(Last updated: Oct 1, 2008)
A directory of outliners, or programs that organise data in a tree-like format. Not everyone's cup of tea, but a great way to organise data quickly in one place.
All are for Windows unless otherwise stated. This is just a beginning; I'm sure to have missed some, so please let me know. (Thanks Petko of MyInfo for the extra names. I think we're nearing comprehensive...)
- My Yellow Notepad
- MyBase
- Maple
- The Guide
- Info Angel
- TreeDBNotes
- ActionOutline
- Coolbase
- Golden Section Notes
- MyInfo
- Jot + Notes
- TexNotes
- FaveNotes
- WikidPad
- Skwyrul
- KeyNote
- InfoRecall
- NoteMap
- Zoot
- TreePad
- InfoSelect
- AceNotes - no longer in development
- ADM
- AlfaPad
- AnyNotes
- Inform4
- InfoHandler
- InfoPro
- InfoHesive
- InfoTree
- Ovation
- Personal Knowbase
- WinInfo (no longer active)
- OmniOutliner (Mac)
- NoteTaker (Mac)
- Tinderbox (Mac)
Some assorted resources on outliners:
- An overview of outliners by John Buckman
- Outlining on the Mac
- Another good piece on different Mac outliners
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Congratulations on your excellent directory of outliners.
Which ones do you like most?
Best,
Tom
Would you know which of these support OPML?
(Private email would work best)
Thanks!
Another to consider would be Natara’s Bonsai, which offers a PC Application and syncs to a full Palm OS application for carying your outlines on the go.
http://www.natara.com/Bonsai/index.cfm
Also there’s vimoutliner (http://vimoutliner.org), which is an add-on to vim or gvim and is platform-independent (I run it in both Windows and Linux, and I’d expect it to work in OS X as well). There’s another outliner for vim called TVO (http://bike-nomad.com/vim/vimoutliner.html), which is somewhat confusing, but it looks cool. I’ve not used it but lots of folks do.
There is also Leo (http://webpages.charter.net/edreamleo/front.html): open source, in active development.
I would be interested in knowing which outliners are best to use for OPML as well. I’ve just been reading an article on optimizing for Google that mentioned OPML.
Also check out VimOutliner (http://www.vimoutliner.org), which relies on vim (both of which are available for Windows). The install process for Windows is complicated, so it’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s pretty cool nonetheless. And if you’re running some flavor of Unix or Linux, it’s even smoother to install.
The installation of vimoutliner isn’t complicated anymore.
Hi,
I like allso My Notes Keeper. Visit http://www.mynoteskeeper.com.
You might want to look at Bliner – it is an outliner with spreadsheet-like features (i.e. sum up the quantities in my ancestors..) You get the idea. Just google bliner.
There is still one information manager is missing – general knowledge base
http://www.baltsoft.com/product_gkb.htm
“The Guide” is a nice, unbloated open-source outliner for windows. Two pane. Supports rich text, and export as RTF.
http://theguide.sourceforge.net/
Hey man, you also might want to check out TKOutline. Open source project, it’s a script based single-pane outliner.
You might also want to group those outliners into Single and Double pane. I’ve been looking all over for a decent single pane outliner, and I finally found NoteMap 2. Thanks!
I did a little research on Windows outlining software myself and thought you might be interested in this open source Project:
http://www.seonote.info
I use it and like it a lot.
There is also an other outliner called ScribblePapers which can be found at http://www.scribblepapers.de.vu
I like it very much for its rich set of features AND for its portability (USB thumb stick!). But there could be a problem for hugh parts of its possible (not German speaking) userbase: there is only a German localization.
But maybe you want to try it never the less
Cya Thomas
I like My Notes Keeper. http://www.mynoteskeeper.com
How about using the best? do-Organizer by GemX…
http://www.gemx.com/doorganizer.php
There is also http://www.treepad.com (I use the business edition), and http://www.sqlnotes.com which I am about to try.
Yes, indeed! — “SqlNotes” is now a major player & a major omission from your list!
(Do note, however, that the SqlNotes author said that he will probably change the app’s name to better reflect its use:: a free-form outlining notes/info-manager that appears might pack even more power than MyBase!) -Chuck
I’m the developper of SQLNotes. Just wanted to correct the web address: http://www.sqlnotes.net . It is (I believe) the only outliner that is both 1-pane and 2-pane at the same time. Inspired by awards-winning Ecco Pro
What about Notecase Pro (http://www.virtual-sky.com/)
If you consider online outliners for your review, please, look at http://checkvist.com – it’s simple, yet supports all “natural” desktop interaction, like keyboard shortcuts, plus sharing, notifications, and adding notes to tasks.
You might want to look at Exstora http://www.exstora.com
Freeware and shareware outliner, notes organizer for Windows
There’s also Ume Outliner (http://www.getume.com) – it’s a new single pane outliner…
Thank you for sharing it with us. Cause the Guide is an application that allows us create documents which inherently have a tree and text associated with each node of the tree. The text itself is of the rich-text variety, and the editor allows to modify the style and formatting of the text.