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OmniOutliner for iPad is now available!

by Ken Case on May 12, 2011

I'm very pleased to announce that OmniOutliner for iPad is now available on the App Store for $19.99!

We've posted screenshots and a video tutorial on our OmniOutliner for iPad pages, and here's the official press release:

 

The Omni Group Brings OmniOutliner to the iPad

OmniOutliner for iPad Enables Users to Efficiently Create, Collect and Organize Information on the Popular Tablet

SEATTLE – May 12, 2011 – The Omni Group, a developer of productivity applications for Mac and iOS, today announced that OmniOutliner is now available on the iPad.  The iPad edition of the company’s popular note-taking and outlining program offers users the ability to create, collect and organize information in a multitude of ways including creating to-do lists and agendas, managing tasks and expenses, taking notes and planning events. OmniOutliner for iPad is available for purchase on the App Store.

Industry analysts forecast that 52 million tablets are estimated to be shipped in 2011, with the iPad comprising 75 percent of these shipments. While iPad and other tablets have been traditionally used for consuming content on the web, watching videos, reading e-books and listening to music, selecting the right tools and apps can easily optimize the iPad for use as a mobile computing platform for business.

"The moment we learned about the iPad we knew it marked a shift in the direction of personal computing devices," said Ken Case, CEO and founder of the Omni Group.  "Each time we bring a productivity app to the iPad we redesign it from the ground up to take advantage of this new platform, and OmniOutliner for iPad is no exception. Our team has done an amazing job of making the app easier to use than ever, without sacrificing the app's power.  OmniOutliner is the app I turn to whenever I want to collect and structure my thoughts, and it's great to be able to take my outlines with me and work with them wherever I am."

OmniOutliner for iPad includes the powerful features specifically designed to help iPad users get the job done simply and easily:

Rich Text Styling– Fully customizable text styling options provide users with the same functionality as expected from a word processor with a simplified style system that’s already available in OmniOutliner 3.

Simple Outline Restructuring– OmniOutliner for iPad affords users the ability to easily rearrange and drag rows individually. Additionally, users can mark multiple rows to either group or move them at the same time.

Multiple Column Formats– In addition to text, OmniOutliner for iPad provides column options for numbers, duration, pop-up lists, and date types, many of which include their own specific data formatting options.

Inline Image Support– OmniOutliner for iPad allows users to paste images directly into their documents, which will be displayed inline.

Improved Document Sharing– With OmniOutliner for iPad, files can be emailed or uploaded to users’ MobileMe accounts or any other WebDAV servers. Files may also be transferred with iTunes, and can be sent in HTML, plain text, or OPML using the above methods.

Compatible with OmniOutliner 3– OmniOutliner for iPad is completely compatible and interchangeable with files generated in OmniOutliner 3.

Ability to Import OPML Files– OmniOutliner for iPad allows users to import OPML files, a common format used by basic outlining applications, directly into the application.

OmniOutliner for iPad is more than just an outlining tool, offering multiple columns, smart checkboxes, customizable popup lists, and an innovative styles system within a few easy clicks. The app’s document structure is effective for brainstorming new ideas, drilling out project specifics, and lining up the steps needed to get everything done.

OmniOutliner for iPad is available for $19.99 on the App Store at www.itunes.com. More information about OmniOutliner for iPad is available at www.omnigroup.com/omnioutliner-ipad/.

###

About the Omni Group

One of the first companies to develop software for the Mac OS X platform, the Omni Group is a leading developer for Apple products and has designed several productivity applications for Mac OS X, iPhone, and now iPad. Founded in 1993, the Omni Group is located in Seattle.

We hope you enjoy our latest app!

Comments

I’m not freaking out (yet) but my mac can see OO in the iTunes App store but my iPad App store does not show OO yet!

sonofwitz

05.12.11 10:28 AM

wait, delete that.
I couldn’t get a search result for it, but when I used the link on your website (on my ipad this time) it loaded fine.

sonofwitz

05.12.11 10:32 AM

Same here. Buggin’ out. Just kidding. I’ll be patient. On the train with only 3G access anyway, though plenty of data left before my plan expires tomorrow. Maybe I should connect to my Mac to download since I’ll be syncing when I get home, after two weeks of vacation.

