The Power Mac G5 I purchased while in grad school came with OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle pre-installed. Initially I used neither as Canvas Xâthe original cross-platform version 10 as opposed to the similarly named Windows version sold todayâwas my primary tool for any graphics I originated or edited, and I had no need for an outlining application. In my last year of coursework that began to change. OmniGraffle permitted me create and edit diagrams for linear and integer programming assignments in my Optimization course faster than I could in Canvas X. Once I started my career, I found OmniOutliner to be a better tool for wish lists, or any form of list, than Microsoft Excel.
Over the years, my use of OmniOutliner expanded considerably. One good example was the functional testing for a VBA tool that needed to be rebuilt in Microsoft Excel 2013 for a client. I used Omnioutliner to create a hierarchal functionality list for my tester. Using that list, she could go through each function of the software and determine if it was functioning correctly. With the OmniOutliner document, she could focus on the part of the software she was testing, flag functions that did not operate as expected, and add notes.
Once she detected issues, she would send the functional testing document back to me where I could easily see where the bugs were occurring and address them. When bugs were fixed, I could flag the functions as fixed and leave my own comments if necessary before sending the updated document back to her.
In another ongoing project, I have a folder structure for each report where I keep the raw data set (CSV), working data set (a JMP data table), specific subsets of data (JMP data tables), and SVG files for the numerous charts and graphs generated for the report. I also have a consistent naming scheme for all files within the folder structure. For that project I have an OmniOutliner document that has the same structure as the folder structure for each report. Within that document, I also have filenames for the contents of each folder that follow the naming convention I devised. With OmniOutliner, I have the ability to have a reference for not only the folder structure, but also for the numerous resources required for completing the report.
On a more personal note, I have music wish is that is also an OmniOutliner document. The list is hierarchal by artist, album, and the specific tracks of interest. Once I purchase and receive an album, I can check it off in my wishlist. The list has a checkbox column called âRipped into iTunesâ that is checked if a track of interest is already in my iTunes library; these would be tracks that are from compilation albums as opposed to the original album. Another column is a checkbox column for tracks that are only available digitallyâno physical media.
I have also recently started cataloging the 1000+ fonts I have acquired over the years using OmniOutliner. My goal is to,
- inventory the typefaces and their associated fonts that are stored on my Mac;
- compile fonts for active typefaces that were not installed because they accompanied software from previous Macs or were from bundles and never installed;
- determine the source of the fontsâe.g., Microsoft Office, a former Mac, a Windows VM, etc.âso as to create libraries in Font Book;
- find fonts that I did not have for the typefaces for which I did have some of the available fonts; and,
- to have sufficient information about my font collection to devise a system of creating useful categories for fonts in Font Book that would facilitate easily finding, activating, or deactivating fonts.
In all, I have found OmniOutliner to be much more than just outlining software.
