Hi!

what I really want is a simple calculation / spreadsheet functionality.

E.g. I have an outline with columns like:

"hours spend" , "rate per hour", "sub total", "tax rate", "total".

And formulas like:
"sub total" := "hours spend" * "rate per hour";
"total" := "sub total" + "sub total" * "tax rate"; -- assuming tax rate is 0.x value

Currently I'm helping myself with AppleScripts. But it is very hard to keep the AppleScripts in synch with indentation levels and column names etc.

Probably a simple JavaScript or AppleScript integration would be enough? (Means having a script attached to a column, and knowing an evaluation order: "sub total" executed before "total").

Keep in mind that formulas like above only make sense for leaf rows, so probably one would need the ability to attach formulas to a row level.

Anyway, probably some one can enlighten me about how you do calculations in outlines.

Best Regards,

Angelo

[DerekM]

We're planning to add such capabilities in a future version. Sorry for the inconvenience!

[mr_projects]

It's been 2 yrs since the last topic reply, I was wondering have your plans changed into adding formula capability or is it coming soon ?

[kened]

Originally Posted by angel'o'sphere

Hi!

what I really want is a simple calculation / spreadsheet functionality.

E.g. I have an outline with columns like:

"hours spend" , "rate per hour", "sub total", "tax rate", "total".

And formulas like:
"sub total" := "hours spend" * "rate per hour";
"total" := "sub total" + "sub total" * "tax rate"; -- assuming tax rate is 0.x value

why don't you use a spreadsheet application then - such as numbers, or excel? that is what they were designed for.

[jdbtst]

Originally Posted by kened

why don't you use a spreadsheet application then - such as numbers, or excel? that is what they were designed for.

Excel and Number are just spreadsheets.. Not suitable for idea organization... Ideas are calculations, but calculations are not always ideas...

Even if Omnioutliner does not implement formulas and functions like in Numbers, it would have been very useful to just add this feature of being able to run shell scripts or applescripts and return the results to fields or cells in the document. That way we can use perl or ruby scripts and still get all the complicated calculations working or do some heavy text processing within omnioutliner...

Ability to trigger a shell script when something changes in one of the fields is still a feature request in numbers... Excel for mac has been wavering about VBA since 2002... so this is a feature which now you see well now you dont...

Feature request is :
Field.OnChange >> Trigger script (bash, pl, rb...)
Return result to a field

An example:
If I have then a template to organize a function, when I enter an email address and choose a checkbox, I can have the script send an email to one of the attendees...

[theReasonableMan]

I'm with the OP on this..some simple calculations would be useful. I get that you can do all of that with Excel / Numbers; but the organisation of ideas-that-have-calculations is clunky in those programs (a lot of cutting and pasting).

I often create workshop agendas, and these have time calculations so I can gauge the impact of changing the duration of an activity. Numbers and Excel do this...but it is clunky and if I need to move an activity it requires a lot "re-wiring" of the data.

[joelafferty]

I've just discovered Omni Outline and am very impressed!

It's an excellent tool for many things - and one I'm using it for is detailed planning of facilitation or training events.

I too need a column which will do a simple calculation between start and end times to give a duration - or work out an end time from a duration and start time for sessions.

I see the first post on this thread was 2007 & you said you were working on it! I realise that you probably have loads of features you need to prioritise! And that you can't probably give a time, but are you still working on it? Do you think it may be released in the short or medium term?

thanks!

Joe

[Adam Sneller]

I see you guys just released OmniOutliner 4.0. Is this feature included?

Thanks,
-Adam