm not even referring to the Calendar and Address Book functions - I mean, just the Notepad functions.) I've tried pretty much every Information Manager, Mind Manager, Digital Shoebox there is. Quite a few of them are very good pieces of software: Circus Ponies Notebook, Evernote, MacJournal, Yojimbo, Notetaker, etc. All well-designed, useful programs, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. None comes close to Ecco.

I'm confident in saying that for outlining, nothing in the Mac world can touch OmniOutliner. It is rock solid, intuitive, reliable, and a pleasure to use. You're absolutely right it doesn't have Ecco's ability to assign one item to multiple folders, and it doesn't allow filtering based on columnar data (my two most needed features). Yet. There is a version 4 due out this year, and features like these have been discussed in these Forums, so I'm hoping that - at the very least - filtering makes the cut.

As for the heavier-lifting functions - such as creating a database of information and assigning items to different folders - I'm using DevonThink Pro. It can be configured as a 3-pane organizer, and any item in any folder can be "replicated" into another folder. Changes made in the document in one folder will be matched in that documents replicant in another folder. Just like Ecco. You can "shoot" web pages and other documents into it, without losing the source's identification. And, DT has a pretty powerful AI function that can figure out where to assign items on its own. It's quite a strong piece of software, and I use it in combination with OmniOutliner for the things I used to do in Ecco.

My hopes are the OO grows to include all the features we Ecco-ites are used to, but in the meantime, OO and DT together might just satisfy your needs and allow you to cut the last cord to Windows. I'm delighted I did and haven't look back in regret once.

Good luck ... let us know if you have any other questions.

/rb