OmniOutliner 3 Reviews

by SBCpp

I have subscriptions to several Mac and iOS apps that I bought on OmniOutliner3 Store, all of which have a free trial period before I was charged the subscription fee. While no other app asked me to create an account, OmniOutliner would not me go past the launch page without first creating an account with Omni or just use the free “viewer” (like I need it if I never used Outliner). One of the reasons most off use buy apps ONLY form Apple’s App Stores is that we do not want to create accounts for every app we purchase. I hope the OmniGroup follow the example of other developers and let users try and purchase an use OmniOutliner3 without having to create a separate account with Omni, especially since now it appears that we can sync with iCloud instead of Omni’s own sync server.

by Valuesleuth

Clunky in terms of file storage/management (guessing that’s why they have their own syncing system, but if your life is in Dropbox, beware). Worst: if you have Pro on Mac (I do), working on your phone will require Pro - BIG ONE HERE — I bought the “essentials” version so I could jot notes here, but THEN YOU CAN’T OPEN IT ON YOUR MAC. Why? Turns out “essentials” is v2 (not 3), and is viewed as out of date and unsafe. (Imagine Word not being able to open an older version of a doc). Result? Two totally diff docs and your phone/Mac are not compatible together unless you also buy Pro in the phone — which means it’s 40 bucks to make a single edit. Two stars because I’m a long time fan, but I just wasted ten bucks for the iOS version.

by Cookie Markster

Don’t become dependent on OmniOutliner3. For the last few years I’ve dished out money for each upgrade which was supposedly optimized for the latest iOS and hardware. But each new version has gotten buggier and more unstable.

My usage is very simple: public speaking outlines. No fancy stuff. Nevertheless, the most basic functions of OmniOutliner3 are frustratingly slow and unintuitive. Several bugs come to the fore during split screen mode. Additional bugs exist in frequently used UI elements, requiring a lot of patience.

It’s like the developers don’t actually test OmniOutliner3 in the real world.

Unfortunately, there is nothing close to OmniOutliner3 that I’ve found yet. So I’m dependent on it.

by AlmostArchie

The short of it: I don't trust OmniOutliner3 with my data. I want to love it, but it is so buggy, I find myself unconsciously choosing to use excel if the data I enter is important because I fear the data will disappear.

I've got upgrader's remorse. I paid a lot of money for an app that works nowhere near as reliably as version 2. I have written them 4 times already, and they are very helpful. But this version is just way too buggy. Large paragraphs regularly crash OmniOutliner3 . So does turning the phone to landscape mode. Some data disappeared when updgrading to OO3 (an entire years worth of data).

Save your money and data. Look elsewhere, at least until these bugs get fixed.

by Quark Gluon Plasma

I’ve had OmniOutliner for a long, long time. It was one of the first apps I really loved on my first Mac. It pains me to say this, but I’ve stopped using it. The features it has gained over the years are no longer what I need or want. I want a flexible outliner that I can get information into and out of quickly and easily. Anything modern is buried under the crushing weight of an interface that looks and feels like macs a decade ago and rewards only regular devotion to its mysteries. I want to get URL’s, png’s and text into it using share sheets. I want an emphasis on content and utility over formatting. The last thing I used OmniOutliner for was course syllabi, and I switched to Markdown two years ago.

by ZeppoVA

Upgraded OO again. Crashes in landscape and does not differentiate between the icons on the bottom right od the screen. Adds nice functionality but the user i/f design seems to have a lot of friction. Agree with other comments about developer approach documentation - painful to use. Smart folks creating high functioning application. Wish they put as much effort and skill into providing a clean frictionless user experience as the do to incorporating cool programming. I have used their products for a number of years because they they provide useful tools - but never to the fullest extent because of the friction Involved.

by Mark Stoneman

As always, OmniOutliner offers lots of formatting options. On the downside, and also consistent with my experiences with them, simple usability issues get in the way. There is no longer any obvious way to change the order of columns.

More noticeable still, if you set up a document, but try to use it in tandem with another app next to it, the window does not change it's text size or layout. Why have extensive formatting options but such inflexibility in the interface?

OmniOutliner3 does seem to work faster, and I must applaud OmniGroup for offering a real trial period.

I cannot speak to the automation features.

by Tgjazz

I find OmniOutliner3 extremely useful. Great for brainstorming, lists, and working out project strategies.
Unfortunately, it is not as easy to use as it could be.
Just to change styles is difficult to figure out. The OS version is even worse.
Strange that they can't seem to have figured out a way to make things more intuitively.

by Otterman

I’m attempting to import v2 documents into v3, but there’s no import function other than each document separately.

To make things worse, they didn’t bother to change the icon or OmniOutliner3 title from v2 to v3 so when trying to use the Files app to bypass their “import” function I have no idea which version I am copying to.

When I do bring a file into v3, whenever I tap the back button to grab another document I have to tap it a second time because all the first tap did was clear the “last edited” banner.

Finally, after I bring a document into v3 it’s never “on my device,” only in Recent documents. When and how does a document become “on my device.”

Maddening!!! I’m getting ready to delete both versions and be done with Omni, but maybe a future version can fix some of these frustrations.

by Brad Straarup

One of my favorite apps. However - I wish it’s backup functioned more like OmniFocus.

Whenever you make a change to a note, it re-uploads the entire note instead of the section you changed.

Which isn’t awesome if you workflow uses big files.

Other than that, couldn’t recommend more.

by Joel D. Arnold

I use outliner constantly for everything from writing to planning to a todo list. It’s great software.