Ben

05.12.11 10:32 AM

OMG YEAH!!!!

I tried using the links from the email and going to the store and nothing worked. Then I read sonofwitz’ comment about using the link on my iPad and ta da!!! It’s downloading as I type!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Keith

05.12.11 10:37 AM

I just bought it from iPad App Store.

Look under Categories, Productivity, New Releases

That’s where I found it.  A search did not find it.

alanc

05.12.11 10:41 AM

I, too, got it via the website link. About to start playing! Don’t forget to post a review, too.

Ben

05.12.11 10:49 AM

Nice work. Good to see it at last.

In the teaser video it showed the student dragging a doodle to a location in the outline. How does that work in practice?

How is it expected that users will manage large numbers of outlines? I’m finding the cover flow in OmniGraffle quite cumbersome with more than 30 or so documents. I’ve around 100 and it’s a nightmare, or would be had I not adopted strict naming conventions. I’m interested in Omni’s take on this. Folders are a necessity for large numbers of documents.

Will be having fun putting OO through the paces tonight.

Kel

05.12.11 10:59 AM

So, I went ahead and bought the iPad version. It’s a great program, but it needs a better to input/output files and sync files. Dropbox and SugarSync integration would be good. But perhaps integration with Omni’s sync service would be even better (as long as it’s free). An issue is that SugarSync (perhaps also DropBox) considers .oo3 files as directories, so it’s not even possible to open OmniOutliner files from inside SugarSync. Right now, the only way to work on files both on the Mac and iPad is to email files back and forth to myself, which is far from ideal.

Anders Host-Madsen

05.12.11 11:10 AM

Glad to see it’s available, and I love my OmniGroup products but $20?  Pages is $10 and I’m trying to figure out what other things OO does for me?

Tim Murray

05.12.11 11:27 AM
Team Member

We’re exploring Dropbox integration, but just adding Dropbox to our existing “Import/Export” functionality probably isn’t what people are looking for—at least, I know it’s not what I’m looking for. What I really want is automatic syncing of edited documents, and Dropbox doesn’t make that easier or harder, it’s just another place in the cloud to sync to.

In other words, my priority is to get automatic syncing working (in all our apps), so it works with iDisk, Omni Sync Server, and other WebDAV servers.  (And possibly also Dropbox.)

Ken Case

05.12.11 11:29 AM

I can’t see Omni Outiner in Spanish App Store yet. The above link doesn’t work either.

Carlos Pérez

05.12.11 11:32 AM

I have used the app a little bit over the last hour and so far it looks great. Thank you Omnigroup! I use OmniOutliner on my Mac religiously and I can see this being a handy supplemental tool.

Like many others I would love to see dropbox integration. Even better would be what Ken just mentioned about automatic syncing.

Most urgent for me however… please offer a different file management solution! This coverflow thing - while it may look cool - is a disaster with any more than a few files.

Overall a good first edition. Thanks again.

BCE

Ben

05.12.11 11:42 AM

WOW! This app is SO DAMN NICE!!!

I guess this isn’t the place for feature feedback…I’ll post my “can’t seem to copy/paste a node like I can on the desktop” questions elsewhere…

sonofwitz

05.12.11 11:45 AM

I’m trying every trick I can think of and it’s not showing up. I see it’s already at 1.0.1. Was there a bug?

Eric

05.12.11 11:51 AM

No links working for me on ipad or mac.  keep getting “request could not be completed” in the app store.  Couldn’t find it here either:  Categories, Productivity, New Releases

Anyone else having luck?

deltabravo

05.12.11 11:53 AM

I found it in iTunes and bought it, but now it’s not there if you search for it in iTunes.

Just starting to try it - iDisk doesn’t seem to work - it complains about a WebDAV location not being available and setting sync parameters.

JohnW

05.12.11 12:01 PM

Just appeared in the Canada store! YES!!!

