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I was a long-time user of Ecco - since version 1 - in my pre-2007 (when I switched to Mac) days. Today, I needed to find something in an old Ecco outline and discovered something amazing.

I was able to import the outline perfectly into OO.

Ecco gives you 8 different formats to use for exporting: so I tried each, and discovered that the format called "Outline Only (Tab Indented)" works great.

Every separate item from an Ecco outline becomes a separate item in OO. Child items from Ecco appear in OO as children, and are indented the proper number of levels. OO's disclosure triangles expand and collapse items exactly as they expand and contract in Ecco. So I can import an outline from Ecco and not do any editing whatsoever to make it just as usable in OO.

The only problem is outlines with column data come across a bit funky, but I can work around that.

Given the amount of data and work I had in my Ecco outlines, this is a huge relief to me. I post this for 2 reasons: a) if anyone else switched from Ecco, this may be of use to them, and b) I'm far too happy to keep this to myself.
 
Roger! A fellow Ecco user. Thank you for posting your note about importing outlines from Ecco. this may be just the ticket to convince me to move completely over to my Mac. Ecco is the only necessary program that I am currently using parallels for.
I am currently using a trial version of Omni outline and I'm still exploring the other options to convert completely.
I will drop you a note directly as I'm looking for other hints/tools to replace my beloved Ecco.
thanks, Scott
 
Hi Scott,

It was Ecco that kept me from switching to Mac far longer than I can believe. I used Ecco since version 1, and kept using it - for pretty much everything - for years after it was discontinued. It's still the best piece of software I've ever used.

I'm hoping the next version of OmniOutliner - which is a terrific app - will have some of what made Ecco so incredibly versatile ... such as the ability to sort or filter a view based on a columnar value, and multiple document windows.

/rb
 
Just found my notes from when I was figuring out OO as it related to Ecco:

OO's Utility Drawer (on the left) shows SECTIONS.

Think of OmniOutliner SECTIONS as being essentially equal to Ecco's "Notepads".

Another way to think of them is they are the equivalent of Ecco's Top-Level Items in a "Master" outline.

By clicking on a SECTION in the Utility Drawer, you show only that section, which is just like clicking on a Notepad tab in Ecco to show only that Notepad.

You can also do this by clicking on the "Sections" icon on the toolbar.

The main difference between Sections in OO and Notepads in Ecco is that each section in OO has the same columns as the Master outline. If you want to create an outline with different structure, you need to create a different file.
 
Hi Roger,
Thanks for these notes. The main thing that I would like to continue from Ecco: having a date column that automatically syncs with my calendar. Here's what I do now...
I teach and I create my semester outline with 30 primary levels, each one is a class session. I then drag each primary level into the calendar and make it an appointment. (or, I can assign the date into the date column.)
This gives me each day's sub-outline for the given class right on my Palm. (Soon to be an iPhone) For those who do not know Ecco, here's the kicker: I can edit the outline entry right in the calendar and the main outline is synced/updated automatically. Glorious! This also works with To-Do lists...
Have you figured out programs/work-arounds for this sort of use?

Thanks, Scott
 
I haven't even tried, but I suspect you could do this through OmniFocus.
 
I would like to import my Ecco data but I do not see an Import option in OO 3.92. Am I missing something, could you give more details as to how to import my Ecco data.
 
4clubchamps, do as Roger Barre suggests in the opening post in this thread, then use OmniOutliner's File->Open command to open the resulting file. There's no special import command, just open your file.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rogbar View Post
Hi Scott,

It was Ecco that kept me from switching to Mac far longer than I can believe. I used Ecco since version 1, and kept using it - for pretty much everything - for years after it was discontinued. It's still the best piece of software I've ever used.

I'm hoping the next version of OmniOutliner - which is a terrific app - will have some of what made Ecco so incredibly versatile ... such as the ability to sort or filter a view based on a columnar value, and multiple document windows.

/rb
In Ecco Pro, a Notepad View (matching a column name) would display only those items that contained a column entry. Essentially, it filtered the outline. The "sections" in OO do not seem to do this. Is it possible in OO to achieve a similar outilne filtering function based on column entries?

To retain full Ecco functioning on my Mac, I am now using Crossover for Mac. It allow me to tun Ecco Pro, but not the EccoExtension enhancement.

Last edited by HenryTST; 2010-09-30 at 07:31 AM..
 
Hi Henry,

Currently, OO does not seem to be able to filter based on columnar values. The closest I've been able to come to this functionality is to SORT based on what's in the columns.

For instance: if I have a checkmark column and use it to check certain items in the outline, I can go to the Reorganize menu, click on "Keep Sorted" and then select "Checked to Unchecked", and all the checked items appear at the top of the outline. I still see the unchecked items, so it's not true filtering, but at least it groups them together so I can see them. There are, of course, other ways to sort - for instance, in a text column, you can sort alphabetically.

It's not great, but until actual filtering comes our way, it's occasionally useful.

And for the record, lack of filtering is - IMHO - one of the major problems keeping OO from greatness. OmniGroup solved this problem in OmniFocus, by allowing user-created Perspectives. I'm praying they give OmniOutliner uses the same ability. It would open up countless uses for OO outlines ...

Last edited by rogbar; 2010-10-18 at 10:12 PM..
 
 


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