But this update only increases the power by bring it up to parity with the Mac OS app on features like filters and more. And yet the team implemented these things in an interface that fits iOS perfectly. Great app with great implementation.

by Webzilla.

I’m giving OmniOutliner five stars because, if you’re brand new to outliners, this I’m sure is a fine app, and their phone support is excellent. However, be advised that if you have been using another outliner, for example Carbon Fin’s, OmniOutliner will not open your existent .ompl outlines.

Tantalizingly, you can copy the .ompl files to OmniOutliner, where they will momentarily display, but then be grayed out. Blame Apple’s iOS file handling for this, I’m told. Pity.

by BigDaddyCatan

I’ve used Omni Outliner on the Mac for 14 years and it is unique in its ability to help me to see my ideas and organize them. This iOS version allows me to look at and modify my lesson outlines right in my pocket.

by BAR112

After trying many outlining apps, this the one for me! Appreciate the free trial and the ability to purchase for a one-time fee. (Pro version) has many templates you can use for outlines, lists, and more. You can save in various formats, including to Apple Notes app (keeps its level formatting). UI is relatively simple to learn; moving items and formatting helps you get organized. Also love the abilities to drag and drop text, add photos and url’s! Thanks, Omni Group, for an efficient and professional outline app!

by Dataverse

You can’t go wrong with trying out both versions, before deciding if its worth your money or not, for your personal uses. Essentials is good for those that don’t need anything over complicated, fancy, and don’t care for extra customizations. Just need a basic outliner, and that’s all I thought I’d need until I tried out Pro, and couldn’t go without all the extra tools that made OmniOutliner so much more worth it to me.

I’ve never gotten so far and finished an outline with my stories in a long time, until I got OmniOutliner. It makes the process much more easier and convenient do and move ideas/events and such around, or add extra long in depth descriptions, or add additional ideas to events and things that you want to remember, but at the same time, can hide it so it doesn’t disrupt the overall view and flow of the outline that you have.

Not only do I use it to outline and organize my stories, and ideas, but recently, I find that it works well to use to make an organized timeline of events as well with the use of columns that the Pro version allows. Other timeline makers didn’t really fit what I wanted/needed (not even Aeon Timeline, that I got a refund for), but Omni surprisingly does the job well enough for me. I don’t know why I didn’t think to try using it for that as well.

by PalmIPhoneConvert

OmniOutliner has revolutionized my workflow. One could think that an outliner is just for writers, and that Microsoft Word can also do outlining. But OmniOutliner is much more. I use it to write down my ideas, organize them, make them into projects, outline things to write, keep track of information in projects (since OmniOutliner can store many types of information) and much more. Before OmniOutliner I tried many different tools, and nothing really worked. OmniOutliner has made my work much more efficient. And with OmniOutliner 3, many useful tools from Mac has come to iOS.

And then Omni writes very elegant programs that fully use the UI of iOS and and Mac.

Definitely worth the somewhat high price.

by Prof3198

I never was into outlining before OmniOutliner. In fact, I didn’t even know such software existed, nor how much I would enjoy and benefit from it. The ability to move around my thoughts and notes in a hierarchical way not just helps me organize them, but actually improves the way I can think about them. I was never one for the classroom, but OmniOutliner singlehandedly has made me feel I could be a better student if I ever went back for more graduate studies. Beyond that I love the style settings, the support for extra columns, the ability to record inline, and even the mathematical spreadsheet-like capabilities (which are in a way even better than spreadsheets since you can organize the calculations hierarchically!). This is also a great developer to support. (I have no affiliation with them.) I also personally love OmniFocus and have both it and OmniOutliner on all my Apple devices - in fact, they are the only two pieces of software I have my Mac automatically start when I log in.

by Gprof

I downloaded this only because of the free trial and an idle hour. I already had a cheaper alternative, but I am too curious about apps for my own good. I was determined that at best I might, just possibly, buy the standard version, if it was *really* good. Then I tried the pro features for several days, and I am going to have to buy the full version. I did not expect that.

Then I found something I needed that was not easy to do (long story, but connects to quite a specific usage scenario). I sent an email to support expecting to be added to a long list of possible future features. I got perhaps the most helpful response I have had to an app support request, providing me with a way to achieve what I needed right now. I did not expect that either.

I have spent a few days deleting apps, trying to get rid of all the pretty things that once caught my eye and almost worked and to define a core workspace for the foreseeable future. OmniOutliner3 is now, unexpectedly, a part of that core set. It does just what I need. Thanks to the developers for making it, and for the excellent support!

by Zignfrew

This is a magnificent accomplishment. Kudos to the developers ! I’m a text maniac, and have always had a fetish for outliners, the more elaborate the better— and this one is quite so. Drawing from my experience with the great DOS classics, such as Grandview and Lotus Agenda, but having sidled over to the IPad platform, I didn’t honestly expect to avoid lowering my standards. But SURPRISE ! For “style people” there is the very extensive customization possible. For “text and data people”, there’s the elegant addition of columns, as well as a prolific search and filter set of options, providing many interesting views of your outline. In fact it’s so good that its one big flaw, from my perspective is that it does not do a full text search on all of its files, say from two years ago, unless you load them in separately. My current workaround is to export every outline I create, over to OmniOutliner3 called Outliner, which DOES search all its files. This means keeping two copies of each file, one for each app, but it does the job without too much fuss. My WISHLIST for OmniOutline includes building in this capability into their program, so it becomes standalone as a very serious text management application

by Appman5605

Great app if you need to categorize your thoughts, brainstorming sessions, and ideas. Take everything from feeling overwhelmed to easily evaluating and reviewing outlines. Can also be used to manage tasks and projects.