Steve Pye

05.12.11 12:06 PM

scratch that…guess I just need to have patience.  link on the website worked.

deltabravo

05.12.11 12:11 PM

So I bought it. From the first testing:

1) Look in Terms of general app: good fonts/clear design. Unfortunately you can not change the brown header and there is no way to make it look like its a legal pad (background-wise). Thats not necessary but it would have been a plus for me.

2) Document management: horrible. Coverflow is not suited for this, at least not as single option. This is meant to be a professional productivity software and I need to carry around loads of documents. Flipping through all of them all the time is a usability nightmare of the highest grade. I would be happy with just a simple file system in which I can make folders, put my documents in and move them from folder to folder. Nothing fancy.

3) Inability to drag and drop. Why? In my opinion it would be the ideal program to implement D&D functionality to move columns around. The current system works but is not ideal, flow-wise. After all, thats what a tablet is for.

4) Selecting multiple rows without having to use the “edit” function. It works in graffle (selecting multiple forms by pressing and holding one form, then tapping additional ones). Why not here? In combination with D&D it would likely make things way smoother.

5) Syncing already covered by Ken.

6) Maybe I didnt get that but I can not change the numbering of an existing document. I mean all levels at once. I have to change every level manually and at 12 levels thats a pain to do.

7) The “plus” Button for new columns could use a pop-helptext, I didnt find it to be intuitive at first. Minor thing.

8) Fast, smooth performance so far. I like the feel of it, except the moving/D&D part.

9) No free form drawing, even of the most simple kind. I expected such to be in there since your video suggested it. If its “like paper” then I have to be able to draw a simple platypus on it. If its “just better” then it should at least not have less functionality. You likely have code from graffle (I know, its not that easy, but in general), please add such in.

10) No audio notes. Seriously why? Its in focus, why not here?? Im a lawyer, this is key functionality for me. Please add.

Overall nice thing. Needs some work though.

Chris

05.12.11 12:13 PM

11) PDF Export / printing. Like I said in another comment, thats base functionality to me. Why not enable it to make a plain PDF from my outline that I can send via Email or print.

Chris

05.12.11 12:17 PM

For iDisk, just use your username, not .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and it works.  I think this is the only app I’ve seen that uses this format.

JohnW

05.12.11 12:38 PM

What Chris said re: Cover Flow and document management, unfortunately. If that’s what it has for file management, it’s not useful to me as a general note-taking app.

Bryant Durrell

05.12.11 12:43 PM

@Ken Case: I agree that syncing is not that simple. I guess people use OmniOutliner in different ways. The way I use it, I only have 2-4 documents I work on actively, so DropBox/SugarSync is perhaps not needed. On the other hand, my OmniOutliner documents contain links to a lot of documents on my Mac. How to handle that with Sync? Ideally there should be an option to copy those documents into the OmniOutliner document when it’s synced, so it can be viewed on the iPad.

But if you consider DropBox, please also consider SugarSync. When talking about using programs in a professional context, SugarSync is just so much more capable.

And agree, the price is too high. People who love OmniOutliner on the Mac (like people posting here) will buy it, but people who just stumble upon it in the App store will be discouraged.

Anders Host-Madsen

05.12.11 12:53 PM

Just appeared in the spanish App Store. Getting it right now.

Carlos Pérez

05.12.11 1:13 PM

So excited. Thank you!

Joy

05.12.11 1:27 PM

I’ve been waiting and I bought it.

GOTTA SUPPORT DROPBOX.

The integration won’t be hard. Dropbox has an “Open In…” command that lets you open other filetypes in other programs, like pdf docs in GoodReader. This currently doesn’t work with OOL.

iDisk is a terrible choice:

1. Requires Mobile Me membership.
2. Slow.
3. Doesn’t sync, files are opened remotely.

2+3=nearly useless, even with a good connection.

The iPad is all about working effectively with a slow internet connection or no internet connection. Dropbox leaves copies of files on every machine that is connected so they open locally. Once I sync files in my Dropbox onto the iPad I can read them offline anywhere.

James Bradley

05.12.11 1:44 PM

That sounds so great…but why not for the iPhone??

