Revisiting decent Outliners that work on Windows 10 and Android?
September 11, 2017 6:17 AM   Subscribe

I am still using a "Personal Information Manager" from the 1990's (Ecco Pro), which really has never been matched. I'm looking for something "modern" that primarily offers sophisticated outlining tools.

This would be something like "Workflowy" but more heavy duty (e.g., offering different outlines and views and a stand-alone Windows program which syncs with an Android app.) I don't need things like priorities or due dates--just a "clean", speedy and very flexible outliner for organizing thoughts and lists.
There's this thread: http://ask.metafilter.com/270350/Do-I-want-a-unicorn-To-do-lists-Oct-2014, but none of the options really match Ecco's outlining abilities. Can anyone suggest another?
posted by Jon44 to Computers & Internet (5 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
I don't have a good answer, but I share your love for Ecco.

On the Mac - which, again, not helpful - we have OmniOutliner, and I used the dickens out of it for years until I got the PlainText religion.

However, since OmniOutliner is a current tool, you might have look looking for an OmniOutliner alternative for Windows.
posted by uberchet at 10:37 AM on September 11, 2017 [1 favorite]


Dr. Andus has some information about a new beta test for a desktop version of an online outliner called Gingko.

Poke around at his site a bit. He has a few other leads.
posted by yclipse at 2:03 PM on September 11, 2017 [2 favorites]


I don't know the other tools you mentioned, but a lot of people don't know MS Word has an outline view that's pretty quick and dirty - tab/shift-tab indent/outdent, rearranging by dragging, etc. I use it for blowing past writers block when I just need to get something coherent on paper before I start writing writing. Which, I guess is exactly what an outline is.

But I also use it for cause mapping problems (instead of the stupid boxes-and-arrows everyone tries to draw in Excel in real time in a meeting, which makes me want to poke my their eyes out) for some god-awful reason. That's how I know not everyone knows how, because everyone looks at me like some wizard from another planet when I do it fast with a simple indented list in Word on-screen.
posted by ctmf at 8:18 PM on September 11, 2017


Given that OP referenced Ecco Pro, I doubt that Word's rudimentary outlining capabilities are going to answer the mail here. :(
posted by uberchet at 9:42 AM on September 12, 2017


Dynalist strikes me as what WorkFlowy would be if development on WorkFlowy hadn't seemingly ground to a halt. It has multiple outlines, and Windows and Android apps; everything syncs. The free version might be all you need. The Pro version includes Google Calendar integration, which sounds mighty useful, but I haven't experienced that myself -- $8/month ongoing for an outliner rubs this cheapskate open source enthusiast the wrong way. (I would give my left arm for a self-hosted stripped-down Dynalist clone.)
posted by /\/\/\/ at 9:16 PM on September 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


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