Leave a Review Outliner
Best Outlining App for Plain Text and OPML
I am ScreenWriter and I use this app daily. Cloud sync had made this a first page app for me. I need a few things: 1)Allow for preserving hierarchy of tabbed outlines by pasting plain text with tabs as indents. 2) sync tabs independently of outlines. 3) sync manual sort order of outlines. 4) add an export option for plain text via open in and/or share sheet with tabs preserved. 5) allow sync with dropbox as plain text sync so that I could sync with Daedalus or editorial. 6) allow for copy and paste to disclude or include plain text numbers or bullets instead of the dashes. Currently I use texttool to kill the dashes if I paste to drafts and re-import using the online import tool (also, there should be a button for importing next to the help button). I currently use the import feature with texttool as a work around for 4,5 and 6. 7) Finally, enhance the url callback scheme so tabbed outlines in drafts can be be pushed to outliner easily as tabbed plain text. At the very least copy and paste fixes would help until 7 is done.Show lessbdavis22
Good Product; but needs bug fixes and improvements
This is a good product that I just downloaded a week back and started using it heavily on work and for personal stuff. I think to make this a 5 star, it needs to fix/improve following:
FIX:
1. Syncing through Dropbox is kludge. As I keep alternating between iPad and iPhone, it repeatedly creates conflicted copies despite taking care that I sync one with changes before. Why can't it sync through iCloud automatically in the background like many other apps do.
2. When it creates Conflicted copy after sync, it completely messes up setting for Outline, e.g. it would unselect "show number" or "hide completed". Why can't is keep the settings intact?
IMPROVE:
1. Need date and time for an outline, if its item contain tasks that I want to do on a fixed date and time
2. Need tags to be at the item level instead of at the Outline level. For example, if there is a travel checklist, I should be able to use tags to filter in items that are required when I am driving, or when I am flying, or item that are required during summer vs. those required during fall or winter etc. Similar use of tag could be for shopping list to filter in items to be purchased from grocer A, while others from grocer B or other stores etc.
This tagging feature is already available in other Task List apps, but their major drawback is that these are not outliners.Show lessSrini Iyer
Perfect app
This app is exactly what I was looking for. It’s a rocksolid outliner that synchs (backs up on the web) in an instant. As a fiction writer, I was looking for a way to list upcoming scenes on my iPad so I could work on the ideas in the evening. But I wanted this outline to be available on my desktop too. With CarbonFin, not only can I access the outlines on the web site — I can change them all I want, using my desktop keyboard. And then when I open them on the iPad in the evening, everything is up to date. For $5, this little app streamlined my writing process and made everything easy and accessible. Not only that, but it’s a snap to import the outline into Scrivener so it’s available as I write the scenes. I couldn’t be more pleased.Show lessXmasCarolauthor
Favorite Outliner
I've tried almost all of them, this is easily my favorite - although, for me, the biggest glaring hole is the app's inability to produce quick, elegant output - like, I want to be able to email all or a self-defined portion of an outline in an attractive format without an additional attachment - I want to be able to email to someone else or to myself so I can print ... Please, please add this. One more request would be to duplicate the functionality of some other outliners - the ability to select a line (with or without existing an existing sub-structure) and enter a mode where all you see is that section of the outline - and you have full, normal editing functionality in that mode. When you're done, tap a button, and you're back to the normal view, with everything intact. They improve things slowly, but they never seem to screw up, either - in my experience, nothing ever breaks. I just wish they'd add my two pet wishes! But I do use this app all the time, it's one of my core iPhone/iPad workhorse apps.Show lessjminpa
GREAT!! Researched a long time and I'm glad I got this one.
I use this application for goal and idea planning. It's reliable. I like the way you can backup data online, and actually create outlines there and put them on your ipod. I would truly give it five stars except for two minor bugs. 1. It is way TOO easy to delete. They should give you a warning. 2. When you enter a lot of data at one time, eventually the data entry begins to stutter and pause until you eventually have to wait a few seconds before a key entry will work. Though, after giving it a rest, or syncing, it goes back to normal speed. It is aggrivating though, because when you really get to brainstorming, it puts you on hold.Show lessPhaoroah Three
An outliner that is powerful and easy to use...