-Kasper

Kasper

05.12.11 2:13 PM

Great programme, played for an hour or so here in uk. Must agree with everything said about Sugarsync, please please include

Redken

05.12.11 2:40 PM

dropdav.com lets you access your dropbox via WebDav. That is supported by OmniOutliner, so I could save a file on dropbox.

Steinthal

05.12.11 2:42 PM

@James Bradley I agree. Dropbox support needed quickly.

CS

05.12.11 4:10 PM

Glad - no excited - that Omni is looking to do synching right and across all options, rather than tied to one particular service (dropbox - which is decidedly useless to folks like me).

Got the app, now trying to make a decent workflow. Looking promising so far, so a “good job” is in order!

All in all, looking forward to what you will make of this product as it evolves!

Thomas

05.12.11 4:54 PM

Agree on Dropbox (even though I have iDisk, the sync conflicts have been driving me nuts and gave up). I have been using DropDAV too but it is not free if you use Dropbox Paid service.

Also I agree that the file management “CoverFlow” interface is slick, but if you have many OO (Including folders like Personal, Work, Goal folders) the file management becomes a mess. I tend to like less-sexy approach like file management interface on GoodReader or iThoughts.

Peter

05.12.11 5:43 PM

I love you guys, thank you so much for another amazing piece of software!

Hammy Havoc

05.12.11 7:56 PM

+1 for drawing/doodling support
+1 PDF export

Matt

05.13.11 6:08 AM

+1 audio recording

Matt

05.13.11 6:09 AM

Congrats on the release, the overall UI looks very cool. However, I have to agree with many of the comments above. I purchased OmniGraffle for iPad when it first came out last year, and the Cover Flow view (I wouldn’t even call it that, it’s not as fluid as Cover Flow) and syncing are major obstacles for usage. I don’t use the iPad version nearly as much as I should, mainly because getting files on and off the iPad are such a hassle. Navigating through loads of documents is not fun either. I’m really happy to hear from Ken that this is being looked at seriously, but honestly, we’re more than a year into the iPad. This should have been resolved already. I’ve said this before, look to iThoughts and how they’ve implemented syncing and document management, and copy them. It’s much more usable than OmniGraffle or the new OmniOutliner, and as a result I use that much more often. And it’s only $10.

And I’d really like to reinforce what someone stated earlier in the thread - working on MobileMe first is a big mistake. Dropbox has already won that battle. iDisk is a joke. I cancelled my MobileMe subscription earlier this year due to lack of value for the money. I think most people have moved on. We’ll see what happens with iCloud, but I’m not optimistic. Apple’s history with online services is not terribly inspiring.

I’m voting with my wallet. There is no way I’m dropping another $20 until these issues resolved, and I don’t think I’m alone. Hopefully that will provide some motivation to deal with these usability issues - it’s going to directly affect sales.

Sterling Zumbrunn

05.13.11 12:44 PM

I think this is a very functional application, but is missing three very large features to actually make it a fully functional application.

Waiting to get to the bottom of the file - I have many large notes files and it takes forever to scroll through all the way to the bottom, please implement a jump to the bottom button. It is unbelievable that you could test this and not know this would be a big issue with people.

Syncing of files – I know a lot of people of people are asking for Dropbox, and so am I, but please implement something beyond uploading and downloading files manually between iTunes. It is tedious and sloppy for as nice of an application and company as this.

Search - The reason I keep all of my notes digitally is specifically to be able to call up any phrase, name, price, or date instantly. Without search, this is just a slightly better organized piece of paper to me.

Jason

05.14.11 12:34 AM

I am trying to use dropdav.com to access Dropbox as suggested above and now the app hangs then crashes every time I try to export any file, wether it was imported from dropdav or not….

Jason

05.14.11 12:47 AM

This is great news, I’ve waited a long time for one of my favorite programs to come to the iPad. I tested it and it’s great! I still have one suggestion/wish though: Can you introduce the hoist feature into a future update please? This would be useful because large docs/outlines tend to clutter the small iPad screen, especially if you also use the notes feature. Speaking of which, would it also be possible to have the notes indented as in the Mac version?
But again, congrats for a job well done!
Keep it up!
HS

HS

05.14.11 12:49 AM

I like your app - and I like the iDisk integration - it’s actually my extended file system. I’m not convinced that the majority is using Dropbox. Especially if you are using the sync services for calendars, mails, contacts etc. together with Mac, iPhone and iPad, iDisc serves quite well.

