Mac Outlining Software

[cjrosina]

Hey there!  I am new to the Student board, but some of you may know me from the Applicant section.

I have been trying to decide between OmniOutlinerPro (Omni Group) and NoteBook (Circus Ponies) for outlining software. I have read the blogs, read the reviews, tried the damn things, and STILL cannot figure it out.

Do any of you have experience with either? The only thing I have heard about NoteBook is that it is useful in actual practice because you can organize a case very easily. Outliner seems to get support from most camps, though.

I only ask this NOW because if I could get one of these in time to help with the organization of the final stages of my thesis research, that would be an amazing help. But if there is no clear winner, I may just have to wait.

Any experiences, anecdotes, help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Bob23]

I used Pages last semester, and plan to use Word 2008 this semester for my Outlines. I tried both Omni and Notebook, and disliked them both in terms of usability. It seemed awfully cumbersome to get it setup properly. Perhaps I gave up due to my lack of interest in spending hours and hours learning to do it right, when I could do it correctly in Word/Pages with no effort. Sometimes Simplicity really does work.

[scarlett]

I use a bunch of the Omni Group's products, including OmniOutliner Pro for all of my class notes.  I love it.  I've never really played with NoteBook because it came to my attention after I was already using OOP, and if it ain't broke...

[SASS]

I use Onenote for everything and love it.

[cjrosina]

I use a bunch of the Omni Group's products, including OmniOutliner Pro for all of my class notes.  I love it.  I've never really played with NoteBook because it came to my attention after I was already using OOP, and if it ain't broke...

Have you ever tried using Word at all?  I really like OOP, but  I am just wondering if its functions are $40 better than Word.

After trying Word though, I realize that it is basically the same as NoteBook, so I probably won't be getting that one just because there is no reason to get it when I could use Word for free.

[scarlett]

I use a bunch of the Omni Group's products, including OmniOutliner Pro for all of my class notes.  I love it.  I've never really played with NoteBook because it came to my attention after I was already using OOP, and if it ain't broke...

Have you ever tried using Word at all?  I really like OOP, but  I am just wondering if its functions are $40 better than Word.

After trying Word though, I realize that it is basically the same as NoteBook, so I probably won't be getting that one just because there is no reason to get it when I could use Word for free.

I don't particularly like Word and haven't found their outline format as functional or easy to deal with as OOP.  But ymmv – I can't necessarily articulate what I don't like about Word.  Certainly use it if it ends up working for you.  But if you do go with OOP, make sure you go to their Ed Store.  The link is on the main site, and you end up getting a significant discount on most of their products, particularly if you're upgrading.

[broken]

I used OmniOutliner for my outlines and was pretty happy with it. You don't really need Pro unless you want page numbers on the documents and you want to be able to record the lectures.

I know people who use it for class notes, but I don't really think it's good for that. I found outlining in Microsoft Word is a hassle.