What sold me on Carbon Fin is the ability of its web-based alter-ego to import OPML files combined with the app's ability to sync over the air with the web-application. I'm a heavy OmniOutliner user. My workflow with this application is to design and build the outline in OmniOutliner then import it into the web application and then sync it to my iphone. Once on the iphone, I'm constantly updating and editing the outlines on both the iphone and the web application. The ability to sync allows me to keep both current.
By having the "seed" or "template" outline where I can readily import it into the web-application allows me to develop very complex checklists that are easily re-usable. If you have the need for a checklist that you want to use again and again, with iterative improvements, this is an ideal tool.
The synergy between the iphone app and the web-application and OmniOutliner makes this an impressively powerful and capable outlining tool. I didn’t need fancy typography, I just wanted simple and readily accessible outlining. Carbon Fin delivers. The free web-application and no need to buy the desktop version of the app made this the ideal choice for me.Show lesscustomSoftware
Bonsai for the iPhone/iPod/iPad
I've been waiting for an application that works as easily as Bonsai did on my Palm Tungsten. Outliner is that app. I moved my collection of 20 outlines from Bonsai to Outliner in less than an hour. All you do is export your Bonsai outline to a .txt file. Open the Outliner web app (I really wish there was a stand-alone app but this will do for now), Import a text file, copy the text form your Bonsai text file and paste it onto the Outliner window. Thats it!
All other functions, promoting, demoting, moving items, tagging, 1-line previews, item notes are all very simply executed with easy-to-use onscreen commands. Numbering can be toggled as necessary.
The search function is very useful and works well. All of the outline commands that are accessible under the outline icon are very easy to use.
I have to say this app works perfectly for what I need and was looking for. It's too bad Natara didn't get their act together and port their Palm application to the iPhone. They totally missed the boat. CarbonFin Outliner has picked up the ball and is running with it.
If you need to get your old Palm Bonsai files to the iPhone, Outliner is the tool to use.Show lessBMWTwisty
Great outliner for both iPhone and web
A great outliner! I'm using it to outline and refine technology and writing projects, and it's really helping me drill down into each project! It's great. 5 star app without a doubt, and the web-based outliner to which the iPhone app synchronizes is great as well. I use the iPhone app daily, and the web-based one is always open in my browser.
I will say, though, that not being able to try it out for free before purchasing prevented me from picking this up a few months ago. The price is high as far as iPhone applications are concerned, and although it's worth every penny, is probably a barrier to many people. I think if there was a version that was free, or 99 cents, that maybe had a few limitations (perhaps no sync to the web, or limitations on the number of nodes you could create) would go a long way towards people adopting this as their outliner of choice. People want to try things before they buy!
Also, a demo or video of the web-based outliner would be great as well, perhaps demoing basic usage, some imports/exports, etc. Just to show people that they're buying a great iPhone app with a great web-based option as well.
In summary: Great app!Show lesstomsuchy
Just what I needed!
First, let me say that I love this app. I often have multifaceted and complex tasks to accomplish for my clients, often requiring not only the outlining of the steps of those tasks but also of the things I need to learn, review or brainstorm to accomplish those tasks. I find myself relying more and more on my iPhone rather than lugging around my laptop. The ability to do nested outlines, and print them and/or get them into another program (e.g., I use NoteTaker on my Macs, which can read/write OPML generated by Outline) was an important need for my iPhone and Outliner has filled that need. Sure there are a few tweaks to the interface that might improve input efficiency somewhat, but the app is very stable as is and I would not want to harm that stability. This incarnation of the app has made it the most used application for my business needs on my iPhone.Show lessChemBob
Sync is very good, pretty tight actually; Input could be faster
I'm a student and outlining is how i take notes. I use OmniOutliner outline software which came with my MacBook, and I must say that the sync with Outliner is the real deal. I didn't even know OmniOutliner could have notes on each bullet point, and I've been using it for 3 years! My only concern is the speed at which I can make notes, I'm not a fan of waiting 0.5 seconds to open a new screen in the program to start writing text, I'd suggest a quick entry method, that allows users to input text right on the outline without having to open a new window/prompt. PS I also tried ZeptoLiner, but it cannot export OPML, which means your heirarchy that you spent 10 minutes perfecting will not be exported in the outlining software, at least not in OmniOutliner. and FYI CarbonFin is referring to Carbon Fins as in the fins on a surfboard, so my guess is that these bomb developers surf as well, can't go wrong with CEOs that surf, forreal. THANKS AGAIN!Show lessJaySauce
