As a Windows user...
The main problem I have with this app is that there isn't an outliner readily available on the Windows platform that I can use to edit the outlines with on my PC. Most of the ones I looked at seem to have been abandoned by their makers, do not support the notes feature, or are over $50 and complicated. Very simple outlines can be edited on several free web-based sites, but they all seem to have significant limitations that make them somewhat uninviting.
I'm switching over to the iPhone from Palm and have used Thought Manager there. I can't find a simple way to transfer my outlines, much less edit them on my PC. Also, the outlines are not easy to read in the main window. EACH line or item has to be opened as a screen by itself to be read if it is more than a few words. Also, only one line is visible when editing items.
This app has potential, but it has a ways to go to be useful for a PC user as more than a stand-alone outliner that can only be edited on the iPhone itself. A web based editor, rather than just viewer (which is what this developer offers) would make a lot of difference. Notebook has that, and it is delightful. This app could use something similar.
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Brilliant-well almost! :)
I would really love it if Outliner would accept voice messages, as sometimes voice notes are quicker to take in stressful situations than using this tiny keyboard- then later on the words could be typed in when on the train home from work or whatever. But as it stands, outline is great- and it works with Merlin2 as well, via OPML export; so 5 stars. :D
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Excellent basic outliner
I've used outliners on various mobile devices for some years. This does all that is necessary and is easy and intuitive to use. The sync to web gives me confidence that my outlines will remain available if I have problems with my iPhone.
My feature requests include landscape view and ability to zoom.
Overall, I recommend this outliner strongly. I have already done some good work using it to develop ideas on a current project. Within 5 minutes of downloading I was unaware of the software and focused on my project. The technology had become invisible and useful. This is exactly as it should be.
My feature requests include landscape view and ability to zoom.
Overall, I recommend this outliner strongly. I have already done some good work using it to develop ideas on a current project. Within 5 minutes of downloading I was unaware of the software and focused on my project. The technology had become invisible and useful. This is exactly as it should be.
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Even better...
I have always liked this app but now with web-syncing it has reached a new level. My iPod Touch is (through no fault of any apps) a little flakey requiring more rebuilds than the Six Million Dollar Man. Every time I rebuild, I lose my apps and data. For those apps that did not have web-syncing I simply lost data, a real pain, and that happened to me several times - no fault of the apps, just the iPod Touch. Web-syncing is a way the developers are able to make up for the shortfalls of the iPhone software. For me it is a demonstration of a developer's commitment to their customers: whilst Apple is working on getting their software more stable, the developer provides a way of minimising inconvenience due to failures which are not the developer's making. Rather than saying "this is not our fault - speak to Apple" they are saying: "whatever the reason for the iPhone's issues, we want to make the user experience easy for you". Web-syncing makes my life easy - so thank you CarbonFin folks - if I had not bought the software already, the web-syncing would certainly have done it for me.
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Nothing Like having Nested Lists to Organize Projects!
This App is Great and as I stated in the Title above ... there's nothing like having Nested Lists to Organize Projects! In my opinion, choosing a ToDo/List/GTD App is highly subjective and everyone is going to have different needs/wants in an App such as this. I have purchased and/or evaluated first hand over 25 of the ToDo/List/GTD Apps on the App Store, including MoleSkinery, SpeedList [Great App but NO Nested Lists], MyLists and ALL of the FREE Apps! However, OutLiner is by far the best one for me!
Right now I'm giving OutLiner 4 Stars because the only thing missing for me would be to have a way to sort the Outlines [aka: Projects] on the Home Page in the way I prefer. Would like to set my Outline Priority levels myself rather than having the last Outline edited at the top as it is currently defaulted to. I believe some other reviewers have mentioned the same preference.
Thanks to Jeremy at CarbonFin for making a GREAT Organizational Tool! Much appreciated!
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very useful app!
Easily my most used app. I use it pretty much every day... usually just as a way to remember simple things (since memory is not my strong point :)).
Say I am driving down the road, listening to a podcast, and hear a good book review. I just jam that baby into CarbonFin Outliner so I don't forget. As this happens more frequently, I started organizing into simple hierarchies, eg : "Random Crap" | "Book Reviews" | "From Good to Great" (and in the notes section, I add that i heard about it on TWiT).
I also store "todo lists" in there, and use the hierarchy to separate low/med/high priority stuff.
The app has been stable and intuitive for me. Easily worth the 10 bucks I payed for it... I wouldn't have minded if it costs a bit more... especially if there was a way to edit my lists online.
Thanks CarbonFin! You improved my memory! ;-)
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Productivity booster
I've always been an avid outliner; from MORE, WebArranger, InControl, Frontier, and finally, OmniOutliner on the Mac. I've always had the desire for a handheld outliner, and this product sure fits the bill better than many others on the iPhone. I don't use it as a task list, but for a brainstorming/note taking/organizing application. I only regret that I waited a few weeks before buying.
I am now able to take notes at a meeting and then email them to myself in plain text AND OPML. No more transcribing from my messy handwritten notes to my computer after a meeting. Big productivity booster and time saver.
I also like that I don't have to go through a 3rd party service to share confidential or sensitive notes. I'm not much of a cloud computing guy.
Importing is the next big step. Looking forward to it. This is already one of my most-used apps. Great job!
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A true outliner for iphone
This is a great app with the features of a true outliner. It's not just a todo list, but allows entry (and export) of text in nested format - so you can have as many sub-entries as you like. It's a good replacement for ouliner programs on the Palm (brainforest, thoughtmanager, bonsai). It has features for project management like completion dates. Because it can export in opml format through email (a nice simple way of doing things) the notes you make on the iphone can be imported into a desktop information manager like Aquaminds Notetaker or Circusponies Notebook. There are a few features I'd like to see, but the developers seem pretty responsive so this one's worth getting.
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Not reliable
I bought this and added a fairly extensive list to use before traveling. However, when I tried to check the items off while I was packing, I ran into several problems. Whenever I checked off more than three items, it crashed. Whenever I scrolled to the top of my list, it crashed. Every single time. Rebooting the phone did not work. So I deleted the app to reinstall, and lost all my work, including the many hours I put in creating that list.
I will never again buy an app that has no way to sync or export its data. This is a great looking app, a nice idea, but I just can't trust it anymore. Even if they fix the crashing problem, I can't be certain something else wouldn't happen where I lose my data.
I'm going to move all my lists to Zenbe lists for now. They're working on sublists, and I can sync my data to the web, and even share lists with my wife. And it's free! Maybe when ListPro comes out, I'll consider another app for my packing list and other outliner needs. But I will not trust my data to Outliner again.
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Good folding item editor
This is a good list or structured document creator. You can create an endless folding heirarchy of items, give them detailed descriptions using extensive text notes, mark them as complete, move them around the heirarchy, etc - I found it very simple to use and flexible. I use it mainly for creating documents, but I've also used it as a "To Do" list keeper as well. The addition of export\import functionality in 1.1 is welcome - and the e-mail I sent to CarbonFin support about a wish-list for future functionality actually got a positive response!
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