It’s just fun to work with your app and I’m sure that I will use it a lot.

tom

05.14.11 2:34 PM

NO PRINTING!? UNBELIEVABLE.

Mike

05.15.11 8:57 PM

Good app - solid - and I understand incremental upgrades are on the way.  However, I really wish you guys would look at OO (on both Mac and IPad) and make it a full “Notebook” app. After looking at lots of attempts by other vendors, I am convinced you guys are the ones who could make this work.  It would have very wide appeal and you could certainly raise the price point.

Doug

05.18.11 4:27 PM

I’m looking for automatic sync thru MobileMe (WebDAV) and no, I will not be content with manually exporting from my iPad or Mac via iTunes. I need to work via the MobileMe connectivity. I know you guys are good, so I probably just haven’t looked hard enough considering I just got it.
-Isaac D. Bon Hillier, Legal Leprechaun

Isaac D. Bon Hillier

05.22.11 2:31 PM

Bought and promptly deleted. 

No sync, and it takes 5 (five!) taps to move a row up or down.

Apparently the UI monkeys at Omnigroup have never heard of dragging on a touch device. 

Same trend holds true for other actions.  Why make something fast and easy when you can make it slow and laborious?

Zap

05.23.11 6:29 PM
Team Member

@Zap: All of our document-based iPad apps can load and save documents from the cloud, but it’s true that none of them will automatically sync changes to those documents. That’s certainly something we’re working on, but it isn’t an outlining-specific problem so it wasn’t on the table for our 1.0 release. (For more on this, please see the automatic document synchronization thread I started on our forums.)

As for simplifying row moves, I take it you were using Edit mode?  That’s great for situations where you want to mark several rows to move all at once, but you can also move a row by simply pressing on its handle on the left edge until it lifts from the page, then dragging that row to a new location in the outline.  Much more direct!

Hope this helps!

Ken Case

05.23.11 6:39 PM

ditto to many above.

this NEEDS dropbox syncing before i would buy it.

graham jones

05.27.11 1:43 PM

I’ve found OO and OG the most handy planning programs on my Macs. I have not become facile with OG on iPad but OO looks really good. Glad to have it.

Bill Dockery

05.27.11 2:37 PM

Very exciting to see this finally arrive but it might have been a mistake to launch without Dropbox or SugarSync integration, especially when you are charging 10x the price of ThinkBook and CarbonFin Outliner.  Charging a premium is fine ... but only really flies if your product is definitively the best.

donnacha of WordSkill

05.28.11 2:17 PM

Nah, not a mistake.  What would be a mistake would be holding it back from release to people willing to buy it right now so that it could have Dropbox or SugarSync integration at initial release.  It’s an outliner, not a file organizer, and one buys it to work on outlines. 

Number of times I’ve been prevented from working on an outline due to a file management issue that would have been solved by Dropbox or SugarSync: pretty close to 0

Number of times I was prevented from working on an OmniOutliner document because I didn’t have a copy of OmniOutliner for iPad: several times daily for a year

Omni gets away with premium pricing because they deliver premium support (including free phone support), a 30-day money back guarantee, and over the fullness of time, a lot of development.  It doesn’t hurt that they seem to build products that people want to buy :-)

Bill

06.01.11 3:15 PM

I miss the the indented bullets (dots or triangles) from my Mac. Keeping the bullets that rule the tree structure in a column looks nice in some cases. But I find the structure harder to read. Can I wish for a option where bullets are placed in the beginning of the indented line?

harryK

06.10.11 3:36 PM

It would be nice to be able to easily duplicate a line (I use outliner for short-term planning, and I like being able to have multiple copies of a specified task in the outline).

Or is there something I’m missing that can do that easily?

kp

06.10.11 6:31 PM
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